Orientalism and the Spectacle of the Other

Relations between ‘West’ and ‘East’ have long been interpreted and analyzed within the theoretical framework provided by Edward Said in his monumental book Orientalism. Since its first release in 1978, Orientalism has become an important analytical tool to analyze media representations of non-Western ‘Others’. This study explores representations of Japan, Japanese culture and Japanese society in Western media by taking Orientalism as its theoretical starting point. The focus of analysis is the popular Dutch reality television game show Wie is de Mol? (Who is the Mole?), which took ten celebrity candidates to Japan in its 2010 anniversary season. Building upon theory about Orientalism, discourse and cultural stereotypes as well as contemporary media examples of Western Orientalist representations and stereotypes, Wie is de Mol? is extensively analyzed in its ‘totality’ – from the production and promotion of the show to its content and reception by viewers. Attention is not only paid to representations of Japan, but also to the (potential) influence of these representations on viewers perceptions, ideas and images of other countries (Japan) and people (the Japanese Other). This study shows that, despite press releases and other promotion material in Orientalist fashion, the programme itself provides a fairly balanced and nuanced depiction of Japan, especially compared to other programmes and films under discussion. This is in part due to the nature of the programme, which mostly revolves around the candidates and uses the country as an ‘interactive background’, and the professional practices of the makers of the programme, who mostly try to avoid stereotypes and clichés. However, the programme does largely follow the ‘representational paradigm’ of depicting Japan, as the programme needs to provide images and narratives that are familiar or recognizable for Dutch viewers, of whom most are not familiar with Japan and Japanese society. Stereotypes and clichés are therefore used, but often in innovative and playful ways. The study also indicates that a large part of the audience learns about other countries from watching Wie is de Mol?, and that ideas and images of other countries are influenced or even shaped by watching the popular reality game show.