[Recorded 17 October 2018] Ordinary, Japanese idol means young boys/girls groups which is constructed by singers, actors and TV talents. In these days, it is said that idol is one of the typical Japanese pop culture. They look really good-looking and cute. On the other hand, it is said that almost all of them don’t have a great talent for singing, dancing and acting, especially comparing to Star singers or Movie Stars. For a long time, idol has been criticized as incomprehensible culture by the people who likes traditional and authentic cultures. But there are so many fans in Japan. And they enthusiastically love these idols. Therefore, in this presentation, I would like to understand this typical Japanese pop culture from a viewpoint of sociology of fan culture. From this point of view, we can understand they love idol as a culture of communication rather than a culture of content.
Izumi Tsuji (SOAS, University of London)
https://www.brookes.ac.uk/social-sciences/research/ejrc/podcasts/
2021-02-20