Pokemon and Capitalistic Development

Paper Summary:

The paper explores Pokemon as being a nostalgic escape from, and a training ground in, capitalistic development. In order to understand this apparent inherent paradox in Pokemon, the paper considers its origins in Japanese cultural traditions and how these traditions have shaped its interrelationship with capitalism in ways that are subtly distinct from Western conceptions of capitalism and popular culture. The paper shows how this paradox is not unique to the Pokemon game but is actually deeply rooted in postwar Japanese popular culture as a response to, and a collaboration with, the market capitalism that defined much of postwar Japanese society.

Outline:
Introduction
Pokemon and its Context
Pokemon and its Paradoxes
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"Pokemon originated in the late 1990s as part of a strategy by the Japanese gaming company, Nintendo, to revive interest in its Game Boy portable gaming platform. Designed by the famous Japanese game designer Tajiri Satoshi, the game was intended to be open and modular to further development across media. In its basic form, it consists of a highly interactive play between players who seek to collect all 150 imaginary creatures or "pocket monsters"; hence the term "Pokemon". The marketing potential of the game lies in the fact that it is impossible to catch or buy all of the monsters (Tobin Introduction 3-5). By the early 2000s the number of pocket monsters had expanded to 300, and over US$15 billion in Pokemon merchandise had been sold around the world (Allison Millennial 4-5)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Allison, Anne. Millennial Monsters: Japanese Toys and the GlobalImagination. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2006.
• Kinsella, Sharon. "Cuties in Japan." In Lise Skov and Brian Moeran, eds. Women, Media and Consumption in Japan. Surrey, UK: Curzon Press, 1995, 220-254.
• Selden, Mark. "China, Japan, and the Regional Political Economyof East Asia, 1945-1995." In Peter Katzenstein and Takashi Shiraishi, eds. Network Power: Japan and Asia. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 306-340.
• Shiraishi, Saya. "Japan's Soft Power: Doraemon Goes Overseas." In Peter Katzenstein and Takashi Shiraishi, eds. NetworkPower: Japan and Asia. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press,234-274.
• Tobin, Joseph. "Introduction." In Joseph Tobin, ed. Pikachu'sGlobal Adventure: The Rise and Fall of Pokemon. Durham:Duke University Press, 2004, 3-11.

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