'Shojo culture has excelled in its potential for creating emptiness as Banana Yoshimoto is influenced by Shojo/Manga culture in her writing would it be fair to say that the content of her novella 'Kitchen' is also empty. Discuss
‘Shojo culture has excelled in its potential for creating emptiness as Banana Yoshimoto is influenced by Shojo/Manga culture in her writing would it be fair to say that the content of her novella ‘Kitchen’ is also empty. Discuss.
Shojo culture is becoming more popular, and in Yoshimoto's work this is evident. She incorporates many ideas from Shojo culture in her novella Kitchen - a girl's refusal to grow up; her rebellion against sexual maturity. Shojo represents pleasure and play. Even though there are traces of innocence and sexual immaturity in her novella, I don't think it is fair to go so far as to say that her work is 'empty'.
Yoshimoto is very much influenced by Shojo culture in her novella Kitchen. However, it wouldn’t be fair to say that the content of her novella ‘Kitchen’ is also empty. There are some aspects of Shojo culture that are empty but there are also positive aspects of Shojo. Girls can learn how to be lovable for men from Manga and some Manga can even be seen as serious literature. Some people say that Shojo is empty because it for men and they see the Shojo as an object for a mans desires. Shojo culture deals with issues such as love, culture, gender, identity and society. It also has deep insights into human relationships. ‘Kitchen’ is similar to Manga in that it is about a teenage romance. Shojo culture can be seen as a representation of Japan today. Conventional households are disappearing which Yoshimoto shows in her novel ‘Kitchen’. The fathers are always distant in Yoshimoto’s novels; therefore there are no male role models, which could be a cause in the girl becoming a Shojo. Shojo’s are alienated from their biological families, which makes different. This is true with Mikage as well as her parents died when she was young and she became an orphan. Traditional families are in its demise. Teenagers are alienated because no one represents them therefore Manga and Shojo culture have attracted teens to read them. Shojo culture reflects the habits and attitudes of the youth in Japan.