2 Comments

on “Cute Gets Creepy: Examining the Consequences of Cute Culture
2 Comments on “Cute Gets Creepy: Examining the Consequences of Cute Culture
  1. Very interesting stuff! I particularly liked the sections where you talked about how Japanese cute culture is influencing America or even the whole world, and how this cuteness is interpreted in other places – in fact, I wish you had written even more. I also liked your observation that the ubiquitousness of cute culture is less universal than it seems – i.e., that there are people out there who feel as though they MUST like cute things but really don’t. At this point, is its social commentary (like Sharon Kinsella’s theory that cuteness is an act of resistance) null and void since it has become accepted and mainstream?

    I also found very interesting your paragraphs about cute being applied to things that aren’t cute, like prostitution or violence. Do you feel this is significantly different from cute being applied to other “non-cute” things, like power tools or toilets? Why do you think this has happened? I’ve seen some explain it as simply an extension of material culture, but I don’t know if I feel that’s the only explanation. Anyways, thanks for the interesting read!

  2. I thought the section about the negative aspects of cute in American culture was pretty interesting. That example of the ten-year old model is pretty striking. I was thinking that this influx of new “cute” advertising relates back to our class discussions in regards to Fiske and others. It seems as though consumption of something like Sanrio products isn’t much of a resistance because of your point that many people buy Hello Hitty without actually liking it. That sort of consumer pressure is really interesting and maybe in your longer paper you could expand on that.

    One interesting point you made was how sites like youtube were filled with these cute videos of animals. I think most content on youtube is user driven, and perhaps the obsession with cute animal videos is indicative of some sort of grass roots resistance-type movement. Anyways, I liked the paper and think you have a lot to work with for the future.

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