Post by Asuka Was Here on Apr 4, 2005 20:58:41 GMT -5
Whee. Just thought you all might like to read my sophomore speak-out paper, which I'll soon have to read to my whole English class. The topic? Common misconceptions about anime (i.e. it's just for kids, it's nothing but sex and violence, etc.). They required us to include at least three in-text citations, so I sorta had to put in some useless quotes, but other than that, I enjoyed writing it... so, if you're intersted, here it is:
----------------------------------------
3/31/05
Sophomore Speak-outs: Rough Draft
Period 4 Adv. English
It’s Not Cartoon Porn!
(No, seriously, I mean it. It’s not. It really isn’t, I tell you!)
It occurs to me that we, as a people, tend to form opinions about things based on what we hear from others and the media – regardless of how ill-informed these sources are. Case in point: Japanese anime. As many of you know, I’m a nearly obsessive fan of the stuff – I love it to death. But in the course of that obsession, I’ve run into some sticky situations where people have either accused me of watching “kid’s stuff” or of being some perverted, emotionally disturbed nut job who watches what they feel is “cartoon porn.” Now, you should already see that these two stereotypes directly contradict each other, and thus there must be something very wrong with them. Put simply, “Unlike in the west, anime has a huge variety of genres - it is not only for children. Nor, on the other hand, is it just sex and violence for adults! Anime is for everybody!” (Seawright).
The source of both of these misconceptions lies in the American perception of animated programming. The bulk of American-made cartoons are directed towards children – you know, the stuff you see when you turn on channel 11 on a Saturday morning, or when you watch on Nick Jr. with your three-year-old brother when you stay home sick from school. It’s often pointless, fluffy stuff that uses pretty colors to amuse little kids and teaches them those “valuable morals” that they’ll need in life. Or it can be one of those never-ending classics with characters like the Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote, who do the same thing for 300 episodes with no real plot. It’s this sort of American animated programming that leads people to think that anime is just for kids. Then, when parents pick up a copy of, say, InuYasha for their kids without checking the back cover, they’re horrified at the presence of actual profanity, animated blood, and –gasp!! - mild nudity and occasional sexual innuendo, and they decide that all anime is full of violence and unnecessary sexual content. This image is furthered by TV channels such as Cartoon Network, who tend to air relatively violent programs as part of “action cartoon segments” and PG-13 anime as part of programs like “Adult Swim” with a parental advisory attached. Parents end up forbidding children who would otherwise watch PG-13 programming from watching these, misinterpreting the warning as somehow meaning that these programs are full of depraved content. That said, some of the most disturbingly sexual and violent shows on Adult Swim are American-made.
Now, I’m not saying that there’s absolutely no violence or sex in anime, and I’m not saying that none of it is kids stuff. There is some anime which fits into either category, and even more which fits into neither. Nicholas Duarte sums this up nicely in his monthly column in Newtype USA.
“…Realize that the anime industry in Japan is almost the equivalent of the American film and TV industry. With that goes the notion that the range of anime is just as large as the range of American films, going from children’s shows to pornography. In the middle you have fantastic works that are the equivalent to great literary pieces – excellent examples of suspense, action, and love stories (June ’04 issue, page 118). Duarte goes on to add that he has “never met an English teacher who didn’t like anime” (hint, hint).
That said, another major difference between American animated programs and anime is the presence of plot. Whereas many American cartoons lack intelligent meaning and are often very formulaic (for instance, Wile E. Coyote always falls off the cliff and goes splat at the bottom, and Tom never catches Jerry no matter how many times he tries) anime is mostly plot-driven. “Anime is much wider in scope than just violence, but that violence which is there is usually there for a reason. Even extremely violent anime… have a reason for their violence. The story that they try to tell reflects on human nature and society, and those things include violence. Anime will always have its roots in real life, and the situations in anime reflect situations found in real life.” (Harmon) Sometimes the plots can get so deep that they start hurting your head – for example, few, if any, people have managed to understand Shirow Masamune’s classic, Ghost in the Shell, the first time they watch it. Almost all anime – even the kid’s stuff – tells a story. Sometimes those stories are grand and epic, and other times they are as small as the hilarious everyday life stories of the (not-so-everyday) characters of Azumanga Daioh. <sarcasm> Oh, wait, I forgot. There is pointless violence in that – in that scene in the manga where they brutally murder that cockroach with a textbook. My bad. </sarcasm>
In any case, if you still don’t believe me, I dare you to show up for anime club one day. I can point you in the direction of some wonderful anime and manga that you might just enjoy, if you’re willing to suspend your prejudices and give it a fair chance. If not, well, then it’s your loss. You’re the one missing out on something good.
So that’s pretty much all I have to say. I’m not trying to convince the entire population to love anime. I just want you all to give things a chance and take them for what they are, not what the media and overprotective parents tell you. Don’t allow preformed concept to guide you, and don’t make decisions before you know the truth about something.
Works Cited
Duarte, Nicholas. “Otaku Sensei Says.” Newtype USA June 2004: 118
Harmon, Curtis. “Anime Overly Violent?” Tech News. February 14, 2001.
Worchester Polytechnic Institute. 31 March 2005.
<http://www.wpi.edu/News/TechNews/010214/anime.shtml>
Seawright, Caroline. “What is Anime?” Kunoichi’s Pages. October 5, 2000.
