issue 3// vol 45 life & style // no. 13

An examination of modern
street fashion: Part three

» Appropriation and acculturation

Brittney MacDonald
Life & Style Editor

or years, North American culture

has had a huge impact on what is
popular in Asian countries such as
Japan, China, and Korea. We see this
in what the Japanese define as “gal”
style (popular in the ’gos, with a loyal
but smaller following today), by the
English language influence in popular
music, and by the fluctuating beauty
standards present within their societies,
which often prize a more “Westernized”
appearance—such as smaller, straighter
noses, wider eyes, light coloured hair,
paler eye colours, and various other
trends that come and go.

What does this have to do with
modern Western street style?

In the early 2000s we began to see
an exchange of cultural influences as
North America became enamoured
with Asian culture. This began initially
with Japan—but it has since spread
out to a fascination with Asian cultures
in general. In the early years, this
evoked cries of appropriation—the act
of taking elements from a minority
culture, by a majority culture, without
a full understanding of those elements’
cultural significance—which, in many

cases, it was.

However, as knowledge of cultural
appropriation rose, so did the backlash
against it, and this exchange of influence
in pop culture became more akin to
acculturation—the natural melding
of cultural influence that occurs when
differing cultures have extended
contact with one another. These two
acts may sound similar, but they’re not.
Appropriation is often exploitative and
usually tends to be fueled by stereotypes,
while acculturation is more so a joint
fascination.

You can see the difference in
Western reactions to two different Asian
cultural elements, which we now take a
look at. In 2004 Gwen Stefani released
Love. Angel. Music. Baby. an album
which, visually, pulled a lot of influence
from the Harajuku district in Shibuya,
Tokyo, Japan. This was largely seen as
exploitive because she presented the
album with four Japanese women who
followed her around in silence, giggling
on occasion. The portrayal presented
a false image of an infantilized Eastern
culture, which Stefani signaled her
authority over—as the only one who was
allowed to speak. Though I'm sure not
intentionally demeaning, this rubbed a
lot of people the wrong way due to the

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behaviour’s colonial nature.

More recently, there has been
an influx of Netflix original anime—
which Merriam-Webster defines as
“a style of animation originating in
Japan that is characterized by stark
colorful graphics depicting vibrant
characters in action-filled plots often
with fantastic or futuristic themes’—
despite the fact that, according toa
Quartz study, the top binge-watching
Netflix countries are Canada, the
United States, and Denmark. An
Asian country doesn’t even enter the
list’s top 10. So why put all the effort
into producing Netflix originals for a
non-Asian audience? The answer is
that Asian youth culture and Western
youth culture are acculturated,
meaning they hold some similar
interests. We are starting to enjoy
elements of their mainstream media,
and vice-versa.

Again, you might be wondering:
What does this have to do with
modern street style? Well, there is
a simple answer—but it will have to
wait until next week. Just keep all this
in mind.

Guide
to Japanese drinks

» A taste of something new... maybe?

 

  

Photo via TokyoFashion.com

Jerrison Oracion
Senior Columnist

during a very sunny day, and it is foggy in
appearance, which makes the drink look

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& missdianaky + Follow

Douglas College

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This week’s photo is by missdianaky

 

L* month I went to Japan. During my
trip, it was very hot. When I wanted

to keep myself cool, I chose from a variety
of Japanese drinks from either the many
vending machines throughout the country
or convenience stores. Here is my guide to
Japanese drinks—including drinks that you
can get in your local Asian supermarket!

Mitsuya Cider

This one is my favourite Japanese drink.
Mitsuya Cider is like the Japanese version
of Sprite. It has a refreshing lemon taste
but is tarter than Sprite, and it is best to
drink it when it is cold. They also have
other flavours including grapefruit and
apple, though they are hard to find.

Pocari Sweat

A lot of people know about this drink,
and its name explains what it is—kind
of. It is an “ion supply drink” that tastes
like Gatorade, except that it is less sweet.
It cools you down when you drink it

  

Photo illustration by Lauren Kelly

like sweat. It is available in a very big bottle
and ina pouch so that you can drink it
when you are on the go. The pouch is so
small that you can squeeze it to drink the
entire thing in one shot.

Calpis

This is a drink made of milk mixed with
water. The drink has a very creamy taste
and a watery texture. Also, there is a
sparkling version of Calpis and it has more
bubbles than the Korean version of the
drink, Milkis. If yourd like to have a soft
drink that is creamy, have a Calpis.

Match and C.C. Lemon

There are a lot of lemon drinks in Japan.
Some of them have nutrients that could
help you get through the day. Two of these
drinks are Match and C.C. Lemon. Both
drinks have a very flavourful lemon taste
and C.C. Lemon has bubbles to make it
even more flavourful.

Canned Coffee

Coffee is one of the drinks that many
people need to get through their day.

In Japan, they have coffee in cans and
bottles—similar to what Starbucks has
tried to do here—but because they are
sold in vending machines, they are easy
to get and convenient to carry. You can
get canned coffee from several companies
including Boss, Georgia, and Tully’s Coffee,
which is like their version of Starbucks.