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UCLA UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Reading Comic Books Critically: How Japanese Comic Books Influence Taiwanese Students Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6n85z2w7 Author Hsu, Fang-Tzu Publication Date 2015 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Reading Comic Books Critically: How Japanese Comic Books Influence Taiwanese Students A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Education by Fang-Tzu Hsu 2015 © Copyright by Fang-Tzu Hsu 2015 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Reading Comic Books Critically: How Japanese Comic Books Influence Taiwanese Students by Fang-Tzu Hsu Doctor of Philosophy in Education University of California, Los Angeles, 2015 Professor Carlos A. Torres, Chair Education knows no boundaries but hot button topics, like comic books, demonstrate school, teacher and parent limitations. Japanese comic books (manga) are a litmus test of pedagogical tolerance. Because they play an important role in the lives of most Taiwanese teenagers, I give them pride of place in this dissertation. To understand Japanese comic books and their influence, I use Paulo Freire’s critical pedagogy to combine perspectives from cultural studies, comparative education, and educational sociology. With the cooperation of the administration, faculty and students of a Taiwanese junior high school, I used surveys, a textual analysis of five student-selected titles and interviews with students and educators. I discovered that Japanese manga contain complex and sometimes contradictory ideologies of ethnicity, gender, class, and violence. From an ethnic perspective, although students may glean cultural content from manga heroes and their retinues, people of color and non-Japanese Asians are either caricatures or non-existent; although Taiwanese teenager readers seem unaware of this. From a gender standpoint, neither the female characters’ provocative representation nor the male characters’ slavering responses to it raise students’ and teachers’ concerns. ii Depictions of social and economic class are sometimes distinct in Japanese comic books. However, the dominant ideology of their creators is middle-class. Students are mostly oblivious to such distinctions, but may notice that ancient caste precepts survive. Although most manga focus on violent combat, students have no problem with excessive gore. By a process I call “fantasized death,” violence is not only neutralized but transformed into aesthetic and spiritual challenges that encourage readers. Taiwanese students love Japanese comic books. However, from a post-colonialist perspective, the growing hybridity of Taiwanese and Japanese cultural images may create challenges for the future of a discernible Taiwanese phenotype. I suggest that critical pedagogy may provide an antidote to this unfortunate fusion, which is currently unrecognized by the adolescent comic book consumers who are its harbingers or by the majority of their preceptors. Keywords: Comic Books, Freire, Critical Cultural Studies, Post-colonialism, Taiwan iii This dissertation of Fang-Tzu Hsu is approved. Douglas Kellner Richard Desjardins Virginia Walter Carlos A. Torres, Committee Chair University of California, Los Angeles 2015 iv Dedication Page I dedicate this work to Huan-Tang Huang, my beloved fiancé, who has had the greatest patience in the world to wait for me for ten years. As a professional librarian and a comic book lover, he supported my study from start to finish. His company and kindness helped me overcome many challenges, even though we spent three years living on opposite sides of the Pacific Rim. v Table of Contents CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION p.1 1.1 Teenagers and Comic Books p.1 1.2 Taking Comic Books Seriously p.4 1.3 Structure of Chapters p.9 CHAPTER 2: A FREIREAN APPROACH TO COMIC BOOK ANALYSIS p.13 2.1 The Influence of Japanese Manga on Taiwanese Youth p.13 2.2 Cultural Studies Perspective: Ideologies in Comic Books p.15 2.3 A Comparative Educational Perspective on Japanese Cultural Influence p.29 2.4 Educational Sociological Perspective: Influence of Comic Books p.33 2.5 Conclusion: Building Up a Freirean Approach p.37 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY AND METHODS p.40 3.1 Freirian Methodology p.40 3.2 Multiple Methods p.43 CHAPTER 4 THE DAZZLING COMIC WORLD: REACTIONS OF TAIWANESE STUDENTS AND EDUCATORS p.66 4.1 Results of the Survey: Comic Book Reading Preference and Top 5 Comic Books p.66 4.2 The Reactions of Textual Analysis: Ideologies in Mainstream Comic Books p.71 4.3 Interviews: Perspectives of Students and Educators p.86 CHAPTER 5 INTO THE GREAT COMIC BOOK ERA: CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF RESEARCH RESULTS p.116 5.1 The Ideology and Influence of Ethnicity p.117 5.2 Ideologies of Gender and Their Influence p.129 5.3 The Influence of Class Ideologies p.141 5.4 The Influence of Ideologies of