Hi guys. Why don't you start? I misunderstood the quetion before,that is why I deleted previous one. Now I'd like to answer first question in the text. In my understanding, anime cannot clearly be categorised only one mode. So, it could be defined as a genre,media and branch of film because Napier(2005) says, "over the last decade, anime has been incresingly seen as an intellectuall challenging art forms....anime is a popular cultural form that clearly builds on previous high cultural traditions...perhaps the occasional abstrct, art-house film and anime simply as japanese cartoons gives no sense of the depth and variety that make up the medium."
Q.Is it high culture or low? culture? It is regarded as a high culture as Napier(p.4) points out that anime has roots in high cultural forms and may often be a challenging art form.On the other hand, John Trend considers understanding culture or cultures as more important than ranking cultural products (w5,ppt)
Q. What is the Shojo and how does it often functionin anime? Shojo(少女)is a young girl with huge, intricately drawn eyes,and its role of young heroine in anime indicates that woman's role changes occuring in modern society. Napier (2005) says, "gender roles and gender transgression seen in lighthearted terms in romantic comedies or Shojo(p.231).However, personally,I think,Japan's reputation resulting from WW2 has gained violent image worldwide. In order to altered such image,creating Shojo's character might be needed to cover up.
Hi Grace, I agree that anime is a genre. As Napier (2005) says, it is a phenomenon of popular culture. It's an intellecturally challenging art form. Furthermore, it is a popular cultural form that clearly builds on previous high cultural traditions,eg. Kabuki, the woodblock print and 20th century cinema and photography, etc). Finally, it explores wide variety of contemporary issues,provoking viewers on different levels and stimulating audiences to work through. Moreover, it reach a wider variety of audiences. (P3-4, A Critical Reader: Week 5, 2006)
I am still working on Q1. Napier suggests the immense range of anime has fascinating variety of genres. However, anime has three major expressive modes, the apocalyptic, the festival, and the elegiac.
Hi,AW. I agree with you,because I read it again and I think anime can be defined as a genre, the author,Susan Napier discussed the different anime genres: meca,fairy tailes,fantagy, scifi,shojo, history and pornography in this context.
Q. According to lent (2000),what place does animation occupy in Asian society? I think, animation impacts on mass media. Lent(2000)points out, "Politically, filmed cartoons have served govenmental and bureaucratic goals: promoted campaigns even propagandising for the presidency and its favorit project." Also,animation hugely influence on Asia's economy as the author says,"in economic terms, animation also found its niche in part of Asia, the enticement of foregin studios and their work for hire and co-production schemed brought in foregin money."
Q3. Treat’s point about the mercuriality of value suggests, this situation may well change.
Cartoons in America it exists as a “sub” culture, a minor art while Anime is at present a “popular” or “mass” culture in Japan. Anime apparently doesn’t belong to high cultural genre/media. John Treat points this situation may well change. Indeed, anime has been increasing seen as an intellectually challenging art form which clearly builds on previous high cultural traditions, such as Kabuki, the woodblock print, traditions of twentieth century cinema and photography. Anime explores a wide variety of issues that also appear in contemporary high cultural literature world-wide.
In 1990s, through anime Japan has become an increasingly significant player in the global cultural economy. Anime has increasingly moving to at least a marginal niche in the mainstream (high cultural) with its insistent differences from dominant American popular culture.
Nevertheless, anime in Japan is truly a mainstream pop cultural phenomenon embraced by everyone. “It is a richly fascinating contemporary Japanese art form with a distinctive narrative and visual aesthetic that both harks back to traditional Japanese culture and moves forward to the cutting edge of art and media.”
Japanese animation in merits serious consideration as a narrative art form. It’s a medium in chat distinctive visual elements combine with an array of generic, thematic, and philosophical structures to produce a unique aesthetic world.
Napier (2005) has given anime a favourable critic as what Grace said.
Q.6 I agree with Grace that Shojo is manga or anime with “a young girl with huge, intricately drawn eyes”. As a Shojo fan, I’d like to add that many shojo stories are about romance with a young girl. In general, those young girls are cute, white, and very slim with long legs, and often we will see flowers or bubbles popping up in the scene. One of my male friends used to ask me that for what reasons there are such things there (when a girl woke up in the morning or when a girl is laughing happily, for example). All I could think was that it made the scene more beautifully, lively, and dream-like.
