Discourses of Acculturation in Tokyo Vice

Abstract

Tokyo Vice (Rogers, 2022-2024) is a television series loosely based on a memoir about an American crime reporter working in Japan (Adelstein, 2009). Jake Adelstein is the first foreign national to work for a major Japanese newspaper, and the series portrays both his professional and personal life in Tokyo. Jake navigates the challenges of living in Japan as he acculturates. This paper analyzes the discourses circulating in this series and focuses on their significance related to acculturation and intercultural communication. Discourse theory and Berry’s theory of acculturation were utilized to analyze the series (Berry, 2008; Davies & Harré, 1990; Fairclough, 2015; Foucault, 1972; Reynolds, 2008). The discourses circulating in these series include foreign otherness, individualism, egalitarianism, sempai-kōhai, and integration/assimilation. By drawing on these discourses, Jake Adelstein constructed an integrationist identity. The process of shifting from a more American to a Japanese identity was not always linear. At times, Jake’s single-minded pursuit of a news story involved drawing on more American discourses of individualism and egalitarianism. At other times, Jake drew on alternative discourses of sempai-kōhai and constructed an integrationist identity. Jake’s interaction with these discourses reflects how identity formation is a recursive process in social interaction. The study of film and television series has significant implications for intercultural communication. The original story is set in the 1990s but recreated in the 2020s for a global audience. Therefore, the series reflects how Japan is represented to this global audience. Jake’s acculturation to Japan is represented as a process that exists on a continuum. Jake moves from cultural marginalization and separation to integration through interacting with others and adapting to Japanese culture.