Voltes V’s Legacy in bilateral relations between Japan and the Philippines
Article
The Japanese animation Voltes V enjoys a huge following in the Philippines, so much so that the show has been used by the Embassy of Japan in the Philippines as a means to invite online engagement. Using Mahiwo’s meta-nation state relations concept, this study looks at all posts published by the Embassy of Japan in the Philippines on Facebook, and by former ambassador of Japan to the Philippines Kazuhiko Koshikawa on X (formerly Twitter) throughout his term regarding the animation show and its live-action Philippine television adaptation, Voltes V: Legacy. In doing so, this study establishes the production itself as valid junction and important interaction point between both countries.
The Catholic Church in the modern age and the works of Marshall McLuhan: An investigation into the dialogue between the church teachings on social communication and secular communication and media studies
Article
The Second Vatican Council is generally considered as the Church’s serious effort to engage the modern world, which at the turn of the twentieth century confronted the crisis brought by the two world wars, the Cold War, the increasing secularization of culture, and the challenges posed by the late industrial age and the new information society.
One of the documents of Vatican II, the Decree on Social Communication, laid down the principles and means by which the Church will utilize the mass media in its work and in guiding the laity in its proper use. Behind the scenes, Marshall McLuhan, a Catholic communication and media theorist, was seen to have a huge influence on the shaping of the details of Inter Mirifica and subsequent documents on social media. This paper is an investigation into the interaction between the Vatican and McLuhan, and how the Church sought his ideas in subsequent development of the decree on social communication, and how McLuhan represented, interpreted and invoked the Catholic faith in his various writings.
