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 Japan, Korea, China)?
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’ (also spelt 'shoujo' or 'syojyo' in English) and how does it often function in anime? How does Miyazaki challenge the stereotype?
7. What genres/subgenres of anime can you identify?
8. After viewing Howl's Movinng Castle, what are your impressions of the film? Any surprises?
Feel free to widen the discussion to talk about works of anime you have viewed and enjoyed (or not, as the case may be!).
This is my view on question three. Napier (2005)states that the "culture" to which animne pertains is now a "popular" or "mass" culture in Japan,and in Aermica it exits as a "sub" culture.Yet,he also points out that the circumstance may well change due to the mercuriality of value.
Over the last decade in Japan, the anime has been gradually looked on as an intellectually challening art form, as the number of scholarly writings on the subject testify.
Moreover,Napier (2005)expresses that anime is a popular cultural form that obviously builds on former high cultural traditions. The anime utilizes worldwide artistic traditions of twentieth-century cinema and photography. Besides,medium shows the effects from such Japanese traditional arts as Kabuki and the woodblock print(orginally popular culture phenomena themselves).
At last,in accordance with Napier (2005),anime always explores the issues in complicated ways.The issues are those similar to readers of comtemporary " high culture" literature ( both inside and outside Japan)and viewers of modern art cinema. Anime texts amuse audiences over the world on the most basic level as well as provoke them on other levels. They motivate audiences to work through certain modern issues in ways that older arts form can not. As their popular reach,they influence a broader variety of audiences in more ways than some less accessible types of high cultural exchange have been able to do. In brief,anime clearly seems to be a cultural phenomenon worthy of being taken earnestly, both sociologically and aesthetically.
Hi Kiniko! I agree with you on your answer for Q3. The point of view for the anime has been changed a lot both in Japan and Western countries – from just a cartoon to a ‘movie’ I guess. It’s got fantasy, sci-fi, classics, comedy, romance as well as cartoons, of course. And in some society or countries (e.g. Japan) anime forms many important or noticeable contributions or give special meanings to their societies. All of these factors make the anime as a high culture media or genre.
Hi fellows…. it’s the animation week finally! For Q1, Is anime a genre or a media? Is it a branch of a film or another mode? I think it is a ‘media’ NOW although it started as a genre at first in Japan (maybe?). And it is a branch of a film - Because it’s got a narrative with a visual element. If we read pg.8 on Critical Reader, it says “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”. As we discussed above (in Q3), it’s been influenced by high Japanese cultural traditional arts and has built it form from them. It’s got huge number of viewers (or audiences) in all age groups from all different countries. Lents (2000) said that “Akira” crossed international borders to become a political statement in a European country to inspire Western audiences when it first appeared outside Japan in 1990 and its image used as an icon of political resistance in Sarajevo in 1993 when it appeared on a wall in the destroyed city. According to Napier (2005), he describe that “Princess Mononoke”, “Spirited Away” and “Laputa” has became the highest grossing animated film in Japan. Animation in the area of cinematography leads to film which makes it just as a part of film. It’s shown everywhere – TV and film – and to everyone – Asians, Europeans, Americans etc. It’s amazing isn’t it?
I do think genre should be a genre. It is not a media According to Johnson (2008) defines genre is "seems self-explanatory, it comes from the Greek genus, defined as "kind" or "sort" (Rosmarin, 23), Genre could simply be defined as a "kind" of writing. When the term is put into practice, however, it becomes a concept that needs further clarification in order to be useful. Research indicates that there are many ideas about the definition and use of genre.
There are many genres in different types. For example like EVO , Children and adults
We can say it is a branch of film. Some of the animation was written based on movies in past.
I understand what you mean Alan. I kindly agree with you ^^ But isn't an anime becoming bigger and bigger? Maybe the word 'genre' is too small for an anime to fit in?
It's a bit late but for Q2. I’m not quite sure how it is different across the Asia countries – I just heard that in Thailand, parents are not allowing their kids watching anime. And I’m sure the anime takes places fairly high in most of Asian countries and it keeps increasing. Well for other countries… I don’t know. Isn’t it depends on parents’ subjectivity – what they believe as a right thing for their kids? However it is true that, according to Lent (2000), Japan has been known for ‘high culture’ products as well as animated films and video-anime since 1990s. They even created an English word ‘anime’ as well which is a from their language Japanese abbreviation of the English word ‘animation’. Anyway their anime has been translated into and exported to many countries around the world. And, also, other Asian countries such as China and South Korea are creating los of anime – it’s only popular in their countries yet. They might start anime by adopting Western-style, but now there are lots of anime which reflect their own culture and express with their own style. It’s just my opinion though… how do you think guys?
