Overview

A star-making factory without rival, the Japanese talent agency Johnny’s Jimusho has brought fame to several generations of male stars – singers, actors and performers. Beyond the Male Idol Factory asks what the phenomenon of “Johnny’s Idols” reveals about discourses of masculinity and national identity in contemporary Japan. Examining the pervasive presence of these stars across a wide range of Japanese media, the book explores how Johnny’s Idols act as role models of ideal masculinity and good citizenship as well as entertainers. Taking a wide-ranging cultural studies approach, the book assesses the social, economic and demographic contexts of these familiar stars in post-industrial and post-Bubble Japanese society.

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9781350359789

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Reviews

Amid the controversies in the Japanese idol industry, the importance of this book cannot be overstated. Through its careful analysis of the role of male idols in the Japanese national imagination, it reveals how models of masculinity in Japan circulate and are reproduced in the media. * Jason G. Karlin, Professor, University of Tokyo, Japan * In Beyond the Male Idol Factory, Mandujano-Salazar provides an engaging analysis of the symbolic and ideological roles of male idols in modern-day Japan. This book is an indispensable resource for scholars and students seeking a deeper understanding of celebrity culture in the Asian context. * Yuen Shu Min, National University of Singapore, Singapore *

Amid the controversies in the Japanese idol industry, the importance of this book cannot be overstated. Through its careful analysis of the role of male idols in the Japanese national imagination, it reveals how models of masculinity in Japan circulate and are reproduced in the media. * Jason G. Karlin, Professor, University of Tokyo, Japan *

Author Information

Yunuen Ysela Mandujano-Salazar is a professor and researcher at the Autonomous University of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, member of the Mexican National System of Researchers.

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