"An Island Reborn": Imagery of Japan in Mid-twentieth Century American Magazines
Location
King Building 239
Document Type
Presentation
Start Date
4-27-2018 5:30 PM
End Date
4-27-2018 6:50 PM
Abstract
My research takes a look at post-World War II mid-century American magazine visual representations of Japan. By looking at imagery--advertisements, illustrations, photographs--in periodicals like Life and National Geographic, I map out the complicated political and cultural relationship between Japan and the U.S. At the close of the American Occupation of Japan in 1952, Japan was a sovereign country, a World War II menace, and much needed Cold War friend of the United States. In order to rebrand the Japanese as a harmless American ally, American magazine print media imagery and advertising depict an idealized representation of the Japanese and America’s relationship with the Japanese. Essentially, this research, an in depth visual analysis of 1950s magazine pictures, seeks to understand how a new image of Japan was sold to a fearful American public.
Keywords:
Japan, America, 1950s, imagery, photographs, advertising, history, politics, World War II
Recommended Citation
Somogyi, Alexander, ""An Island Reborn": Imagery of Japan in Mid-twentieth Century American Magazines" (04/27/18). Senior Symposium. 82.
https://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/seniorsymp/2018/presentations/82
Major
History
Advisor(s)
Leonard Smith, History
Project Mentor(s)
Leonard Smith, History
April 2018
"An Island Reborn": Imagery of Japan in Mid-twentieth Century American Magazines
King Building 239
My research takes a look at post-World War II mid-century American magazine visual representations of Japan. By looking at imagery--advertisements, illustrations, photographs--in periodicals like Life and National Geographic, I map out the complicated political and cultural relationship between Japan and the U.S. At the close of the American Occupation of Japan in 1952, Japan was a sovereign country, a World War II menace, and much needed Cold War friend of the United States. In order to rebrand the Japanese as a harmless American ally, American magazine print media imagery and advertising depict an idealized representation of the Japanese and America’s relationship with the Japanese. Essentially, this research, an in depth visual analysis of 1950s magazine pictures, seeks to understand how a new image of Japan was sold to a fearful American public.
Notes
Session VII, Panel 20 - Postwar | Asia
Moderator: Renee Romano, Professor and Chair of History, Professor of Comparative American Studies and Africana Studies