Cavallaro also said that shojo stories are “serenely dreamy and bathed in an atmosphere of magic and wonder” (p. 11). I think this maybe one of the reason why we see so many flowers in shojo stories. Moreover, Shojo stories are in pretty “light” side of anime because normally there is not much about wars or destruction in them. Like what Cavallaro stated that shojo is “in sharp contrast with the dark side of anime typically to be found in science-fiction and wartime plots” (p. 11).
Although shojo stories are “aimed at a female audience between the ages of 13 and 18 (wikipedia), Cavallaro said that a significant numbers of Japanese males are Shojo fans as well. I agree with Cavallaro and even sometimes cannot help feeling that some Shojo stories are created for men instead. Chobits, for example, is a story by CLAMP about our world in the future where humans live with robots. Most of these robots look exactly like us accept for their ears which are robot-like. It is a world where robots gradually take humans’ place. Some people have these robots as maids, boyfriends, or girlfriends because they are understanding, they do not get angry, they support/obey us and they agree in what we do (you have to admit we cannot find all of that in one person). The story is more complicated and it talked about the relationship with one boy and a robot girl he picked up near the rubbish bin.
I know it sound much like cyber-punk but if you read it, you will know it’s shojo. All the girls in the story, including robot girls, are pretty, really pretty with beautiful hair, big round eyes and a tiny mouth. The robot girl, the main character, is very pretty but so weak and always need the protection from the boy. She is something I’d say, nothing but pretty, and it is somehow soooooo annoying (I said I am a Shojo fan but I also choose what I read). I know some Japanese men like it like this because it is a figure of what a girl should be in the Japanese tradition: being nice and pretty, do not talk much, do not argue, rely on the protection of a man, etc.
Perhaps that is why I like Miyazaki’s works. I admit I haven’t seen many of them but from what I have seen, I really like them. Girls are something more than prettiness; they know how to fight, what to fight for, and they can do it very well. Thanks to Miyazaki and his determination to ‘avoid representing attractive girls as mere “play toys for Lolita complex guys” or “pets”’ (p. 11) which created something very different in shojo anime.
Before I leave, I’d like to talk more about the meaning of Shojo. I have just found it today in a Shojo manga I borrowed from the Auckland library (told ya, I’m a Shojo fan :P). The definition is a bit different and more in details so I think you might be interested. Shojo n. 1. Manga appealing to both female and male readers. 2. Exciting stories with true-to-life characters and the thrill of exotic locales. 3. Connection the heart and mind through real human relationships.
Hello! Guys, I am apologizing for I didn’t post my comments for answering these questions on time. To answer the Question 1, as Napier (2005) states that “What exactly is anime? To definite anime simply as “Japanese cartoons “gives no sense of the depth and variety that make up the medium. Anime is kids’ cartoons: Pokeman yes, and Sailor Moon… But is also post- doomsday fantasies (Akira), schizo- psycho thrill machines, sex and samurai sagas- the works “(Napier, 2005, p 229). Based on this point, I would like to say that I definitely agree with Grace and AW‘s opinions. Yeah, I also agree that anime is a genre. However, according to Napier (2005), “Essentially anime works include everything that Western audiences are accustomed to seeing in live-action films- romance, comedy, tragedy, adventure, even psychological probing of a kind seldom attempted in recent mass-culture Western film or television” ( Napier, 2005). So that I agree with Grace’s point that anime can not categorized into one mode, or one definition. Because it works in many areas which include action films- romance, comedy, tragedy, adventure and so on. Would you guys agree with my understanding about Question 1?
Hi linguie. According to Dr paul anime is definitely defined as a media because it is a film. My understanding is that media is a form which contains a story while genre can be determined by story type such as romance,action,drama and horro etc.but I'm still not sure about it.
Question1. Is anime a genre or a media? Is it a branch of film or another mode?
Anime is kind of media products. By reading the critical readers, anime simply define as “Japanese cartoons”, “gives no sense of the depth and variety that make up the medium.” According to Napier (2005), Anime is a popular culture form that clearly builds on previous high culture traditions. And also anime belongs is at present a popular or mass culture in Japan, and in American it exits as a sub culture.” I mentioned that, in the critical readers, author used “high culture” related the anime many times. It seems like that, the author didn’t look anime as a genre, even “anime is a phenomenon of popular culture” and it has a “hungry market place.” but author believed that “anime and its products are short-lived, rising and falling due to popular taste”. the anime just kind of products with the market demands, although it usually referred some sociological phenomenon.