TheKeep.org. 31 March 2005. <http://www.thekeep.org/~kunoichi/kunoichi/themestream/anime.html>
Works Consulted
Poitras, Gilles. “The Teachers Companion to the Anime Companion” Koyagi.com.
August 15, 2004. 31 March 2005. <http://www.koyagi.com/teachers.html>
Sanchez, Frank. “Mainstream Media's View: Anime in the News” AnimeInfo.org. 31
March 2005. <http://www.animeinfo.org/animeu/socl102-l4.html>
----------------------------------------
3/31/05
Sophomore Speak-outs: Rough Draft
Period 4 Adv. English
It’s Not Cartoon Porn!
(No, seriously, I mean it. It’s not. It really isn’t, I tell you!)
It occurs to me that we, as a people, tend to form opinions about things based on what we hear from others and the media – regardless of how ill-informed these sources are. Case in point: Japanese anime. As many of you know, I’m a nearly obsessive fan of the stuff – I love it to death. But in the course of that obsession, I’ve run into some sticky situations where people have either accused me of watching “kid’s stuff” or of being some perverted, emotionally disturbed nut job who watches what they feel is “cartoon porn.” Now, you should already see that these two stereotypes directly contradict each other, and thus there must be something very wrong with them. Put simply, “Unlike in the west, anime has a huge variety of genres - it is not only for children. Nor, on the other hand, is it just sex and violence for adults! Anime is for everybody!” (Seawright).
The source of both of these misconceptions lies in the American perception of animated programming. The bulk of American-made cartoons are directed towards children – you know, the stuff you see when you turn on channel 11 on a Saturday morning, or when you watch on Nick Jr. with your three-year-old brother when you stay home sick from school. It’s often pointless, fluffy stuff that uses pretty colors to amuse little kids and teaches them those “valuable morals” that they’ll need in life. Or it can be one of those never-ending classics with characters like the Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote, who do the same thing for 300 episodes with no real plot. It’s this sort of American animated programming that leads people to think that anime is just for kids. Then, when parents pick up a copy of, say, InuYasha for their kids without checking the back cover, they’re horrified at the presence of actual profanity, animated blood, and –gasp!! - mild nudity and occasional sexual innuendo, and they decide that all anime is full of violence and unnecessary sexual content. This image is furthered by TV channels such as Cartoon Network, who tend to air relatively violent programs as part of “action cartoon segments” and PG-13 anime as part of programs like “Adult Swim” with a parental advisory attached. Parents end up forbidding children who would otherwise watch PG-13 programming from watching these, misinterpreting the warning as somehow meaning that these programs are full of depraved content. That said, some of the most disturbingly sexual and violent shows on Adult Swim are American-made.
Now, I’m not saying that there’s absolutely no violence or sex in anime, and I’m not saying that none of it is kids stuff. There is some anime which fits into either category, and even more which fits into neither. Nicholas Duarte sums this up nicely in his monthly column in Newtype USA.
“…Realize that the anime industry in Japan is almost the equivalent of the American film and TV industry. With that goes the notion that the range of anime is just as large as the range of American films, going from children’s shows to pornography. In the middle you have fantastic works that are the equivalent to great literary pieces – excellent examples of suspense, action, and love stories (June ’04 issue, page 118). Duarte goes on to add that he has “never met an English teacher who didn’t like anime” (hint, hint).
That said, another major difference between American animated programs and anime is the presence of plot. Whereas many American cartoons lack intelligent meaning and are often very formulaic (for instance, Wile E. Coyote always falls off the cliff and goes splat at the bottom, and Tom never catches Jerry no matter how many times he tries) anime is mostly plot-driven. “Anime is much wider in scope than just violence, but that violence which is there is usually there for a reason. Even extremely violent anime
In any case, if you still don’t believe me, I dare you to show up for anime club one day. I can point you in the direction of some wonderful anime and manga that you might just enjoy, if you’re willing to suspend your prejudices and give it a fair chance. If not, well, then it’s your loss. You’re the one missing out on something good.
So that’s pretty much all I have to say. I’m not trying to convince the entire population to love anime. I just want you all to give things a chance and take them for what they are, not what the media and overprotective parents tell you. Don’t allow preformed concept to guide you, and don’t make decisions before you know the truth about something.
Works Cited
Duarte, Nicholas. “Otaku Sensei Says.” Newtype USA June 2004: 118
Harmon, Curtis. “Anime Overly Violent?” Tech News. February 14, 2001.
Worchester Polytechnic Institute. 31 March 2005.
<http://www.wpi.edu/News/TechNews/010214/anime.shtml>
Seawright, Caroline. “What is Anime?” Kunoichi’s Pages. October 5, 2000.
TheKeep.org. 31 March 2005. <http://www.thekeep.org/~kunoichi/kunoichi/themestream/anime.html>
Works Consulted
Poitras, Gilles. “The Teachers Companion to the Anime Companion” Koyagi.com.
August 15, 2004. 31 March 2005. <http://www.koyagi.com/teachers.html>
Sanchez, Frank. “Mainstream Media's View: Anime in the News” AnimeInfo.org. 31
March 2005. <http://www.animeinfo.org/animeu/socl102-l4.html>
