This project explores the effects of digital technology on cultural globalization through an analysis of Japanese animated TV and films (anime). Japanese anime programs now constitute sixty percent of cartoons broadcast worldwide. They therefore offer a case study in paths and consequences of a kind of cultural globalization that is not driven by major Western corporations. To understand the sources of anime's success, the resarcher will undertake research on the circumstances of producers in Japan, their relationship with American corporate distributors, and the international fan groups who circulate anime online, at times illegally.
The researcher will undertake intensive fieldwork in Japan and the United States using ethnographic research methods, primarily participant observation and semi-structured interviewing. In Tokyo, he will visit creators' studios and observe how artistic, cultural, and business interests are brought together to produce commercially successful films and TV shows. He also will conduct interviews with Japanese creators, producers, and policy makers. In the United States, he will observe meetings in the American offices of anime distributors and interview company officers, as well as participate in online discussion forms and interview fan group members.
The research is important because it will help to develop globalization theory that simultaneously considers economics and culture, and which does not assume dominance of Western ideas and businesses. Furthermore, because Anime consumers have developed a culture of willingly self-policing and preventing copyright infringements, systematic research that leads to understanding that culture may help American policy makers to develop better policies for dealing with media copyright issues.
