Alt, Matt
Pure Invention: How Japan Made the Modern World
- ISBN 13:
- 9781472131850
- author:
- Alt, Matt
- format:
- Paperback / softback
- publisher:
- Constable
- language:
- English
- Publication Year:
- 2021
- Pages:
- 368
- Dimensions:
- 19.8 x 12.6 x 2.6 centimeters (0
- Genre:
- Business, General, Nonfiction,
- Condition:
- New
- Availability:
- Item usually sent within 10 working days
Description
Japan's pop-culture creations have captured our hearts, from the techy to the wild to the super-kawaii. But what's behind these iconic symbols? Matt Alt, a Japanese-media veteran, delves into the fascinating world of Tokyo's pop-fantasy complex, revealing how Japan's toys, gadgets, and fantasy worlds profoundly transformed the way we live.
In the 1970s and '80s, Japan seemed to be soaring on the superior technology of Sony and Toyota, while the West struggled to catch up. However, a catastrophic 1990 stock-market crash ushered in the 'lost decades' of deep recession and social dysfunction. Instead, Japan's cultural clout soared, as its pop-culture creations gave us new tools for coping with trying times.
From Hello Kitty to the Nintendo Entertainment System, and multimedia empires like Pokémon and Dragon Ball Z, these products were more than marketing hits. They were artfully packaged, dangerously cute, and dizzyingly fun, transforming us as we consumed them - connecting as well as isolating us in new ways, opening vistas of imagination and pathways to revolution.
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