Alright, so I’m probably not going to find sources directly related to my paper, especially not scholarly ones. Or maybe I will, I’ve done only the most cursory of searches. Oh, well. But it’s time to fix that. So I’m going to make a game plan. First part of the plan is to think about, as you might have guessed from the title, what I’m looking for in sources. I’m going to want one that talks about the rise of media culture in Japan. Honestly, I have no idea what the culture of pre-WWII Japan was like or how it transitioned into what it is today. Looking at the rise of software giants might prove fruitful. I bet that there’s someone out there who has traced Nintendo’s transition from a trading card company to what it is today. So, in specific terms, I’m looking for an overview of Japanese culture, maybe pop-culture, pre-WWII and/or chronology of the rise of technological giants. I remember reading about how America meddled in Japan immediately after the war, perhaps it is intrinsically linked to that. Getting a better view of modern Japan will also be necessary. From a more general lens, I think a sociology book would hold me in good stead. Perhaps something that focuses on the romanticization of foreign cultures. If I can find one that specifically pertains to this phenomenon in media, so much the better. It might even be possible to find one specifically about the lens through which Japan views America and the West, especially given the comments that the Japanese actresses asked to talk about the casting of Scarlet Johanessen for Major. If it’s a wide spread cultural event, then someone has probably already studied it. The reverse is true for America. I bet I can find papers about Oriental Fetishizing, or what have you. Lets say that’s three. One would be an description of Japanese cultural change around WWII. Two would be studying the rise of video game giants, hopefully focusing on Nintendo. Three would be an sociological text on how cultures view one another. Then… for a four maybe look at cultural appropriation in video games? Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. It might be incredibly decisive, but that’s okay. It will be a good thing to know and it might even change my goal and message in this essay. That leaves me with a fifth and final category to get the bare minimum done for the assignment. Well, I guess this should be pretty obvious, in retrospect. I should find articles about some of the games that I want to write about. Legend of Zelda will likely have the most articles written about it, since it is the oldest franchise. Or is Civilization? That’s something I really should look up too. Anyways, I’m getting distracted. I don’t necessarily want to do Legend of Zelda, however. I’d prefer to find articles about American games since much of my other research seems to be focusing on the Japanese side of things. The issue then becomes that I don’t have any games that I can think of off the top of my head that are specifically made by American developers but set in Japan. I guess I could find one. Maybe I should do that. Anyways, that sounds like a decent plan.
For less scholarly sources, there are a lot of Youtubers, especially around the Dark Souls community that could be quite useful. I’m thinking specifically about EpicNameBro who does a series about what is lost in translations between the American and Japanese versions of Dark Souls.
Great plan, Wes. Keep up the good work, kiddo.
