Professor Erica Kanesaka has debuted the long-anticipated documentary, Kawaii Beyond: Kawaii Culture in Atlanta, Georgia, which explores kawaii culture in the local context of Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Professor Kanesaka wrote and directed the documentary film, which is available on Japan Past & Present.
Congratulations, Professor Kanesaka!
Storyline:
How has kawaii culture traveled beyond Japan to assume unique forms in different locations across the globe? This hour-long documentary from the Kawaii in Japan and Beyond: Theory and Praxis project explores how kawaii culture has been taken up in the local context of Atlanta, Georgia, USA. We follow Erica Kanesaka, Assistant Professor at Emory University, as she offers a brief and personal history of kawaii’s globalization. She then takes us on a tour of kawaii culture in the Atlanta area, visiting kawaii-style shops and cafes and speaking with individuals who have cultivated kawaii within their local communities. Interviewees include Atlanta-area Japanese fashion practitioners and the owner of a kawaii-style boba tea shop.—Jeremiah Long (producer)