In 1990s, anime “began to develop a new export, animated films and videos-anime, a Japanese abbreviation of the English word ‘animation’……” For the problem, “is it a branch of film or another mode?” I think “Disney” is a particular example. Many definitions in the west attempt to explain anime by comparison to American animation. For example, TIME article attempts to answer the question by suggesting that in comparison to Disney “anime is all kinds of differents….anime is kids’ cartoons: pokemon yes, and sailor moon… but its also post-doomsday fantasies, schizo-psycho thrill machines, sex and samurai sagas- the works” TIMEs use be reported that “focus on the more extreme visions of anime actually minimizes the variety of the form, since anime also includes everything from animations of children’s classics such as heidi to romantic comedies such as No Need FOR Tenchi. Nor do the insistent comparisons with Disney permit the appreciation of the fact that anime does not deal only with what American viewers would regard as cartoon situation. Essentially, anime works include everything that western audiences are accustomed to seeing in live-action films-romance, comedy, tragedy, adventure, even psychological probing of a king seldom attempted in recent mass-culture western film to television. Though the critical readers, I believe that, anime is a branch of film.
But I think anime is may be more of a genre. Usually, people drawn the picture by hand, but recently with the modern technology developed like powerful computer programs, can do some works. Anime is broadcasted on TV, and also it has many extend products like video, DVD and many anime have video games.
For the question2, anime always play a important role in the Japanese society. And this phenomenon strongly influences china. I would like to talk about anime in China. About this point I think there are something related to the economic. China imports Japanese anime, and it brings lots of effects, after the anime wildly broadcasted on TV, people especially the children and young teenagers. Some of the anime fully of violence, sex…, and nowadays because of the powerful internet search function, people can see the anime no longer sponge on TV. We can easily download it from internet. On the other hand, I’m sure anime brings some good things. I believe some people, “old people” like me :( also like anime, and will go on to like it.
18 comments:
Hi guys.
Why don't you start?
I misunderstood the quetion before,that is why I deleted previous one.
Now I'd like to answer first question in the text.
In my understanding, anime cannot clearly be categorised only one mode. So, it could be defined as a genre,media and branch of film because Napier(2005) says, "over the last decade, anime has been incresingly seen as an intellectuall challenging art forms....anime is a popular cultural form that clearly builds on previous high cultural traditions...perhaps the occasional abstrct, art-house film and anime simply as japanese cartoons gives no sense of the depth and variety that make up the medium."
Q.Is it high culture or low? culture?
It is regarded as a high culture as Napier(p.4) points out that anime has roots in high cultural forms and may often be a challenging art form.On the other hand, John Trend considers understanding culture or cultures as more important than ranking cultural products (w5,ppt)
Q. What is the Shojo and how does it often functionin anime?
Shojo(少女)is a young girl with huge, intricately drawn eyes,and its role of young heroine in anime indicates that woman's role changes occuring in modern society.
Napier (2005) says, "gender roles and gender transgression seen in lighthearted terms in romantic comedies or Shojo(p.231).However, personally,I think,Japan's reputation resulting from WW2 has gained violent image worldwide. In order to altered such image,creating Shojo's character might be needed to cover up.
Hi Grace, I agree that anime is a genre. As Napier (2005) says, it is a phenomenon of popular culture. It's an intellecturally challenging art form. Furthermore, it is a popular cultural form that clearly builds on previous high cultural traditions,eg. Kabuki, the woodblock print and 20th century cinema and photography, etc). Finally, it explores wide variety of contemporary issues,provoking viewers on different levels and stimulating audiences to work through. Moreover, it reach a wider variety of audiences. (P3-4, A Critical Reader: Week 5, 2006)
I am still working on Q1. Napier suggests the immense range of anime has fascinating variety of genres. However, anime has three major expressive modes, the apocalyptic, the festival, and the elegiac.
Hi,AW.
I agree with you,because I read it again and I think anime can be defined as a genre, the author,Susan Napier discussed the different anime genres: meca,fairy tailes,fantagy, scifi,shojo, history and pornography in this context.
Q. According to lent (2000),what place does animation occupy in Asian society?
I think, animation impacts on mass media. Lent(2000)points out, "Politically, filmed cartoons have served govenmental and bureaucratic goals: promoted campaigns even propagandising for the presidency and its favorit project."
Also,animation hugely influence on Asia's economy as the author says,"in economic terms, animation also found its niche in part of Asia, the enticement of foregin studios and their work for hire and co-production schemed brought in foregin money."
Q3. Treat’s point about the mercuriality of value suggests, this situation may well change.
