| Fucking
O-Link-u!: UT: "An Anime Explosion" | June 2004 |
June, 2004's Fucking O-Link-u! Honoree:
An
Anime Explosion
Dr. Napier in action: "Anime is more real than Hollywood film." |
Welcome, loyal readers and
other weirdos, to a sampling of just one of many recent articles suggesting that
anime is the end-all form of entertainment; this, however, is written by an
unlikely segment of the fan population: The PhD's.
Dr. Susan
Napier has authored a number of books, including one about anime, and is a
professor of Asian Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. As
she is a professor, she tends to make a number of valid points, especially about
the unique historical and economic circumstances surrounding the rise of manga
and anime as extremely popular mediums in Japan. However, the problem with
academia (especially in the extremely subjective field of popular culture) is
that if someone wants to prove a point, they'll highlight some of the things
that support their argument and leave out what doesn't. We all do that when we
write articles, or, hell, posts in our blogs, right? Unfortunately, however, Dr.
Napier draws a number of conclusions that resemble the "anime
supremacy" argument we hear from another particularly obnoxious and vocal
group: the Fucking Otaku.
Now,
keep in mind, this is an article about Napier indulging in another recent
academic trend: college-level classes about anime. I think that's an interesting
idea; obviously, studying the comics and animation within a country is a
fascinating subject that is bound to present a number of interesting parallels
and revelations about the culture that produces it. But this article is just
obnoxious, something attributed more to the author than to Napier. Both the
author of the article and Napier have chosen to portray anime as a magical,
"more real than Hollywood" genre while totally re-interpreting a
number of not-as-cool occurances in anime to meet their own views. I stopped
taking this article seriously when I saw a snapshot of Belldandy with the phrase
"female protagonist" attached. Yeah, that's a really fucking positive
role-model for girls, Dr. Napier, and SO proactive, too! The article opens as
any other "legitimate journalist writing about anime" article (and
there have been tons in US media over the years) tends to open: by praising
anime as something far more sophisticated than us boorish Americans could ever
attempt:
| But these are not the
cartoons of your youth—they are often sophisticated, sometimes violent
and frequently have adult themes. You won’t find the likes of Betty and
Barney Rubble in these films. Instead, you’ll see complex stories
including love, growing up and female empowerment. |
Are anime stories more complex than the average cartoon for children?
Probably, but statements like this discount what people in our own
country--where animated programs are considered by and large children's
fare--have managed to accomplish. Furthermore, people who make this
statement
And
"female empowerment?" Please. That's not any more a theme in anime
than giant robots -- it happens sometimes, in some works, but it's not a blanket
occurance, and frankly, I have yet to see a whole lot of legitimate female
empowerment. In most anime, when a female character is strong she still has
some element that's designed to make her either submissive or there as some sort
of dominating sexual fantasy. Japanese society is not exactly keen on female
empowerment; they've still got a long way to go (longer than our own society,
not that we still don't have our share of problems to overcome) when it comes to
treating women as equals. The article makes another weak attempt to argue the
great "female empowerment" in anime:
| One thing noticeably
different about Japanese anime versus American productions is the
abundance of female protagonists. In addition to the very popular and
mainstream "Spirited Away," and "Princess Mononoke,"
females are the central players in other series and films such as
"Ghost in the Shell," "Vampire Princess Miyu" and
"Revolutionary Girl Utena."
"There
is a tremendous number of anime and manga that star female protagonists,"
Napier said. "A lot of people appreciate seeing a strong female
character doing things, taking an active role in helping the world and
having an interesting and active life."
|
I'll let all those examples
sink in for a moment, so those of you who've seen films like "Vampire
Princess Miyu" can have a good laugh.
The article's caption for this picture is "Japanese anime has a
number of female protagonists." Yeah, Belldandy, a subservient
goddess who exists to please ONE man, is sure an active and empowered
female character! |
The
true exceptional instances of real female empowerment in anime tend to come from
Miyazaki -- surprise, surprise, he's often the one fans and academics tend to
mention. As they should; he's a master of his craft. Chihiro and San are both
strong females who are truly empowered, multi-layered characters. But Miyazaki's
works of animation are exemplary masterpieces, not the norm. Academics tend to
forget this, and, unfortunately, so do fans. Sure, Ghost in the Shell's
Motoko Kusanagi is an awesome, kick-ass cop who gets more results and respect
than anyone else in the series, but look at what she wears, and look at the
fanservice-harem-apartment she calls home! But Kusanagi is a far better female
role-model--she doesn't need any man--than the other ones this article tries to
cite. Miyu needs Larva to protect her -- how on earth is that female
empowerment? She's just another pretty girl character who needs a strong male
protector. And Utena? She's just a girl in a fairytale who loved the image of
the majestic white-stallioned prince SO much, she decided to BECOME that prince!
And she's a lesbian, so there's yet another layer of fanservice for creepy fans
to enjoy. Listen, article writer, Dr. Napier -- having a female as a central
character doesn't automatically mean you're empowering women. In fact, anime
often features female characters in central or even pivotal roles crucial
to the story. How can this be? Well, Dr. Napier, friends, colleagues,
and readers, I'll let you in on a little secret: FEMALES ARE OVER 50% OF THE
POPULATION HERE ON EARTH!*
They're crucial to the human experience and are therefore crucial to any story,
as well!
(* Statistic not valid in
China.)
