Abstract

The aim of the paper is to analyze the media portrayal of the controversy stemming from president Barack Obama's bow to Emperor Akihito during their meeting in Tokyo in November 2009. The resulting controversy was quickly dubbed the “Bow-gate” and played itself out mostly in press commentary columns, blogs and political cable TV talk shows. Events like this offer an excellent opportunity to also see the intercultural dynamics and presuppositions existing between respective countries, as well as domestic political determinants shaping the perception of a presidency. A corpus of print and Internet media was selected examined in order to find and discuss the typial conceptual frames employed when debating the event.

Introduction

This paper will be an attempt to present some observations that can be drawn from the analysis of press and Internet discussions surrounding Barack Obama's bow to the Emperor Akihito during their formal meeting in Tokyo, on November 14th 2009. The resulting controversy was quickly dubbed the “Bow-gate” and played itself out mostly in press commentary columns, blogs and political cable TV talk shows. While president's visits and meetings abroad are usually analyzed in the context of foreign policy, events like this offer an excellent opportunity to also see the intercultural dynamics and presuppositions existing between respective countries, as well as domestic political determinants shaping the perception of a presidency.