JAPANESE MEDIA: A TRANSCULTURAL AND IDENTITY PROCESS

Abstract

This paper addresses the cultural processes fostered by the dissemination of Japanese media in Brazil and the emergence of otaku (a term used in Japan and other countries to designate anime and manga fans) in the Amazon region of Amapa. This study, based on Williams's (1992) concept of culture, explores Japanese pop culture with Barral (2000) and Luyten (2000), and explores transcultural factors in Fernando Ortiz and Rama (2007), Hall (2003), Woodward (2000), Brend (2003), and Canclini (2013), who use them to describe and explore concepts of identity, representation, and hybridization. The research methodology is a case study, combining bibliographical research and content analysis of the selected media. In this article, we report on the literature review resulting from bibliographic research on cultural relations between Japan and Brazil, and the transculturation and identity processes identified in the studied phenomenon. This initial approach allows the understanding that the otaku identity was formed in Brazil through the consumption of Japanese digital media, which have significant global influence, gaining an increasing number of adherents to this identity through the significant reproduction of Japanese cultural habits. Preliminary results point to transculturation processes, due to the consolidation and reconfiguration of the Japanese cultural presence in Brazil, as the main driver of the formation of a new identity process based on the intensive use of Japanese media.