So
what does Dr. Napier herself have to say about anime? Well, let's see:
| "You
don’t always have a happy ending," she said. "In America,
we’ve had this desire for resolution—the guy and girl get married and
go off into the sunset with everything tied up with a little bow at the
end. Of course, real life is not necessarily like that—one of the things
that fascinates me is when people say anime is more real than Hollywood
film. They are saying animated work is more real than live action through
the psychology of the stories, and the characters deal with things in a
way that is more real. In the case of anime, it doesn’t always work out.
Sometimes the hero is left wandering or dead, and doesn’t get the girl
or the guy. I think that especially for young adults who are dealing with
a difficult world, it is strangely comforting to not see the Hollywood
ending, but one they can identify with." |
Of
course! Every American movie has to end that way! No Hollywood film has ever
been able to adequately explore the psychology behind a character's decision,
let alone have an ending that wasn't particularly happy. I know I hated the fun,
happy ending to Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket almost as much as I hated the
saccharine song-and-dance of Schindler's List. I know I'm glad there are
realistic, true-to-life animated shows out there that know how to be real and
don't need to rely on happy endings; shows like Fushigi Yuugi and Marmalade
Boy. You win this round, Dr. Napier! What else does she have to say?
| "Over
the last couple of decades, there has been more interest in the
woman—the young girl in particular, I think this may be a reflection of
Japan’s unease with itself and where it is going," Napier said.
"I wonder if it is a projection about what it is to be Japanese in
the end of the 20th and beginning of the 21st century, particularly in a
film like 'Spirited Away.' I don’t think it’s any accident that it’s
a young girl pictured; I think it is these girls who are seen as
representing the Japanese psyche. I think one reason it may resonate in
America is that we are also wondering where we’re going, who we
are—not just female audiences but male audiences as well. It may be that
we connect with the more vulnerable, less fixed kind of character of a
girl rather than a boy who is more determined. A girl can explore things
more and I think both male and female audiences can respond to that." |
A very
interesting theory. Chihiro is, after all, a remarkable female character; she
starts the film off as a whiny ten year old brat, and grows through her own
personal experiences. Her inner strength shines through, and she doesn't need
any boys to save her -- in fact, she saves the boy! Chihiro is the sort of
character that all humans can relate to in some way or another -- she's a child,
after all, and has such a transformation. Perhaps there is some inherent
psychological impact that results in, as she puts it, the "more
vulnerable" character of a girl. Hmmm... "representing the Japanese
psyche?" Sorry, Dr. Napier, I think you're losing it. But for all the
pop-professors presuming this was a film on the Japanese psyche, there's one
person we haven't thought to ask about all this: HAYAO MIYAZAKI.
Let's see what he
has to say about Spirited Away:
| "We have made 'Totoro,'
which was for small children, 'Laputa,' in which a boy sets out on a
journey, and 'Kiki's Delivery Service,' in which a teenager has to live
with herself. We have not made a film for 10-year-old girls, who are in
the first stage of their adolescence. So, I read the shoujo manga such as
Nakayoshi or Ribon which they left at my mountain cabin.
I felt this country only offered such
things as crushes and romance to 10-year-old girls, though, and looking at
my young friends, I felt this was not what they held dear in their hearts,
not what they wanted. And so I wondered if I could make a movie in which
they could be heroines..."
|
So,
Dr. Napier takes a film that by the director's own words was intended to
be an adventure for ten year old girls, and twists it through her pop-professor
psychobabble to be a metaphor for all of Japan. Hell, Miyazaki was rejecting
the wide palette of romance-comics and other crap being shoved down the throats
of ten-year-old Japanese girls... and his rejecting the norm is somehow
representative of the norm? Good conclusion, Doctor! Sure, the film has
elements that we ALL connect with -- that's why it was a popular and wonderful
movie! To say that those same elements of humanity are distinctly Japanese or to
suggest that they were intentional (perhaps even nationalistic) themes of the
movie is far-fetched and unnecessary. I could make the same sort of claims about
Cowboy Bebop... or, for that matter, Maid
in Hanaukyo. Hell, I could make the same sort of serious academic claims
about Mary Kate & Ashley Olsen's direct-to-video hit How the West Was
FUN!: "Here we see Mary-Kate refusing to wear a cowboy hat, indicative
of urban Americans' distaste for the agricultural and rural communities that
support them. Ashley's claim that she 'could ride [a] horsie [sic] all day!'
symbolizes the free-wheeling American exuberance during the prosperity that
enveloped the Clinton Years and lasted through the 1990s." (Disclaimer:
I haven't seen the film and have no idea if Mary-Kate does, in fact, refuse to
wear a cowboy hat.) Basically, what I'm trying to say is
that Dr. Napier's claims about Spirited Away are horse-shit.
Not everything she says is
obnoxious tripe, though, and I'll leave you with a nice, sensible quote from Dr.
Napier on her new class:
| "It’s
been an interesting experience and I feel more invested in it, too,"
she said. "I love my literature courses, but it doesn’t involve the
same level of commitment from the students. While I have some authority
since I’ve written a book, the students have their own form of authority
because they will have watched every episode of a show and they’ll have
watched it four times. I can’t compete with that, and I don’t try. I
let them know up front that it’s not all anime all the time, but that it
is a course in which we talk about themes and structure and aspects of
popular culture. I hope that I’m showing them that they can approach
their favorite thing in a different way. They may not like that, but I
think that it will percolate down to them that these are subjects worthy
of discussion on a fairly high intellectual level." |
I know I'd take the course;
at the very least, it looks interesting and fun. And hopefully I've approach
trashing the article about her in an appropriately intellectual way. Until next
time...
~Chiriko
|
