Kawaii In Taiwan Politics

By investigating the case of A-Bian Doll (扁娃, see Figure 1), this paper explores how Kawaii (可愛い, the Japanese word for "cute") has pervaded in Taiwan, and has since been appropriated by Taiwanese politicians as one of the significant methods for advancing democratisation, and construct...

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Main Author: Yin , C. Chuang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM Press) 2011
Subjects:
Online Access:http://eprints.usm.my/40522/
http://eprints.usm.my/40522/1/YinCChuang-KawaiiTaiwanPolitics.pdf
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author Yin , C. Chuang
author_facet Yin , C. Chuang
author_sort Yin , C. Chuang
building USM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description By investigating the case of A-Bian Doll (扁娃, see Figure 1), this paper explores how Kawaii (可愛い, the Japanese word for "cute") has pervaded in Taiwan, and has since been appropriated by Taiwanese politicians as one of the significant methods for advancing democratisation, and constructing collective imagination and national identities. Particularly, this paper explores how Kawaii is represented and reproduced in Taiwan politics. I will first discuss how Kawaii is produced and consumed in Taiwanese people's everyday life in relation to the process of democratisation and the formation of consumer society. I will then move to the discussion of the A-Bian Doll and its accessories, which is arguably the most significant example of how Kawaii is made tangible in Taiwanese politics. I will examine how Kawaii is appropriated as a familiar element from Taiwanese culture by former President Chen's staffers, and is then injected into ingredients drawn from Taiwanese baseball culture and the features of Chen to produce the A-Bian Doll and its accessories. By making and advertising the A-Bian Doll and its accessories, Chen's staffers create a new culture, and then feed this back into social circulation, mobilise supporters and gain votes.
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spelling usm-405222018-05-22T06:44:35Z http://eprints.usm.my/40522/ Kawaii In Taiwan Politics Yin , C. Chuang P1-1091 Philology. Linguistics(General) By investigating the case of A-Bian Doll (扁娃, see Figure 1), this paper explores how Kawaii (可愛い, the Japanese word for "cute") has pervaded in Taiwan, and has since been appropriated by Taiwanese politicians as one of the significant methods for advancing democratisation, and constructing collective imagination and national identities. Particularly, this paper explores how Kawaii is represented and reproduced in Taiwan politics. I will first discuss how Kawaii is produced and consumed in Taiwanese people's everyday life in relation to the process of democratisation and the formation of consumer society. I will then move to the discussion of the A-Bian Doll and its accessories, which is arguably the most significant example of how Kawaii is made tangible in Taiwanese politics. I will examine how Kawaii is appropriated as a familiar element from Taiwanese culture by former President Chen's staffers, and is then injected into ingredients drawn from Taiwanese baseball culture and the features of Chen to produce the A-Bian Doll and its accessories. By making and advertising the A-Bian Doll and its accessories, Chen's staffers create a new culture, and then feed this back into social circulation, mobilise supporters and gain votes. Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM Press) 2011 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://eprints.usm.my/40522/1/YinCChuang-KawaiiTaiwanPolitics.pdf Yin , C. Chuang (2011) Kawaii In Taiwan Politics. International Journal of Asia Pacific Studies (IJAPS), 7 (3). pp. 2-17. ISSN ISSN: 1823-6243 http://ijaps.usm.my/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/YinCChuang-KawaiiTaiwanPolitics.pdf
spellingShingle P1-1091 Philology. Linguistics(General)
Yin , C. Chuang
Kawaii In Taiwan Politics
title Kawaii In Taiwan Politics
title_full Kawaii In Taiwan Politics
title_fullStr Kawaii In Taiwan Politics
title_full_unstemmed Kawaii In Taiwan Politics
title_short Kawaii In Taiwan Politics
title_sort kawaii in taiwan politics
topic P1-1091 Philology. Linguistics(General)
url http://eprints.usm.my/40522/
http://eprints.usm.my/40522/
http://eprints.usm.my/40522/1/YinCChuang-KawaiiTaiwanPolitics.pdf