This all is tied back into a collision of cultures because of the interdependence of both countries.  Japan is the world’s leader in technology, while the United States of America is the world’s leader in entertainment.  In short, Americans create the content, and the Japanese create the avenues to view, keep, and transport the creations.  Once you throw in the stranglehold on the videogame industry that the Japanese have, it becomes easier to see why this influence is so heavy. John Ledford, the owner of the Anime Network, was quoted by Brian Bremner (2007) to say that his network’s viewers “tend to be avid PlayStation 3 and Wii video game players as well.”  In a research study conducted by Natsuki Fukunaga (2006), he found that most American anime viewers “get most of their information from the Internet.”  This supports the belief that technology and anime go hand in hand.

To wrap this up, the media’s role in exposing both the American and Japanese viewer to the opposite cultures respectively is tantamount to any other form of influence.  Technology, specifically the Internet, creates a bridge to feed entertainment from any country and/or background to anywhere in the entire world.  The reach that is now possible through the World Wide Web has intertwined these two cultures in a way that was thought both highly unlikely and improbable before its advent.

References

Benesh-Liu, P. (2007). ANIME COSPLAY IN AMERICA. Ornament, 31(1), 44-49. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database

Bremner, B. (2007, March 20). Anime Fantasy Is Big-Biz Reality. BusinessWeek Online, p. 19. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database

Feigenbaum, H. (2007). Hegemony or diversity in film and television? The United States, Europe and Japan. Pacific Review,20(3), 371-396. doi:10.1080/09512740701461504.

Fukunaga, N. (2006). “Those anime students”: Foreign language literacy development through Japanese popular culture.Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 50(3), 206-222. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database.