The Economist-20241102期「Culture」The queen of kawaii: Still cute at 50
More than a feline
02 全文梳理
【para1】引出话题👉卡通形象Hello Kitty迎来五十岁生日，英国国王破例祝献上祝福
【para2】帝国崛起👉从1974年问世至如今年销40亿，Hello Kitty形象如今遍布各式商品
【para3】文化现象👉全球“可爱热”盛行，Hello Kitty引领卡哇伊风潮
【para4-7】Hello Kitty成为全球可爱文化符号原因剖析
-para4 简约之美👉简约而不简单，Hello Kitty独特设计成就持久魅力
-para5 生逢其时👉Kitty完美契合战后日本民众“逃避历史”的情绪
-para6 社会缩影👉女性经济地位提高，Kitty满足女性消费者喜好，陪伴日本社会转型
-para7 文化输出👉20世纪末日本文化备受西方关注，Hello Kitty伴随日本软实力走向世界
【para8】效应延续👉Hello Kitty大获成功，全球品牌竞相模仿，试图复刻其成功
03 原文阅读 584words
The queen of kawaii: Still cute at 50
Hello Kitty: the face that launched a thousand products
The queen of kawaii: Still cute at 50
Hello Kitty: the face that launched a thousand products
[5] Kitty was born in the right place, at the right time. Kato Norihiro, a cultural critic, has argued that she reflects the aftermath of the second world war. With no meaningful back story, Kitty represented the mood in Japan and “the impulse to escape history and to stop talking about it”. She emerged as “the perfect post-war icon”, agrees Roland Kelts of Waseda University. “Japan’s warrior nation was shoved under the rug and the message to Japan was: ‘Shhh, look cute and beautiful’.”
[6] She also coincided with a changing social and economic landscape. In the 1970s women joined the workforce in greater numbers; they earned money and spent it on cute items for themselves. Yet even when Japan’s economy faltered in the 1990s, Kitty remained popular. When the mood is sour, sweet things are even more desirable. You “want to retreat into that fluffiness”, says Christine Yano, an anthropologist and the author of a book on Kitty’s omnipresence. (Studies have shown that looking at cute things can reduce stress and improve your mood.)
[7] The character went global towards the turn of the 20th century, as Japan became an increasing source of fascination and inspiration in the West. Demand for anime films and manga comic books grew. In 2013 the Japanese government, seeking to capitalise on this cool status, introduced a policy to promote the country’s culture abroad.
[8] Hello Kitty has been such a hit that other firms are trying to replicate her success. Chinese companies are investing in new cartoons; Sanrio, too, frequently puts out more characters. Since 2017 Cinnamoroll, a dog with a curly tail, has often ranked top of Sanrio’s annual survey of its most popular characters. As new characters come and go, Hello Kitty wears the same inscrutable expression. ■
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