This paper presentation will explore and evaluate the cultural and consumerist relationship between Western heavy metal bands and their Asian audiences—-and the orientalistic distortions that are imported/exported between East and West. Besides focusing on the profusion and Budokan prestige of live albums recorded by such bands as Judas Priest, Scorpions, Iron Maiden, Accept, and Dokken before Japanese audiences, the presentation will address the fetishistic manner in which heavy metal bands utilize/exploit aspects of Asian culture in their songs, videos, and stage performances, particularly throughout the 1980s. Special analytical attention will be paid to the live show fashion-accessorizing of Rising Sun motifs, romantic songs about Tokyo and the “Land of the Rising Sun” (Y&T, Bon Jovi, et al.), the cultural appropriation present on the albums of Kiss and videos of Motley Crue, as well as the cultural implications of such songs as Thin Lizzy’s “Chinatown,” Blue Oyster Cult’s “Godzilla” and Steel Panther’s “Asian Hooker.”
About the presenterMichael Stamps
Michael Stamps teaches writing and literature at Delaware Valley University in Doylestown, PA. He received his Ph.D. in English from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he specialized in Renaissance Literature. His pop culture research interests include gender/sexuality in film, horror films, and heavy metal music.