RUNNING HEAD: COWBOY BEBOP: IS IT HEGEMONIC?
Cowboy Bebop: Is it hegemonic?
Efren Gomez
Texas Tech University
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RUNNING HEAD: COWBOY BEBOP: IS IT HEGEMONIC?
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Cowboy Bebop is noticeably gender specific in its Japanese version versus in its
dubbed series a result many believe is due to language barriers. When looking at Cowboy
Bebop in its English version, there is no clear difference between the language of a man
or a woman. In contrast the gender specific language can be easily noticed in the
Japanese version. In the Japanese language there is something called “Standard Japanese”
which is considered a sophisticated way to speak the Japanese language. This is
considered the proper way for men in Japan speak.
In Japanese there is a different way for women to speak, which is widely
considered: stereotypical female speech. “Within Japanese society, Standard Japanese
(SJ) is widely recognized as a special register of linguistic resource. In the media, it is
socially expected of and thus assigned to a limited group of people who are considered to
be stereotypically normative Japanese people. The SJ linguistic ideology endows
speakers of this register with sophisticated qualities, at least superficially in regimented,
or centralized, media discourse” (Hiramoto, 2010, p. 235). JWL (Japanese women’s
language) compared to Standard Japanese. Jogakusei kotoba, da wa and no yo, are
recognized as feminine exclusive forms in contemporary Japanese literature. Still, it is
widely used in movies or acting for feminine characters. Hiramoto argues that this could
be replicated to English. This is typically true since there is a strong difference between
men and women, and how speech can be used in english. There are no words that are
gender exclusive in English, only taboo words like swearing. For example: saying “Oh!
That’s so cute!” and “Let’s go get a manicure!" are considered female speech. It is still
common for men to use such speech but with a humorous objective. Still, having a
character’s face is just as important as the language used in the characters particular
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situation who “…they are modeled after universally quintessential man and woman:
someone like Superman and Scarlett O’Hara. The heterosexual norms in CB are
established through semiotic resources such as body image and language use” (Hiramoto,
2013, 54). Having semiotic resources like the setting and situation help us understand the
male/female roles in Cowboy Bebop. The use of language, body image and particular
character traits make it noticeable (Hiramoto, 2013). When watching the animated film, it
is commonly for men to have manly traits and women to have womanly traits. As
Hiramoto mentions the audience seems to want the typical scenario where the princess is
in trouble and it’s left to our male hero to come and save the day. The typical Hollywood
formula used, to get seats filled.
The ultimate question is how is it hegemonic with just language. (Hiramoto,
2013) Hiramoto mentions that the anime caters to a heterosexual market. It is always the
hero and “the babe”. This implies the character archetype of sexual behavior. The
archetype of sexual behavior implies one of the characters having a stronger role/power
over another. However, men are not always belittling women in the series; it’s as if it’s
battle of the sexes. Languages seems to do that and there are evident switches between
roles since women in Cowboy Bebop have strong roles to play.
“Apart from some buxom beauties, there are no giant penises bursting out of the
earth, no gratuitous scenes involving the rape of nubile netball-playing schoolgirls by
their lesbian coaches. In fact, Cowboy Bebop is thoroughly wholesome entertainment…”
(Kitson, 2003, p.48). The show and it characters do not portray women in a lesser form.
(Kitson, 2003) Kitson explains in his text the stereotypical thinking of common anime
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popularized in Japan among adult males. This is true among popular anime in Japan; with
shows having clear evidence of hegemonic language.
Cowboy Bebop although in its original Japanese version containing Japanese
Women’s Language shows a hegemonic presence, this does not transfer to its English
version. There is indication in how men and women use speech to portray a specific
character in Cowboy Bebop’s original form. There is no indication that the English
Cowboy Bebop shows a hegemonic presence due to language alone. There are biases with
all things considered, but language alone cannot justify the whole show of being
hegemonic.
References:
Hiramoto, M. (2013). Hey, you're a girl?: Gendered expressions in the popular anime,
Cowboy Bebop. Multilingua, 32(1), 51-78. doi:10.1515/multi-2013-0003
Hiramoto, M. (2010). Anime and Intertextualities: Hegemonic Identities in Cowboy
Bebop. Pragmatics And Society, 1(2), 234-256. doi:10.1075/ps.1.2.03hir
Kitson, M. (2003). MANGA IS FROM MARS:COWBOY BEBOP. Metro, (136), 48.
RUNNING HEAD: COWBOY BEBOP: IS IT HEGEMONIC?
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