Media Representations of African American Athletes in Cold War Japan

Media Representations of African American Athletes in Cold War Japan explores the cross-cultural dialogue between Black America and Japan through sports during the Cold War era, highlighting the role of African American athletes as both athletic Cold Warriors and embodiments of a colorblind American democracy. It analyzes how sports became a terrain where discourses of race, gender, and disability were modified, drawing on archival and interpretive sources from Japanese print media archives.

Format: Hardback
Length: 154 pages
Publication date: 23 December 2020
Publisher: Peter Lang Publishing Inc

The book titled "Media Representations of African American Athletes in Cold War Japan" delves into the captivating cross-cultural exchange between Black America and Japan during the Cold War era. This topic, until now, has received limited scholarly attention in both American studies and sports studies. Post-World War II, Cold War tensions brought African American athletes to the forefront, initiating their international mobility. They played dual roles as athletic Cold Warriors and symbols of a colorblind American democracy. This book specifically focuses on the sports landscape during the Cold War as a highly contested terrain, ideologically and racially. Yu Sasaki, in his argument, emphasizes that one of the most significant Cold War racial encounters occurred through sports in Asia, particularly in Japan. The mobility of African American athletes captured the attention of the Japanese media, leading to the creation of unique narratives about sports and race in US-occupied Japan after World War II. Sasaki employs an approach that combines archival analysis with interpretive insights, examining how sports, highlighted by the media, became a platform for modifying discourses related to race, gender, and even disability. This book draws upon a diverse range of sources, including Japanese print media archives such as newspapers, magazines, posters, pamphlets, diaries, bulletins, and school textbooks. By exploring these materials, the book offers a comprehensive examination of the ways in which sports played a pivotal role in shaping the cultural dynamics of Cold War Japan.

Weight: 394g
Dimension: 158 x 235 x 18 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781433169915
Edition number: New ed