Abstract
The 2003 film Lost in Translation has attracted both acclaim and critique concerning its representation of the urban imaginary of Tokyo. Examining both the film representation and the critical responses to the imaginary, this paper discusses how they illuminate some of the emerging issues that Tokyo and Japan face in the era of globalization, such as the loss of the idiosyncratic status of non-Western modernity that Japan has long enjoyed; post-(self)Orientalist cultural othering; and the transnational alliance of media and cultural industries in a global cultural economy of branding the nation through media and consumer cultures, all at the expense of the issue of intensifying migration and multicultural situations in the urban space. It will be suggested that both the film and Japanese critiques of the film are lost in the actuality of Tokyo (indeed, of Japan) and its populace, which is being radically transformed by intensifying transnational flows of people, capital, and media imagery.
Keywords: Lost in Translation; post-(self)Orientalism and transnational indifference; brand nationalism; cool Japan; urban multiculturalism and exclusionary politics
Author¡¦s biography
Iwabuchi Koichi is Visiting Professor at the School of International Liberal Studies, Waseda University, and also Visiting Associate Professor at the International Research Center for Japanese Studies. Specializing in Media and Cultural studies, Professor Iwabuchi¡¦s research interest includes Cultural globalization, Transnationalism, and Media culture in East Asia. His publications include East Asian pop culture: analysing the Korean wave (co-edited with Chua Bneg Huat) (2008, Hong Kong University Press), Bunka no Taiwaryoku ¤å¤ÆÇU“f¸Ü¤O (2007, Nihonkeizaishinbun Shuppansha ¤é¥»’«’Æ·s»D¥Xª©ªÀ), Feeling Asian modernities (ed.) (2004, Hong Kong University Press); Recentering globalization (2002, Duke University Press); and Transnational Japan ÇÄÇåÇïǵÇÆdzÇãÇÆÇçȸǴÇßÇÍÇï(2001, Iwanami Shoten©¥ªi®Ñ©±).
Contact address: School of International Liberal Studies, Waseda University (SILS), Nishi-Waseda Bldg. 1F, 1-21-1 Nishi-Waseda, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 169-0051.
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