A Japanese media pilgrimage to a Tasmanian bakery

Authors

  • Craig Norris University of Tasmania

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3983/twc.2013.0470

Keywords:

Anime, Cult geography, Fan community, Media scaffold

Abstract

A small bakery in regional Tasmania, Australia, has been reimagined as a pop culture destination by Japanese tourists who claim it is the inspiration for a key location in the anime Kiki's Delivery Service. To understand how and why Japanese tourists have located this bakery in the imaginary world of Kiki, two processes are explored: the media pilgrimage, where fans bridge their ordinary reality and enter the special media world, and the media scaffold, where Kiki becomes a way to interpret the world around them.

Author Biography

Craig Norris, University of Tasmania

Craig Norris is a lecturer in the Journalism, Media and Communications program at the University of Tasmania. His research focuses on new media, audiences and fandom. He has published articles in the area of global media and the dissemination of Japanese popular-culture (particularly anime, manga, video games and cosplay). His current research explores the relationship between media and place through global media tourism and fan pilgrimages to media locations. Norris teaches courses on youth media, media flows and spaces, as well as honours level seminars in media theory and methods.

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Published

2013-09-15

Issue

Vol. 14 (2013)

Section

Praxis

License

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