Seeing Themselves through the Lens of the Other: An Analysis of the Cross-Cultural Production and Negotiation of National Geographies “The Samurai Way” Story
Restricted accessResearch articleFirst published online September, 2008
Seeing Themselves through the Lens of the Other: An Analysis of the Cross-Cultural Production and Negotiation of National Geographies “The Samurai Way” Story
More than any other publication, National Geographic magazine has taught Americans about the world around them. Recently, the magazine's view of the world has become more complex. Since 1995, the magazine has been producing editions published in languages other than English. This raises questions as to how international audiences negotiate these “glocalized” representations. By investigating how the National Geographic “The Samurai Way” story resonates with Japanese individuals, this study first addresses the cross-cultural reception of an American text not simply exported to another country, but an American text repackaged for a local foreign audience. It then returns to the process of production of the story in an effort to identify points of intersection and contradiction in the discourses emerging about the text from multiple positions.
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