Ethan Watter's The Mega-Marketing Of Depression In Japan

The eastern world culture is often incompatible with that of the United States. Asian American values are family and group focused, unlike that of the individual-centered western value system. Loss of face is a key ethnic-cultural factor that describes the danger to, or loss of social standing, especially among the Asian American social group. Perceived loss of face can seriously impact the Asian American’s behavior within this group. Asian American children are reared to bring pride to their family through academic and financial efforts. A lack of ability to maintain such standards and the perception of failure can interfere with seeking professional mental help. Feelings of shame and fear of stigmatization inside their family and community often lead to depression, isolation, and other mental issues (Jacob, Gray, & Johnson, 2013). Customarily, the Asian principles hold self-control and adherence to the customs of the family and community in high regards. Mental illness in an individual is viewed as an expression of a failure to both the immediate and extended

Hayes cites the disasters, like the 2003 Invasion of Iraq and the Wall Street Crash of 2008, produced by the elite’s cult of smartness in defiance of common sense. In other words, smartness channeled by increasingly narrow

Their entitlement and self worth is not in them it is constantly told to them and so they believe it when in actuality these people who run our countries finances may not be the "smartest". "They [investment bankers] make Harvard students feel like they are best and are constantly reminded of that" (Ho 176). By Ho showing the mindset behind these people to the public she helped bring society to the realization that the investment bankers although obtained knowledge at these elite institutions they, investment bankers, are not very different from the rest of society. The students, investment bankers as well as the rest of society are placed on a level playing field and in turn Ho brings them all together as well as her "self".

Class, a term that can describe formalness as well as status, portrays the unique identity elitism in cases of hierarchy. Specified etiquette such as mannerism and speech take part in the presentation of potentiality that also expand persuasion of behavioral unity. This monarchical sense of tradition exhibits credential values of status that grant authority and legitimacy by proving an individual’s worth through their personality before even demonstrating their skills. The same can be inferred about the affiliation of “smartness” in the identification of Wall Street investment bankers. Grand named firms filter their preferences to acquire recruitment of Ivy League students from universities like Harvard and Princeton where students already have inclusive smartness. Ho states: “On Wall Street, ‘smartness’ means much more than individual intelligence; it conveys a naturalized and generic sense of ‘impressiveness’ of elite, pinnacle status and expertise, which is used to signify, even prove, investment bankers’ worthiness as advisors to corporate America and leaders of the global financial markets”(167). In the larger picture of global solidarity, the recruitment of intelligent Ivy League students empowers the economic values of the firms and bank, hence bettering the economy of the rest of the

Introduction The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, by Anne Fadiman (1997), is a book that details the complicated journey of Lia Lee and her family, who were Hmong refugees living in Merced, California. Lia had a severe form of epilepsy that caused her to have many hospital visits and interactions with the health care system, where she received subpar care because of the language and cultural differences between the health care providers and her Hmong family. This paper will identify one social issue illuminated by Fadiman's (1997) case study and suggest one practice and one policy change at each of the micro, mezzo, and macro system levels. Furthermore, each social issue and corresponding practice and policy change is tied to the central

In Ethan Watters’ essay, “The Mega-Marketing of Depression in Japan,” he has a discussion with Dr. Laurence Kirmayer regarding Kirmayer’s invitation to the International Consensus Group on Depression and Anxiety. In their discussion Kirmayer talks about how the basis of his invitation was on the notion that he as the director of the Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry at McGill could add to the answer the large pharmaceutical giant, GlaxoSmithKline was looking for. The question at hand was how culture influences the illness experience, but more specifically how depression is influenced by culture in Japan. If the conference was a success, the company would be able to enter and expand into a market worth billions of dollars. The reason that the cultural aspect of depression was very important was because in countries like Japan, the American conception of depression was taken as a more serious illness, rivaling heights of diseases like schizophrenia. The company hoped that by somehow changing the Japan’s perception of the illness from being something social or moral to the American conception where expressing the illness to others is considered being strong person rather than being a weak one, that their drug Paxil would be able to sell to the market, which is where the scientific and economic aspects of depression come into effect. The scientific and economic aspects take place due to the intentions of the company to sell the drug, and the drug’s ability to help

Mental health illnesses affect everyone. It is highly prevalent affecting people of all ages, gender, cultures, and social groups. Attitudes towards mental health illnesses vary among individuals and often are highly influenced by the various cultures that the individuals identify with. Culture as a social concept can be defined as a set of norms, values, behaviours, and beliefs that are common and shared amongst a group of individuals (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1999). Culture can be applicable to groups like Asians and Americans but also to groups of shared norms, beliefs, and values established within professions such as the culture of patients and practitioners. Culture provides these groups with structure and context to understanding their society and the world as a whole. Culture influence a wide range of aspects of mental health, including how mental health is perceived by the patient, how the patient will experience mental health stigma, and how they cope with symptoms of mental health illness. Additionally, these cultural influences impact the relationship between the patient and the practitioner in a number of ways.

