Dialectics of the Goddess in Japanese Audiovisual Culture

Contributions by Linda C. Ehrlich, Irene González-López, Dolores P. Martinez, José Montaño, Laura Montero, Víctor Navarro-Remesal, Sybil A. Thornton, Lorenzo J. Torres Hortelano Edited by Lorenzo J. Torres Hortelano

Publication date:

01 December 2017

Length of book:

184 pages

Publisher

Lexington Books

ISBN-13: 9781498570145

Through provocative essays by specialists in different aspects of Japanese culture, this book provides an historical and analytical survey of the presence of Goddesses in Japanese audiovisual culture from its origins to the present day. It shows how these feminine myths are represented in Japan; not only as beneficial or creative deities, but also the archetypal strong or dominant woman that sometimes overshadows masculine figures and heroes, or as influential figures. Therefore, it analyzes this rich dialectic of the feminine and how the audiovisual culture has represented it thus far in film, TV series, and video games made in Japan. While many theories have been proposed to explain the presence of Goddesses in Japan, this book’s focus on audiovisual culture explores how this corpus challenges the traditional conceptions of the feminine as related to Goddesses.

Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Representations of Goddesses in Japanese Audiovisual Culture: A New Concept
Lorenzo J. Torres Hortelano
1. Kannon-sama and the Spirit of Compassion in Japanese Cinema
Linda C. Ehrlich
2. Suffering and Deification: The Goddess in Night Drum
Sybil A. Thornton
3. The Profound Desire of the Goddess: Sexuality and Politics in The Insect Woman
Irene González-López
4. Anime Goddesses and their Hollywood Transformations
Dolores P. Martinez
5. Deviant Attitudes, Lost Names and the Ether: Goddesses in Contemporary Japanese Audiovisuals
José Montaño
6. The Humanization of the Goddess: Isao Takahata’s Princess Kaguya
Laura Montero
7. Goddesses in Japanese Videogames: Tradition, Gameplay, Gender, and Power
Víctor Navarro-Remesal
8. Ghostly Goddesses in in Japanese Cinema
Lorenzo J. Torres Hortelano
Notes on contributors

This volume [is] useful material for students of Japanese cinema and for those interested in Japanese mythologies, religion and visual culture, and gender studies.