Cartoons in America it exists as a “sub” culture, a minor art while Anime is at present a “popular” or “mass” culture in Japan. Anime apparently doesn’t belong to high cultural genre/media. John Treat points this situation may well change. Indeed, anime has been increasing seen as an intellectually challenging art form which clearly builds on previous high cultural traditions, such as Kabuki, the woodblock print, traditions of twentieth century cinema and photography. Anime explores a wide variety of issues that also appear in contemporary high cultural literature world-wide.
In 1990s, through anime Japan has become an increasingly significant player in the global cultural economy. Anime has increasingly moving to at least a marginal niche in the mainstream (high cultural) with its insistent differences from dominant American popular culture.
Nevertheless, anime in Japan is truly a mainstream pop cultural phenomenon embraced by everyone. “It is a richly fascinating contemporary Japanese art form with a distinctive narrative and visual aesthetic that both harks back to traditional Japanese culture and moves forward to the cutting edge of art and media.”
Japanese animation in merits serious consideration as a narrative art form. It’s a medium in chat distinctive visual elements combine with an array of generic, thematic, and philosophical structures to produce a unique aesthetic world.
Napier (2005) has given anime a favourable critic as what Grace said.
Hope you guys enjoyed the movie (those who saw it). Some questions to discuss:
1. Is anime a genre or a media? Is it a branch of film or another mode?
2. According to Lent (2000), what place does animation occupy in Asian societies? How different is this across Asia (ie comparing China and Japan)?
3. Is it a high or low cultural genre/media, according to Napier (2005)?
4. What are some of its subgenres?
5. Looking at Napier and Cavallaro (2006), discuss how anime is culturally ‘located’ – in the East or West, or somewhere else?
6. What is the ‘shojo’ and how does it often function in anime? What genres/subgenres of anime can you identify?
Also, feel free to widen the discussion to talk about works of anime you have viewed and enjoyed (or not, as the case may be!).
Look forward to reading yr comments.
Q.6 I agree with Grace that Shojo is manga or anime with “a young girl with huge, intricately drawn eyes”. As a Shojo fan, I’d like to add that many shojo stories are about romance with a young girl. In general, those young girls are cute, white, and very slim with long legs, and often we will see flowers or bubbles popping up in the scene. One of my male friends used to ask me that for what reasons there are such things there (when a girl woke up in the morning or when a girl is laughing happily, for example). All I could think was that it made the scene more beautifully, lively, and dream-like.
Cavallaro also said that shojo stories are “serenely dreamy and bathed in an atmosphere of magic and wonder” (p. 11). I think this maybe one of the reason why we see so many flowers in shojo stories. Moreover, Shojo stories are in pretty “light” side of anime because normally there is not much about wars or destruction in them. Like what Cavallaro stated that shojo is “in sharp contrast with the dark side of anime typically to be found in science-fiction and wartime plots” (p. 11).
Although shojo stories are “aimed at a female audience between the ages of 13 and 18 (wikipedia), Cavallaro said that a significant numbers of Japanese males are Shojo fans as well. I agree with Cavallaro and even sometimes cannot help feeling that some Shojo stories are created for men instead. Chobits, for example, is a story by CLAMP about our world in the future where humans live with robots. Most of these robots look exactly like us accept for their ears which are robot-like. It is a world where robots gradually take humans’ place. Some people have these robots as maids, boyfriends, or girlfriends because they are understanding, they do not get angry, they support/obey us and they agree in what we do (you have to admit we cannot find all of that in one person). The story is more complicated and it talked about the relationship with one boy and a robot girl he picked up near the rubbish bin.
I know it sound much like cyber-punk but if you read it, you will know it’s shojo. All the girls in the story, including robot girls, are pretty, really pretty with beautiful hair, big round eyes and a tiny mouth. The robot girl, the main character, is very pretty but so weak and always need the protection from the boy. She is something I’d say, nothing but pretty, and it is somehow soooooo annoying (I said I am a Shojo fan but I also choose what I read). I know some Japanese men like it like this because it is a figure of what a girl should be in the Japanese tradition: being nice and pretty, do not talk much, do not argue, rely on the protection of a man, etc.
Perhaps that is why I like Miyazaki’s works. I admit I haven’t seen many of them but from what I have seen, I really like them. Girls are something more than prettiness; they know how to fight, what to fight for, and they can do it very well. Thanks to Miyazaki and his determination to ‘avoid representing attractive girls as mere “play toys for Lolita complex guys” or “pets”’ (p. 11) which created something very different in shojo anime.
