To the Best of Our Knowledge

PROMO       4/22/2007    "Japanese Pop Culture"
*It's an invasion that shows no signs of slowing down. It's Japanese
popular culture. And it's more pervasive here in America than you might
realize. It's not just cute "Hello Kitty" backpack purses and Pokemon,
"pocket monsters." It's also the eerie "dead wet girls" of Japanese
horror movies like "The Ring." In this hour of To the Best of Our
Knowledge, we'll explore Japanese popular culture and find out why it's
taken such a strong hold of the American imagination. 

PROGRAM RUNDOWN:   "Japanese Pop Culture"

0:01 - 13:19        SEGMENT 1: (13:18)
            David Kalat is the author of "J-Horror: The Definitive
            Guide to The Ring, The Grudge and Beyond."  He talks to
            Steve Paulson about the J-Horror (Japanese Horror) film
            genre and what all of these films have in common with
            each other.
                    
            Segment One Outcue:  "...PRI - Public Radio
            International."

13:20 - 13:50  LOCAL OPTION with music bed (:29)

13:51 - 35:24       SEGMENT 2: (21:33)

            Timothy Hornyak is the author of "Loving the Machine:
            The Art and Science of Japanese Robots."  He tells
            Jim Fleming about how the Japanese attitude towards
            robots differs from the American view.  Also, Anne
            Allison is Chair of Cultural Anthropology at Duke
            University.  She talks to Anne Strainchamps about her
            book, "Millennial Monsters: Japanese Toys and the Global
            Imagination."  Allison explains the universal appeal of
            Japanese popular culture.
                    
            Segment Two Outcue:  "...PRI - Public Radio
            International."

35:25 - 35:55       LOCAL OPTION with music bed (:29)

35:56 - 53:00       SEGMENT 3: (17:04)

            Hiroyuki Sanada is an award-winning Japanese actor.
            He talks to Steve Paulson about his role in the 
            groundbreaking samurai movie, "The Twilight Samurai."
            Also, we hear an excerpt from "Murakami's Well," an 
            hour-long documentary about the critically-acclaimed
            Japanese author, Haruki Murakami.  The documentary
            was produced by Teresa Goff and Kathleen Flaherty.  It
            originally aired on the CBC Radio One program, "Ideas."
                    
            Segment Three Outcue: PRI Audio Logo


For a copy of this hour, call 1-800-747-7444, and ask for program number
4-22-A.