12.10.2023Scandal in Japan: Transgression, Performance and Ritual

Lecturer

Dr. Igor Prusa (Metropolitan University Prague)

Date and Time

October 12, 2023, 2 - 3:30 pm

Venue

University of Zurich, Room KAB G01, Kantonsschulstrasse 3, 8001 Zürich

Abstract

This talk is an exploration of media scandals in contemporary Japanese society. It offers a novel view of scandal as a highly mediatized “ritual” which manifests and manages revealed transgressions throughout Japanese history. The first part focuses on Japanese scandal as “media product”, and it delves into the media's role in constructing, shaping, and distributing scandals in Japan. The second part approaches Japanese scandal as “social ritual”. It explores the performative nature of scandal and demonstrates how the social drama of confession, exclusion and reintegration is turned into a spectacular media event with a high degree of ritualization.

Organisation

Institute of Asian and Oriental Studies - Japanese Studies