Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Children of the Atom

2015; Volume: 12; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

2765-3390

Se Young Kim,

Narrative Theory and Analysis

This paper analyzes the Japanese television series Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger (2011-2012) as a representative of the Super Sentai franchise of Japanese popular culture. Super Sentai, or Super Task Force, is part of the tokusatsu (special filming) mode of filmmaking that features live-action science fiction narratives. As part of a history that begins with Gojira (1954), tokusatsu and Super Sentai both maintain a close relationship to post-World War II trauma. This paper traces the way in which Gokaiger maintains and disseminates the trauma of the atomic bombings using the mediums of television and film, but also extends that process into children’s play through the use of toys.