Toys and Intimate Alienation
During Chapter 3 of Allison’s Millineal Monster’s she delves into the sociological and behavioral aspects of Japanese culture. This seems like it would be a tangent from the subject of toys, but we talked in class on Thursday about how toys (and video games) and culture are so tightly intertwined in Japanese society, that you have to analyze them together. Allison even mentions on page 86 that,” the world of personal electronics designer fashions, and “character cuteness”: a plethora of things, machines and fantasies” are “closely affixed to people’s bodies and interwoven into the fabric of their everyday lives.” What i found particularly interesting was her discussion of “intimate alienation”, a term which she references a 1999 article by James A. Fujii. Intimate alienation is when you are doing something alone and disconnected from others but simultaneously you are in a place that is “shared” by others. This concept could occur when you’re cruising facebook, plugged into your ipod, riding a crowded subway, and it doesn’t matter if your in Japan or the United States. I think there’s lots of reasons we partake in these activities, As allison mentions is eases the loniless or the boredom of an everyday activity, such as a long train ride. Usually there’s social pressure to buy a certain product or sign up for facebook simply because “everyone” else is doing it. An interesting question which Allison poses on page 85 is are these activities/behaviors more intimate or more alienating ? which of the two dominates?
Allison also brings Karl Marx. One would wonder where Marx would come into the subject of Millineal Monsters, but she is able to relate “Intimate Alienation” of Post War Japan to the alienation of the worker proletariat class. According to Marx the burdens which are placed on the worker class causes an extraction of “Life” from the laborers. Buying into electronics and various other material goods is a way to make up for that loss. On page 86 Allison relates this to Japanese society: there is so much pressure for individuals whether it be work demands or academic performance, that it alienates people. Goods become a way to “animate life” and become “the conduits for various forms of communication, intimate relationships.” This goes back to a theme I have written about in my previous blogs– toys replacing or substituting human beings or interpersonal relationships. This animist materialism which Allison brings up is just another explanation for its cause. Maybe it can explain why toys such as tomagotchis and robotic dogs have come out of this country. I think that tying Marx’s work, and therefore drawing in other aspects of sociology, into this really benefits her argument.
Tags: toyashistory09
February 22nd, 2009 at 5:36 pm
I really like the points you focus on with Intimate Alientation. I think you really hit the nail on the head by mentioning Allison saying that “it eases the lonliness and boredom of an everyday activity.” I know from personal experience how true this statement really is. Whether I would be at the gym on the treadmill, laying in bed before falling asleep, or in while working on schoolwork while at school I seemed to always have my iPod in my ears. This activities are all things that are lonely, so to speak, mainly because we do them when we are alone, or rather, they are not group activities. Also, some of these activities can become boring after a long time and the comfort of the iPod helps to take away from the boredom that you are experiencing. Although these are all individual activities Allison (and your blog) also mention the idea of being on a crowded subway, together with hundreds of people, yet you are sort of all “together, alone.” I know I can relate, especially with having to ride the school bus in the morning at the beginning of my high school career. When I would walk on the bus in the morning there would be other students on the bus and although we were all physically together we were still separate, whether we were doing some last minute studying for a test, listening to our IPod (or MP3, walkman, etc.), or just simply sitting there not making conversation nor eye contact with the other people. I think that globally we all want to me involved in society yet we still yearn for our own individual time and space.