Violence p.151 5.5 Japanese Cultural Dominance in the Neo-liberal World p.159 5.6 Is Critical Pedagogy for Comic Books possible? P.169 vi CHAPTER 6 CONCLUSION p.178 6.1 Answers to Research Questions p.178 6.2 Research Limitations and Possibilities p.182 6.3 Implications p.185 6.4 Final Thoughts p.188 APPENDIX 1 APPENDIX 2 REFERENCE vii List of Tables Table 4.1 Time spent reading comics or watching Japanese cartoons every week p.67 Table 4.2 How I acquire comics/animated cartoons p.68 Table 4.3 Do you pay attention to the rating of comics before reading them? P.68 Table 4.4 My favorite comics p.70 viii Acknowledgments It is quite difficult for me to look back at the many challenges I faced while studying abroad; as difficult as it was to find a research topic that truly interested me. Unlike most international students, I never planned to travel. It was providence that brought me to Southern California, a kind of miracle that I became a resident of Los Angelesand a Ph.D. from U.C.L.A. I am glad that Dr. Torres was my advisor. I learned about Paulo Freire from him, as well as political philosophy and the theory of globalization. With his help I learned more than I expected, both in the academy and in life. Dr. Kellner taught me the nature of critical cultural studies and how vital philosophy can be in modern society. Without him, I would never have known how much fun educational research could be. Dr. Walter introduced me to the amazing world of children’s literature and also changed what and how I read. After taking her class, my library borrowing increased exponentially. Dr. Desjardins made me more aware of the global economy’s effects on culture and education. From this perspective, I began to see things differently, both as a researcher and as an author. I see research as a collaborative endeavor. Therefore, I have to thank my Taiwanese and Chinese colleagues: Adrian Niu, Yuen Hsieh, Jing Wang, Tan Zou, Angel Ho, Jia Jiang. Our shared interest in stories and research made our collaboration especially enjoyable. Thanks also to my Los Angeles friends Jason Dorio, Inês Sacchetti and Claudia Virruso for their support. They were always at my side, making sure my struggles bore fruit! I would like to give my special thanks to my family and fiancé who provided constant, long-distance support. I also want to honor Dr. Peter Lownds who, with his wife Terre, hosted me for my final year in Los Angeles and whom I regard as my American grandfather. He put his whole heart into editing this dissertation. Without him, it would not read the way it does. ix Last but not least, thanks to all the participants to whom, for obvious reasons, I gave fictitious names. I learned from each and every one of you. Although we may have different opinions, we are dedicated to the same goals. With imagination, love and service, we will make the world a better place. x Vita CURRENT JOBS / PROFESSIONAL SERVICE Columnist, 365 the Earth Citizen, a Magazine for Children and the Youth, Taiwan (2010-) • Column: Philosophy is not Difficult, World View •Series Novel: Full Moon Store (fantasy novel series, 2011-2014), The Science of Deduction (detective novel series, 2015-) PFI Coordinator, UCLA Paulo Freire Institute, the USA (2013-2014) EDUCATION AND QUALIFICATIONS M.A., Educational History and Philosophy, National Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan (2008- 2011) Graduate School of Education B.A., Education, National Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan (2003-2008) Department of Education/ Department of Chinese PRESENTATIONS and PUBLICATIONS Conference Papers Hsu, Fang-Tzu (2010, Oct.). Educational view of body and mind in “The brave new world”. Paper presented at the 4th conference of Educational History in China and Taiwan, Taipei, Taiwan. Hsu, Fang-Tzu (2010, Nov.). Cultivating concerning about our world with Dewey’s empiricism. Paper presented at the international conference of Key Capabilities and Educational Renovation in Global Age, Taipei, Taiwan. Hsu, Fang-Tzu (2011, Aug.). The aesthetic of Nietzsche and the teaching performance of Confucius. Paper presented at the conference for celebration Professor Yang’s 66th birthday, Nantou, Taiwan. Hsu, Fang-Tzu (2012, March.).Culture Conflicts in Educational Reform. Paper presented at international conference of education: Global competitiveness, social and education function, Tainan, Taiwan. Hsu, Fang-Tzu (2012, April.). Analysis of “Development plan for world class universities and research centers for excellence”. Paper presented at international conference of reflections on the internationalization of education, Nantou, Taiwan. Hsu, Fang-Tzu(2013, March). Learning in Language School: Parents’ Expectation of Culture and Mandarin to the Second Generation Immigrants. Power point presented at Community school conference, LA, the USA. Hsu, Fang-Tzu(2013, April). Philosophy of Life: A comparative view between Freire and Nietzsche. Power point presented at PFI 2013 CAFÉ conference, LA, the USA.