The Process of Cultural Hybridization of Anime in Mexico

Abstract

Globalization is spreading nowadays as a constant process of political and economic connection between nations. This
happens not only through migration, but through exchange networks of “cultural products”, such as series, movies, books,
and, as I analyze in this article, also anime. My article studies the cultural hybridization process of anime in Mexican urban
culture. This implies analyzing its assimilation and subsequent influence as a new product. I emphasize the historical journey
of anime as entertainment in Mexico, and consider how it became modified through dubbing and censorship. This, I claim, is
the beginning of a process of cultural resignification and assimilation. Through the emergence of different symbolic referents,
this process led to the emergence of diverse hybrid cultural manifestations, such as graffiti, the decoration of business
facades, clothing, music, choreographies, and other manifestations of identity. Moreover, this article aims to raise awareness
of the sometimes inadvertent cultural influences that affect us individually, and which constitute plural identities. Here, I am
concerned with the identities constituted through Japanese culture as it reaches us via such a famous and internationally
important cultural product as anime.