Culture – Page 138 – Steven Savage

Book Review: Japanamerica

December 12, 2009 by Steven Savage

Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture Has Invaded The U.S
By Roland Kelts

ISBN-10: 140398476X
ISBN-13: 978-1403984760

PROS: A breezy, readable, yet informative look at how Japanese pop culture has become part of US culture, mixing theories, the big picture, and personal stories.

CONS: The book's approach makes it more useful for getting the big picture than direct research. Some theories may seem odd or vague.

SUMMARY: An interesting and thought-provoking book that can help you get a good picture of how Japanese culture has become prominent in the US, why it may have happened, and the future.

How The Victory of Geekdom Has It’s Downside

December 6, 2009 by Steven Savage

As I noted last week, geek is good, fan is fab, and the nerds have won. Doctor Who is back, the Trek franchise is invigorated, anime is hip, video games are everywhere.

Now, however, I'd like to look at the dark side of the Great Geek Victory.

How do companies, writers, publishers, programmers, etc. deal with the broad, new audience for things geeky, nerdy, technical, and cool?

My concern is that the hipness of nerddom is going to actually reduce experimentation. The broader audiences have certain expectations, wishes, and interests. These audiences also bring in a lot of cash.