Portfolio categories: <span>Film & Media Studies</span>

Food as Contact Zone: Navigating the Ainu/Wajin Encounter in Golden Kamuy (2014-)

Abstract

This paper analyzes the role and representation of food in the Japanese manga and anime series Golden Kamuy (Gōruden Kamui, 2014-present) by Satoru Noda. While ostensibly an action-packed narrative about the hunt for indigenous Ainu gold, Golden Kamuy has earned a reputation among fans as a gurume, or gourmet, manga, and anime. Cooking scenes of both Ainu and Wajin food feature prominently throughout the series. This paper analyzes the rhetorical role of food in the fictional narrative and its connection to official and unofficial ideologies about ethnic harmony between Ainu and Wajin communities in Japan.

Citation

Spiker, Christina M. “Food as Contact Zone: Navigating the Ainu/Wajin Encounter in Golden Kamuy (2014-).” Verge: Studies in Global Asias 9, no. 2 (Fall 2023): 245-271. https://doi.org/10.1353/vrg.2023.a903029

History of Photography

Explore the history of photography as an artistic medium, a cultural expression, a technological marvel, and a social text. During our class we will travel around the globe, analyzing photographs from Europe, the United States, and various international contexts. In addition to exploring photography as an artistic medium, we will look at the cultural discourse of photography, and engage in discussions on ethics, nationalism, gender, race, mass culture, and memory. Accordingly, the course includes readings from disciplines as diverse as art history, visual studies, visual anthropology, and sociology. Covering over a century of photographic practice, students will gain the ability to deeply understand and analyze the shifting medium of photography and its sociocultural contexts.

All Art is Propaganda: Visual and Scientific Perspectives on Persuasion

Building on George Orwell’s controversial claim that “all art is propaganda,” this course will explore the art and psychology of advertising, propaganda, and other persuasive visual media. Combining methods of scientific and visual analysis, students will investigate how both historical and contemporary images are constructed and consumed. In learning to apply psychological theories of influence, students should expect to engage with diverse media including contemporary art, political advertisement, public service announcements, military propaganda, cartoons, caricature, product advertising, and branding. Upon completion, students will have the tools to be critical consumers of art and visual culture.

Image Credit: (top) Cliff Chiang, Untitled (He Can’t Do it Alone), 2010. Originally made for Star Wars Galaxy Series 5, a series of Legends trading cards by Topps.

Ways of Seeing

Image Credit: John Berger, Ways of Seeing, 1972.