Representations of Travel and Adventure in Television Programs, ‘Authenticity’ and ‘Education’ : A Comparative Study of “Kawaguchi Hiroshi Adventurer Series” and “Wonderful World Travel”

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  • 旅や冒険を表象するテレビ番組と「真正性」「教養」 : 『川口浩探検シリーズ』と『すばらしい世界旅行』の比較研究
  • タビ ヤ ボウケン オ ヒョウショウ スル テレビ バングミ ト 「 シン セイセイ 」 「 キョウヨウ 」 : 『 カワグチ コウ タンケン シリーズ 』 ト 『 スバラシイ セカイ リョコウ 』 ノ ヒカク ケンキュウ

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Abstract

In the late 1960 s, Hiroshi Kawaguchi, the former movie actor and TV personality, felt challenged by the documentary film “A Dog’s Life” (original title: Mondo Cane) produced by Italian film director Gualtiero Jacopetti. While pursuing the ‘authenticity’ of documentary, Kawaguchi also performed as an actor and was involved in the production of a television program. The program of Hiroshi Kawaguchi was different from Junichi Ushiyama’s television documentary ”Wonderful World Travel”, as the former tried to represent the ‘authenticity’ of documentary while emphasizing the impact of the image, whereas the latter pursued ‘education’ and academics through his program. This is, in a sense, a result of focusing on creating a program from the perspective of the ‘masses’ instead of from the perspective of ‘modern citizens’. Their directions were different, yet their educational background, parents’ occupations and cultural capital were related to each other. In the mid-1980 s, however, “Kawaguchi Hiroshi Adventurer Series” directed by the former actor who placed great emphasis on ‘authenticity’ became viewed as a parody of adventure and exploration by the audience amid a rumor that the program was ‘staged’. In other words, although Hiroshi Kawaguchi’s documentary program began as a pursuit of ‘authenticity’, it was ironically criticized in terms of its ‘authenticity’ and ridiculed. This was due to changes in the attitudes of TV viewers, especially of the audience of documentary shows. In the meanwhile, Junichi Ushiyama also entered the academic world, such as the “Visual anthropology”, and as a result, his television documentary became accepted as an ‘educational program’.

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