7 comments:
Hey guys - some more 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 Japan, Korea, China)?
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’ (also spelt 'shoujo' or 'syojyo' in English) and how does it often function in anime? How does Miyazaki challenge the stereotype?
7. What genres/subgenres of anime can you identify?
8. After viewing Howl's Movinng Castle, what are your impressions of the film? Any surprises?
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 ^_^
This is my view on question three.
Napier (2005)states that the "culture" to which animne pertains is now a "popular" or "mass" culture in Japan,and in Aermica it exits as a "sub" culture.Yet,he also points out that the circumstance may well change due to the mercuriality of value.
Over the last decade in Japan, the anime has been gradually looked on as an intellectually challening art form, as the number of scholarly writings on the subject testify.
Moreover,Napier (2005)expresses that anime is a popular cultural form that obviously builds on former high cultural traditions. The anime utilizes worldwide artistic traditions of twentieth-century cinema and photography. Besides,medium shows the effects from such Japanese traditional arts as Kabuki and the woodblock print(orginally popular culture phenomena themselves).
At last,in accordance with Napier (2005),anime always explores the issues in complicated ways.The issues are those similar to readers of comtemporary " high culture" literature ( both inside and outside Japan)and viewers of modern art cinema. Anime texts amuse audiences over the world on the most basic level as well as provoke them on other levels. They motivate audiences to work through certain modern issues in ways that older arts form can not. As their popular reach,they influence a broader variety of audiences in more ways than some less accessible types of high cultural exchange have been able to do. In brief,anime clearly seems to be a cultural phenomenon worthy of being taken earnestly, both sociologically and aesthetically.
Hi Kiniko! I agree with you on your answer for Q3.
The point of view for the anime has been changed a lot both in Japan and Western countries – from just a cartoon to a ‘movie’ I guess.
It’s got fantasy, sci-fi, classics, comedy, romance as well as cartoons, of course. And in some society or countries (e.g. Japan) anime forms many important or noticeable contributions or give special meanings to their societies. All of these factors make the anime as a high culture media or genre.
Hi fellows…. it’s the animation week finally!
For Q1, Is anime a genre or a media? Is it a branch of a film or another mode?
I think it is a ‘media’ NOW although it started as a genre at first in Japan (maybe?). And it is a branch of a film - Because it’s got a narrative with a visual element. If we read pg.8 on Critical Reader, it says “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”.
As we discussed above (in Q3), it’s been influenced by high Japanese cultural traditional arts and has built it form from them. It’s got huge number of viewers (or audiences) in all age groups from all different countries. Lents (2000) said that “Akira” crossed international borders to become a political statement in a European country to inspire Western audiences when it first appeared outside Japan in 1990 and its image used as an icon of political resistance in Sarajevo in 1993 when it appeared on a wall in the destroyed city. According to Napier (2005), he describe that “Princess Mononoke”, “Spirited Away” and “Laputa” has became the highest grossing animated film in Japan. Animation in the area of cinematography leads to film which makes it just as a part of film. It’s shown everywhere – TV and film – and to everyone – Asians, Europeans, Americans etc.
It’s amazing isn’t it?
I do think genre should be a genre. It is not a media
According to Johnson (2008) defines genre is "seems self-explanatory, it comes from the Greek genus, defined as "kind" or "sort" (Rosmarin, 23), Genre could simply be defined as a "kind" of writing. When the term is put into practice, however, it becomes a concept that needs further clarification in order to be useful. Research indicates that there are many ideas about the definition and use of genre.
There are many genres in different types. For example like EVO , Children and adults
We can say it is a branch of film. Some of the animation was written based on movies in past.
I understand what you mean Alan. I kindly agree with you ^^ But isn't an anime becoming bigger and bigger? Maybe the word 'genre' is too small for an anime to fit in?
It's a bit late but for Q2.
I’m not quite sure how it is different across the Asia countries – I just heard that in Thailand, parents are not allowing their kids watching anime. And I’m sure the anime takes places fairly high in most of Asian countries and it keeps increasing. Well for other countries… I don’t know. Isn’t it depends on parents’ subjectivity – what they believe as a right thing for their kids?
However it is true that, according to Lent (2000), Japan has been known for ‘high culture’ products as well as animated films and video-anime since 1990s. They even created an English word ‘anime’ as well which is a from their language Japanese abbreviation of the English word ‘animation’. Anyway their anime has been translated into and exported to many countries around the world.
And, also, other Asian countries such as China and South Korea are creating los of anime – it’s only popular in their countries yet. They might start anime by adopting Western-style, but now there are lots of anime which reflect their own culture and express with their own style. It’s just my opinion though… how do you think guys?
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