Thesis
Social Media and Contemporary Ainu Identities: Exploring the role of YouTube in Ainu cultural resurgence
Masters by Research, Murdoch University
2025
Abstract
The Ainu are one of the Indigenous Peoples of what is now Japan. Since the passing of the latest law governing Ainu culture, the Ainu Policy Promotion Act (2019), growing global interest in Ainu culture has led to a so-called ‘Ainu boom.’ Increasingly, Ainu-identifying people are using social media to express their cultural identity. As one of the internet’s biggest broadcasting platforms, YouTube has the potential to enable Indigenous creators’ voices to be heard globally. Despite this, there has been limited attention to the experiences of Ainu-identifying online content creators with work to date largely focusing on offline contexts. This thesis explores how Ainu identifying individuals experience creating content on YouTube and the socio-cultural elements that shape these experiences. In this exploratory, qualitative project, I employ a design perspective informed by Cultural Studies approaches with particular attention to considerations in the field of Indigenous Knowledges. Data was shared with me via in-depth interviews with four Ainu-identifying participants during ethnographic fieldwork conducted over six months in Ainu Mosir (Hokkaido, Japan). I employed Reflexive Thematic Analysis to create and explore the two themes presented in the text: Ainu ‘authenticity’ and popularising Ainu-ness. I argue that YouTube’s capacity to facilitate the propagation of new Ainu cultural forms is often hampered by ongoing structural violence exacerbated by the colonial gaze. Despite this, Ainu-identifying content creators’ outputs function as mediated Everyday Acts of Resurgence that work to destabilise and re-story the outdated hegemonic narratives about contemporary Ainu life and instead create a vibrant Ainu popular culture. By highlighting the problematics and potential of YouTube as a platform for Ainu cultural resurgence, I contribute to a broader understanding of Indigenous experiences online. Such work is critical to envision a future of equitable usage of digital tools for cultural revitalisation and creation by Indigenous peoples.
Details
- Title
- Social Media and Contemporary Ainu Identities: Exploring the role of YouTube in Ainu cultural resurgence
- Authors/Creators
- Jake P Chaloner
- Contributors
- Carol Warren (Supervisor) - Murdoch University, School of Humanities, Arts and Social SciencesTakeshi Moriyama (Supervisor)Catherine Ann Martin (Supervisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Murdoch University; Masters by Research
- Identifiers
- 991005815048507891
- Murdoch Affiliation
- School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
- Resource Type
- Thesis
- Note
- This thesis is presented for the degree of Research Masters with Training of Murdoch University.
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