Moving to a world city liberates creative young people from demands in home countries

This is found in a new doctoral thesis from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, which explores the cosmopolitan context comprised by the creative scene in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York City.

The doctoral thesis is an ethnological study of individuals born in Japan in the 1970s and ‘80s who have moved to New York – or more exactly to Williamsburg in Brooklyn – to engage in creative activities and lifestyles far from the conventions and demands of their home country. In the 1990s, many creative young people from all over the world started moving to the Williamsburg district to work with for example fashion, music, art and photography.

As part of her thesis, Lisa Wiklund has studied the creative context in Williamsburg and how it gives the young individuals in the district an opportunity to distance themselves from conventional middle class lifestyles by adopting a partly alternative view of consumption and work.

Japanese adults born in the 1970s and 1980s belong to a unique generation as they are enjoying opportunities that simply were not available to their parents. These opportunities are largely the result of the major changes experienced in recent years, including of course the considerable globalisation.

‘The persons I studied and interviewed are examples of how a globalised world can enable people to break away from national norms regarding for example middle class identity, gender roles and sexuality. There is obviously a powerful innate force in these opportunities,’ says Wiklund.

However, the decision to move away and choose alterative paths in terms of career and family building also implies that a future return to the home country can be difficult since certain contexts and ties will at that point have been given up.

‘One of the most important points made in my thesis is that our different experiences, formed for example by national circumstances, do not mean that we are are solely products of our ”cultures” – we are also sometimes able to make inconvenient and unexpected decisions.

The young people in Williamsburg are often called hipsters and are sometimes portrayed in media as lazy and inutile individualists. A global recession and a changed labour market is however affecting young peoples possibility to find jobs with decent income and job security”.

‘The Japanese in Williamsburg are a clear example of this global tendency as the collapse of Japan’s bubble economy in the ‘90s had major consequences for their position in the labour market. The position of the middle class is not as solid as in the past and poor financial decisions can have serious consequences also for individuals from relatively “secure” backgrounds,’ says Wiklund.

The study is based on ethnographical fieldwork conducted in New York and Japan 2008-2012. Sixteen young Japanese participated in the study. At the time of the study, they worked as photographers, designers, artists and musicians.

For more information please contact:
Lisa Wiklund,
tel.: +46 (0)739 81 54 26,
email: lisa.wiklund@gu.se

Media Contact

Annika Koldenius idw

More Information:

http://www.gu.se

All latest news from the category: Social Sciences

This area deals with the latest developments in the field of empirical and theoretical research as it relates to the structure and function of institutes and systems, their social interdependence and how such systems interact with individual behavior processes.

innovations-report offers informative reports and articles related to the social sciences field including demographic developments, family and career issues, geriatric research, conflict research, generational studies and criminology research.

Back to home

Comments (0)

Write a comment

Newest articles

Results for control of pollutants in water

Brazilian scientists tested a simple and sustainable method for monitoring and degrading a mixture of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, compounds present in fossil fuels and industrial waste. An article published in the journal Catalysis…

A tandem approach for better solar cells

Perovskite-based solar cells were first proved in 2009 to have excellent light-absorbing properties of methylammonium lead bromide and methylammonium lead iodide, collectively referred to as lead halide perovskites or, more…

The behavior of ant queens is shaped by their social environment

Specialization of ant queens as mere egg-layers is reversible / Queen behavioral specialization is initiated and maintained by the presence of workers. The queens in colonies of social insects, such…

Partners & Sponsors