Before I leave, I’d like to talk more about the meaning of Shojo. I have just found it today in a Shojo manga I borrowed from the Auckland library (told ya, I’m a Shojo fan :P). The definition is a bit different and more in details so I think you might be interested.
Shojo n.
1. Manga appealing to both female and male readers.
2. Exciting stories with true-to-life characters and the thrill of exotic locales.
3. Connection the heart and mind through real human relationships.
Hello! Guys, I am apologizing for I didn’t post my comments for answering these questions on time. To answer the Question 1, as Napier (2005) states that “What exactly is anime? To definite anime simply as “Japanese cartoons “gives no sense of the depth and variety that make up the medium. Anime is kids’ cartoons: Pokeman yes, and Sailor Moon… But is also post- doomsday fantasies (Akira), schizo- psycho thrill machines, sex and samurai sagas- the works “(Napier, 2005, p 229). Based on this point, I would like to say that I definitely agree with Grace and AW‘s opinions. Yeah, I also agree that anime is a genre. However, according to Napier (2005), “Essentially anime works include everything that Western audiences are accustomed to seeing in live-action films- romance, comedy, tragedy, adventure, even psychological probing of a kind seldom attempted in recent mass-culture Western film or television” ( Napier, 2005). So that I agree with Grace’s point that anime can not categorized into one mode, or one definition. Because it works in many areas which include action films- romance, comedy, tragedy, adventure and so on. Would you guys agree with my understanding about Question 1?
Hi linguie.
According to Dr paul anime is definitely defined as a media because it is a film.
My understanding is that media is a form which contains a story while genre can be determined by story type such as romance,action,drama and horro etc.but I'm still not sure about it.
hehe just remembered that I haven't written a proper reference for the manga I mentioned at the last past of my comment.
It's a Japanese manga called "Angel Sanctuary" vol.5, by Kaori Yuki :)
Question1. Is anime a genre or a media? Is it a branch of film or another mode?
Anime is kind of media products. By reading the critical readers, anime simply define as “Japanese cartoons”, “gives no sense of the depth and variety that make up the medium.” According to Napier (2005), Anime is a popular culture form that clearly builds on previous high culture traditions. And also anime belongs is at present a popular or mass culture in Japan, and in American it exits as a sub culture.” I mentioned that, in the critical readers, author used “high culture” related the anime many times. It seems like that, the author didn’t look anime as a genre, even “anime is a phenomenon of popular culture” and it has a “hungry market place.” but author believed that “anime and its products are short-lived, rising and falling due to popular taste”. the anime just kind of products with the market demands, although it usually referred some sociological phenomenon.
In 1990s, anime “began to develop a new export, animated films and videos-anime, a Japanese abbreviation of the English word ‘animation’……” For the problem, “is it a branch of film or another mode?” I think “Disney” is a particular example. Many definitions in the west attempt to explain anime by comparison to American animation. For example, TIME article attempts to answer the question by suggesting that in comparison to Disney “anime is all kinds of differents….anime is kids’ cartoons: pokemon yes, and sailor moon… but its also post-doomsday fantasies, schizo-psycho thrill machines, sex and samurai sagas- the works” TIMEs use be reported that “focus on the more extreme visions of anime actually minimizes the variety of the form, since anime also includes everything from animations of children’s classics such as heidi to romantic comedies such as No Need FOR Tenchi. Nor do the insistent comparisons with Disney permit the appreciation of the fact that anime does not deal only with what American viewers would regard as cartoon situation. Essentially, anime works include everything that western audiences are accustomed to seeing in live-action films-romance, comedy, tragedy, adventure, even psychological probing of a king seldom attempted in recent mass-culture western film to television. Though the critical readers, I believe that, anime is a branch of film.
But I think anime is may be more of a genre. Usually, people drawn the picture by hand, but recently with the modern technology developed like powerful computer programs, can do some works. Anime is broadcasted on TV, and also it has many extend products like video, DVD and many anime have video games.
For the question2, anime always play a important role in the Japanese society. And this phenomenon strongly influences china. I would like to talk about anime in China. About this point I think there are something related to the economic. China imports Japanese anime, and it brings lots of effects, after the anime wildly broadcasted on TV, people especially the children and young teenagers. Some of the anime fully of violence, sex…, and nowadays because of the powerful internet search function, people can see the anime no longer sponge on TV. We can easily download it from internet.
On the other hand, I’m sure anime brings some good things. I believe some people, “old people” like me :( also like anime, and will go on to like it.
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