In order to break through to Japan, GlaxoSmithKline had to understand how their drug might fit into Japanese culture by understanding their concept of depression. Although the diagnosis of depression became more widely employed around the world during the 1980’s, “...the experience of deep sadness and distress in Japan retained the characteristics of the premodern conception of the mid-twentieth century idealization typus melancholicus, the idea that overwhelming sadness was natural, quintessentially Japanese, and, in some ways, an enlightened state”(522). These feelings of overwhelming sadness were positively looked upon through the media since people held high regard for personal hardships that build character. Watters’ article discusses how drug companies like GlaxoSmithKline reshape the Japanese culture through “mega-marketing” and proves that the pharmaceutical company’s expanding globalization of Paxil in Japan alters the Japanese individual’s concept of depression by changing the native culture and beliefs of the country through the process of approaching recent concerns and utilizing important people in Japan. Through advertisements, the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline rearranges the Japanese idea of depression such that it differs from society’s existing standard of

Along with the presence that Wall Street as a whole has on universities, the investment bankers themselves influence undergraduates as well. To Ho, being “consumption-oriented” means that to be the best, you have to look and act the best. Wall Streeters are in fact labeled as “‘the best,’ ‘the greatest,’ and ‘the brightest’” (Ho 167). With all their wealth as individuals and as a company, Alice Easton and Ian Shapira claim that “the ‘vigorous college recruiting

Attitudes of psychotherapy differ from culture to culture. There are over 60,000 psychologists in Argentina (Stevens, Gielen, 2007). Therapy is widely accepted among the people in Argentina especially in amongst the middle class. Many feel this is due to the violent past of unrest in the country and search for identity (Tango and Analysis, 2008). On the other hand in Japan the Japanese people in general are not familiar or relate to the concepts of psychotherapy (Nippoda, 2002). The image of counseling in Japan is advice or answers to given to a particular problem and mental illness is treated by more of a medical model (Nippoda, 2002). The attitudes are quite different yet the goals of psychotherapy are similar. In Argentina the goals of psychotherapy seem to be a quest for identity and a sense of self. For the Japanese the result of psychotherapy is the sense of independence, discovering equality in relationships and finding authority within themselves (Nippoda, 2002). A sense of self seems to be the theme for both cultures yet those from Argentina may continue the process longer since finding meaning of life is a part of the culture.

In the wake of the recent financial crisis, many commentators attempted to analyze the roots of the conflict from a political or economic perspective. Anthropologist Karen Ho, a veteran of Wall Street as well as an academic, attempted to understand the reason that Wall Street behaves the way it does in her 2009 anthropological study of American finance entitled Liquidated: An ethnography of Wall Street from a cultural perspective. The central paradox with which Ho begins her book is: " the economy experienced not only record corporate profits and the longest rising stock market ever, but also record downsizings," further concentrating the wealth in America (Ho 2009: 1-2). But how can corporations grow richer as the American public as a whole grows poorer? Corporations no longer view themselves as responsible for taking care of their employees, creating good products, or serving their original mission. Instead, the focus is on generating shareholder wealth (Ho 2009:3). Shareholders, not the larger public, have become the symbolic and real focus of firm strategy. The shareholder "symbolized and 'stood in' for the whole of the corporation and became the sole locus of concern and analysis" during the time Ho conducted her study in the late 1990s and continues to this day (Ho 2009:175)

‘The findings of the psychologist Daniel Kahneman, winner of a Nobel economics prize, are devastating to the beliefs that financial high-fliers entertain about themselves. He discovered that their apparent success is a cognitive illusion/ He found that the consistency of their performance was zero.’ Furthermore, Monbiot was satirical criticizing old beliefs behind achievements ‘owes less to talent and intelligence/ oil sheikhs.’ He illustrates his perspective using metaphors ‘oil sheikhs/ chimpanzee flipping a coin.’

There are lots of counseling setting in American today, In American there are marriage and family counseling, Group therapy, Rehabatition counseling and Drug and Alcohols counseling. All of the counselor is bond by the state to hold up to their standard of practice and ability by the law. People can chose any type of counseling session they need to help solve their problem and to cope with life situation. Marriage and family and Drug and Alcohols are the most popular counseling in the American, Counselling helps people learn to cope better and develop a more positive perspective through taking actions that enable them to feel self-empowered and focuses on helping people build stronger support systems and relationships that will strengthen and protect them from life problem.. I chose Japan counseling because they common deny problems both in personal live and at work. They feel that is beyond the control of any individual. They will use some type psychologists who prescribe drugs rather than counselor is who will talk to you and try to work out problems. It is know that counselors do exist throughout Japan. In Japan these type of counseling is there to help them and when they need it. The type of counseling that are offer in Japan individual counseling Family counseling and group therapy. They counselor will help individuals to identifying behavior and problem before it get to bad. ."

Goldstein analyzes Chua’s definition of the word success; to be top of the class, to go to an Ivy League school, and to get a great paying job. He compares “success” to show-biz and Hollywood, a town built by mostly uneducated millionaires. He challenges Chua to see a different perspective on the means of becoming successful. Goldstein mentions Chua’s discussion with former president of Harvard University Larry Summers at a past World Economic Forum in Switzerland. Summers argued that the two Harvard students that have had the most impact on the world both dropped out of the school (Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg). Goldstein asserts that they didn’t get to the top of their industries by “book learning”. Their knowledge extended beyond the classroom, learning in a way that Chua would consider unorthodox or weak. Gates and Zuckerberg became billionaires partially because of their ideas, but a big part of their success was their ability to network with their peers or big companies. In another example, Goldstein recalls

For them, an ideal worker must attend Princeton and Harvard and essentially be a white male. Judging a book by its cover has become a routine that investment bankers use to scout out their recruits. Other important companies around the U.S go through an interviewing process and attempt to fully understand someone as a whole and their personal interests and accomplishments, which is how they find out if they are suited for the job. Wall Street investment bankers do just about the opposite to keep their “elite” reputation stable. They could care less about a person’s backgrounds and major accomplishments, for them it is all materialistic. Through small stories from insiders on Wall Street it is evident that anyone who does not attend Princeton or Harvard is judged and not considered “smart”. The “culture of smartness” does not refer to actual intelligence that someone possess, but how smart someone acts. People assume everyone who works on Wall Street is the best of the best because they wouldn’t be there if they werent. When in reality, they aren't. This becomes clear through focusing on the smallness of this giant corporation, actually getting down to the bottom of the issue and center of hegemony.