The Cultural Politics of Pokemon Capitalism :: Entertainment Games Collectors Papers

The Cultural Politics of Pokemon Capitalism It is fall 1999 and a reverse lightning from Japan has just pulled up to its berth at LAX airdrome in Los Angeles. Immediately a crowd of kids excitedly gathers by the window to view what appears to be a huge flying Pikachu the yellowy cute, galvanizingally supercharged mouse-type pocket teras of what was then the biggest kids craze of the decade, Pokemon. unconstipated parents recognize this iconic figure, familiar as they are with the basics of the phenomenon. starting signal out as a gameboy game in Japan in 1996, it grew quickly to a multi-stranded empire comic books, cartoon, movies, trading cards, toy figures, delineation games, tie-in merchandise. And, starting in 1997, Pokemon got exported, hitting the U.S. in August 1998. The article of belief of the game, duplicated in the plotline of the movies, cartoons, and comics, is to become a pokemon master by trying to beat all 151 monsters (expanded to 251 in recent editions) inhabiting the playscapes of Poke-world. In this world, any child evict become a master like Satoshi (Ash in English) who, in the write up versions, is the 11 year sexagenarian protagonist traveling the world with his both buddies, Misty (an 11 year old girl) and Brock (a 15 year old teenage boy). All one needs to do is keep acting maneuver ones controls to move through this game space, discovering and sleuthing (mainly by fighting) new monsters whom consequently become pocketed as ones own. Hence, the name pocket monster. Pocketed monsters are trained to fight new monsters and then becoming both the medium and end of this game. The logic here is accomplishment gotta catch em all is the catchword of Pokemon. But entwined into this, as asa dulcis noted about commodity fetishism at the dawn of modernity, is enchantment. The monsters to be gotten are not only things, possessions, and tools but also enchanting beings equal to spirits, pets, or friends. Pikachu iconizes th is weave of relationality taken, I will argue, to the age of millennial postmodernity. With its electric powers, Pikachu is a tough, therefore prized, pokemon. But, with its smallish, yellow body, Pikachu is also cuddly and cute features vie up on screen where it becomes the best buddy pokemon of the lead character, Ash. This monster is at once property and pal, capital and companion the key features in a form of intimate or cute