According to Lent (2000), what place does animation occupy in Asian societies? How different is this across Asia (ie comparing China and Japan)?
Animation holds a special place in Asia, in a way that we of the West can not fully comprehend. There are two reasons as to its popularity.. The first is that due to the presence of Hollywood and its big blockbusters, anime has risen as a way of competing on a less costly scale. The second is hybridity (Napier, 2005). As technology and westernisation bring the world closer, anime is welcomed because of its postethnic identities - anime provides a "stateless fantasy space" (Napier, 2005, p.27). However, anime can be moulded with localalised stylings and topical subjects.
Let us begin with the role anime plays in Japan. According to Napier (2005), anime and manga go hand in hand and feed off the other. The popularity of manga is on a scale unprecedented here in New Zealand. Manga is popular because it delves into any topic and therefore is read by all ages - there is anime for children, teens, adults, mums, elderly ... in fact forty percent of all material published in Japan is in manga form (Napier, 2005). As anime is often adapted from manga and vice versa, we can see that this plays an important role in the reason as to why it is held so highly.
However, anime is not limited to Japan. Its genius is that, like the many large and subtle differences between each Asian nation, the same can be applied to the animation. Every nation's artistic style can be applied to anime: paper fold, papercut, shadow theatre etc (Lent, 2000). Additionally, we can observe the popularity being applied in numerous ways. According to Lent (2000), Taiwan often transfer anime to live action films and television adventuers; in Hong Kong theme songs are translated and sung in Cantonese; while in Malaysia, the Philipinnes and even India, acclaimed artists adapt their characters for the screen.
Like all literary mediums, there are meta-narratives at play. We can observe this in China. According to Lent (2000), much Chinese anime is produced politically themed. For example, as America was releasing Kundun (full of Dala Lama praise), China released Red River Valley, to reinforce the Chinese agenda. One Night In An Art Gallery exposes enemies of the state, meanwhile The Panda's Shop stresses morals and dedication to the people (Lent, 2000). In Vietnam, The Kitty is the perfect metaphor for America's intrusion, while The Talking Blackbird is a not-so-subtle one. We see that anime in the Philippines is used as a propoganda mechanism for promoting dictatorships and their subsequent projects (Lent, 2000).
The above point out the different uses and artistic forms anime may take. I would like to expand this point by adding that anime needs to take into accound the different moralistic societies it is subjected to. For example, Malaysia, Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines and Singapore have all raised issue with Japanese anime, mainly over issues of violence or sexuality. In the Philippines, Japanese anime containing robots came under fire, with Renato Constantino arguing such cartoons "intended to facilitate acceptance of Japanese war technology" (as cited in Lent, 2000). Anime was even banned in Korea and Taiwan courtesy of the threat of Japanese imperialism (Lent, 2000).
To conclude, I think the pull of anime is easy to understand, given the relevance it holds with political and social situations. Its themes can be understood by adults and/or children and its status within society are increased due to the fact that the industry is now a phenomenom. I personally love the appeal of anime as I find it a refreshing change from the sickly-sweet productions of the West. Western collaborations and translations seem to lose the authentic feel of the originals, but there is also an extra factor that gets lost in translation that I can't seem to put my finger on. Perhaps what makes anime so unique and so beloved, is that of the hybridity - for it truely is a mix of genres and issues, escapism and realism, fantasy and truth, accessibility and inaccessibility.
REFERENCE LIST
Lent, J. A. (2000). Animation in Asia: appropriation,reinterpretation, and adoption or
adaptation. Retrieved 21 June, 2006, from AnimeResearch.com
Napier, S. (2005). Anime and Local/Global Identity. In Anime:from Akira to Howl’s Moving
Castle (pp.15-34). Hampshire: Palgrave/Macmillan.
It is really interesting to know the place Animation holds in the Asian society. Technology and media are definately two major ways for animations widespread. It is also interesting to know the difference between Manga and Anime and how they are differentiated. Despite all cultural distinctions, anime is still popular worldwide. Though it is short-lived, it still is popluar among children and now even adults. You are also quite right about the fact that there are some societies which raised issues on violence and pornography shown thorugh anime, but that did no harm to its popularity. Anime is a form of art and is different from other forms of art or cartoons. It consists different sort of storylines and is rich in culture, which is one of the reasons for attracting a wide range of audience. I have also elaborated on Anime, as a high culture genre in my week 5 post.
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