230socio

After watching Morning Sun, I became interested in Mao's swi

After watching Morning Sun, I became interested in Mao's swimming across the river and the subsequent epidemic of swimming craze. Here is a link to a picture off an a9 search of girls swimming around the time of Mao's reign. click here

I read in the New York Times today (10/13) that Disney is op

I read in the New York Times today (10/13) that Disney is opening an amusement park in Hong Kong late next year. This was an interesting article, titled "Disney is Tailoring New Park to Fit Hong Kong Sensitivities. Apparently the park design was approved by a feng shui master to adapt it to “tailor it to an audience in this part of the world”. They noted park employees will speak both Cantonese and Mandarin to attract visitors…pretty interesting. They also discussed plans for a park in Shanghai, though they mentioned growing anti-American sentiment there- but they said a park in Shanghai would not open until 2010, if at all. -Julianne

I really liked the Last Samurai. I thought that it gave a di

I really liked the Last Samurai. I thought that it gave a different perspective on the lifestyles of samurai...most movies depict them as killing machines with a sense of pride and honor, but no sense of family. The scenes in the village and the loyalty to the emperor were refreshing to see in what could have otherwise been a violent and pointless movie with excessive and unexplained fight sequences. -Leah

I liked reading the death poems on the website that Kristin

I liked reading the death poems on the website that Kristin posted. There concepts of life and death, or rather the way the samurai perceive it, is so much different than our way of thinking. My favorite is the one by Ota Dakon which says "Had I not known that I was dead already I would have mourned my loss of life." I had to read it 3 times before I actually began to understand what it means. -Leah

While not all that into samurai flicks, this site lists a bu

While not all that into samurai flicks, this site lists a bunch of supposedly good ones. Maybe Hugh will show us some. Samurai movies -Dan

What did people think of the last samurai movie? Pierce's po

What did people think of the last samurai movie? Pierce's post about seppuku made me think back to that movie which, from what i've read so far (minimal) about japanese culture, seemed like it represented the whole samurai-lifestyle thing pretty accurately and extremely interestingly. Alot of periodicals disagree, but enough agree to make me think that it's something worth talking about with Hugh. The reviews of the movie are readily available at metacritic: http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/lastsamurai/ sorry idont know how to html (nor am i alone) ~Alex White

Those smilies might have originally started out as japanese,

Those smilies might have originally started out as japanese, but I guess as happens when people are connected via something like the internet, it becomes a trend and passes around, because I seem to see some of those emoticons around with greater frequency by "western" internet users. -Kathleen

I find it interesting that there is an actual webpage dedica

I find it interesting that there is an actual webpage dedicated to explaining the differences between different cultures' smiley faces. Even as a sociology major, the details sociologists (or anyone for that matter) go into to establish a difference between two societies still amazes me. Granted, there are differences in the cultures' smiley faces, but still over analytical - to the point of amusement. - Arielle

The website on Samurai Dress made me think of a traditional

The website on Samurai Dress made me think of a traditional article of Japanese clothing, the Kimono. This website offers an interesting history of the Kimono, its uses, and its importance to Japanese culture. -Michael

The tea ceremony on at the samurai site is interesting. I d

The tea ceremony on at the samurai site is interesting. I did not realize it was so symbolic and historic..cool site. -Julianne

The ritual of seppuku has always fascinated me not because o

The ritual of seppuku has always fascinated me not because of any interest in attempting the feat, but because of the honor associated with it. This site talks about just that and gives some examples to shine light on the significance of the act. click here -Pierce

I read the heirarchy chart, and a couple of things are confu

I read the heirarchy chart, and a couple of things are confusing me, maybe even amusing me. First off, Japanese people consider themselves less pathetic than people who work on video games or anime. The majority of video games and/or anime movies are produced as well as created by Japanese people. I don't get it. Also, the musicians working in the Japanese music industry shouldn't consider those who come to see them perform live pathetic, as if it weren't for said fans the musicians wouldn't be enjoying lucrative careers. This chart, in short, seems very contradictory. -Michael

I thought this website on <a href="http://www.samurai-archi

I thought this website on Samurai dress was particularly interesting. After reading "Memoirs of a Geisha" this past summer, I became fascinated by Japanese dress in general. Seemingly, individual and collective attire is a significant and defining part of their culture. This contrasts greatly with Western society in which dress may define a specific occupation (e.g. doctors, sports players, and so forth), but rarely does it distinguish one social class from another. -Kristin

I think this is an interesting phenomenon. <a href="http://w

I think this is an interesting phenomenon. Takeshi's Castle has defied cultural boundaries. Here is more of a description, and some links to fan sites... -Julianne

I like the Japan Heirarchy Chart. I is nice to see that we a

I like the Japan Heirarchy Chart. I is nice to see that we aren't too low as undergrads. I also found the "otaku" page interesting. I think there are many american children that have Anime otaku, or more specifically pokemon otaku. -Julianne

This one is maybe more 'literature', but maybe not: <a href=

This one is maybe more 'literature', but maybe not: China's first SMS novel to be made into movie

<a href="http://club.pep.ne.jp/~hiroette/en/facemarks/">Japa

Japanese smileys (Emoticons)

and/or what do you make of <a href="http://www.midaregami.ne

and/or what do you make of this chart? and/or of this on otaku? --Hugh

You might be interested in this <a href="http://blog.simon-c

You might be interested in this new translation of Sei Shonagon's "Pillow Book", a 10th century blog --Hugh

I'd like to encourage you to choose a COLOR for your posting

I'd like to encourage you to choose a COLOR for your postings (mine will be boring old white), but please SIGN your postings too. --Hugh

This is meant to be a message board for those in Anth 230 wh

This is meant to be a message board for those in Anth 230 who are especially interested in 'Sociocultural' topics. You can post a comment by clicking on the yellow square above... and save by clicking on the floppy disk icon.