The Symbolization of Violence Aesthetic and Cultural Integration in One Piece: A Case Study of the Thriller Bark Chapter

Abstract

Postmodernism in the 20th century gradually developed "violence" into an artistic aesthetic, and due to different understandings of "violence" in various countries, it has spawned a variety of branches. In order to disseminate its works to audiences from different cultural backgrounds, One Piece combines Japanese indigenous violence aesthetics with the violent cultures of various cultures, making it a successful example of cross-cultural communication on a global scale. To understand the process of symbolic re-encoding of Japanese native violence aesthetics and British violence aesthetics in One Piece, as well as the way in which values are integrated, this study selects the Thriller Bark Chapter (episodes 337 to 380) in One Piece as a case for analysis. The study extracts references to British culture and Japanese native culture within the text as "cultural symbols," a unit of visual analysis, and further divides them into four major categories: natural symbols, artificial symbols, character symbols, and language symbols. Statistical analysis reveals that, due to the close relationship between British horror violence culture and the development of its Gothic literature, the author has incorporated a large number of Gothic cultural symbols in the Thriller Bark Chapter. Meanwhile, the work consistently upholds the fundamental principles of Japanese native culture while also revitalizing its own cultural identity.