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Week 3 Questions – TinTin Pt.2

  1. How and why have Tintin’s gender and sexuality been question?

Tintin’s gender and sexuality have heavily always been questioned, one of the reasons for this being is that: all through The Adventures of Tintin there are strikingly scarcely any female characters, less despite everything having significant jobs. This is a rundown of the female characters included in the arrangement. Hergé had been blamed for sexism, however he adamantly denied being a misogynist, saying that, as quoted “…for me, women have nothing to do in a world like Tintin‘s, which is the realm of male friendship” (“Female characters,” n.d.) The absence of females in his undertakings is likewise undermined to be of a suspicious nature and what not – just eight out of nearly 350 characters are recognizable as female.That being said and further fueling onto potential theories there have been much speculations that Tintin is gay. In 2016, a two-page spread broadcasted this hypothesis in The Times. This case around Tintin’s sexual direction depended on the accompanying perception: the ginger-haired journalist is once in a while found in the organization of individuals from the more attractive sex. While we can’t generally question this present, there’s a clarification for it, one that reveals a fairly unflattering insight into a specific time of Belgian comic book history; Up until the finish of the 1960s, a proposal of a lower leg, a trace of a lady’s knee or even a brief look at cleavage were viewed as absolute means of taboo, that being the ideology of the French in terms of such matter (“Women in Belgian comics P1: Invisibility to objectification,” 2020). 

Mr Parris, a previous British MP who is transparently gay, said Tintin’s sexuality was clear to any individual who peruses the animation books intently and reads between the lines.His (TinTin’s) family foundation provides a first insight.”Tintin never discusses his friends or family, like attempting to shut out the very presence of the idea of a dad or mother. As psychologists will affirm, this is normal among young gay men,” Mr Parris composed (“Tintin was gay, times journalist claims,” 2009). Tintin himself has been scrutinized as unequivocally feminized, especially similar to Haddock, and one could even battle that he is of in every practical sense unsure of sexual direction. Identified with this is the issue of perhaps his internal need and despite the fact that these particular adventures being plainly revolved around kids, utilizing the means of psychoanalytic assessment have coaxed out proof of both a sublimated Oedipal family sensation and frustrated sexual subtexts. By strategies for conversation of solicitations of Tintin as a gay picture and basic questions wrapping both hetero-and homoerotic subtexts, It can be found that his queering, in the broadest notion of the term  is essential to a central comprehension of Tintin (Mountfort, 2020), thus then maybe perhaps Tintin’s social recovery.

References

Female characters. (n.d.). Tintin Wiki. Retrieved August 20, 2020, from 

https://tintin.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Female_Characters

Mountfort, P. (2020). ‘Tintin, gender and desire’. Journal of Graphic Novels and 

Comics, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1080/21504857.2020.1729829

Tintin was gay, times journalist claims. (2009, January 12). ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). https://www.abc.net.au/news/2009-01-12/tintin-was-gay-times-journalist-claims/263208

Women in Belgian comics P1: Invisibility to objectification. (2020, May 28). Europe Comics. 

Women in Belgian Comics P1: Invisibility to Objectification

Week 2 Questions – TinTin

  1. What issues do his albums raise in terms of representation of ‘race’, and particularly ethnic and cultural stereotyping?

The collections of this specific matter as far as in terms of TinTin raised a progression of issues especially as far as depiction of races, subjects of social generalizing just as well as the being of ethnic minorities. Hergé, Tintin’s creator whose name set out on the top of every single assortment (the name itself is a play on the altered and changed initials of his name, Georges Remi). His work on a wartime paper lined up with the being of the Nazis is particularly chronicled, much the same as the way that a bit of his most reliable Tintin books spread far-right plans to kids. The underlying two of these comics are ones which are regarded to be the most flawed and these were: Tintin in the Land of the Soviets, first serialized in 1929, is so clear in its adversary of communist deliberate exposure that Hergé himself endeavored to smother its circulation in later years. In 1930’s Tintin in the Congo, the Belgian legend’s experience takes him to his country’s past settlement where he “assimilates” local people (who are portrayed with a blend of paternalistic bias and unremarkableness), and butchers animals as a significant tracker for events (Calamur, 2016) . In the late twentieth and mid 21st several years, a couple of campaigners and researchers portrayed Tintin in the Congo as supremacist due to its delineation of the Congolese as extremely childish and moronic (Cendrowicz, 2010). As indicated by Tom McCarthy, Hergé depicted the Congolese as “great on a basic level however in reverse and lethargic, needing European dominance” (McCarthy, 2006) In the August of 2007, a Congolese understudy: Bienvenu Mbutu Mondondo filed for, submitting a complaint, documenting it in Brussels, declaring that the book was an attack against the Congolese people and ought to accordingly ought to be prohibited. Public agents analyzed and afterward began a criminal case. The issue was at long last moved to the common court in April 2010. Mondondo’s lawyers battled that Tintin in the Congo signified “a help of colonization and of racial persecution”, and Mondondo included and called it to be exteremly “narrow minded person and xenophobic” (Samuel, 2011). Asides from the conspicuous subjects and issues of prejudice, the factor of creature savagery was a major one as well and here and there this further filled certain generalizations. Tintin in the Congo shows Tintin looking at what Michael Farr depicted as “the markdown and unusual butcher” of creatures; through the degree of the Adventure, Tintin shoots a couple of gazelle, butchers a gorilla to wear its skin, pulverizes a rifle vertically into a crocodile’s open mouth, harms an elephant for ivory, stones a wild bull, and (in prior vehicles) penetrates a gap into a rhinoceros before planting hazardous in its body, exploding it from the inside.Such scenes mirror the certainty of gigantic game searching for after among prosperous guests in Sub-Saharan Africa during the 1930s. Hergé later felt contrite about his depiction of creatures in Tintin in the Congo and changed into a foe of blood sports; when he made Cigars out of the Pharaoh (1934), he had Tintin gotten more familiar with a party of elephants living in the Indian wild. Philippe Goddin presented that the scene where Tintin shoots gazelle was “good to affect even the least common peruser” in the 21st century. Right when India Book House from the start dispersed the book in Quite some time in 2006, that country’s a dash of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals gave an open appraisal, and boss functionary Anuradha Sawhney passed on that the book was  “replete with instances that send a message to young minds that it is acceptable to be cruel to animals” (“Tintin in the Congo,” 2020). The issues in general for the most part were as far as confusions just as the idea of obliviousness that was of commonness.

      References

Calamur, K. (2016, June 3). Coming to terms with Tintin. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/06/tintin/485501/

Cendrowicz, Leo (4 May 2010). “Tintin: Heroic Boy Reporter or Sinister Racist?”. Time. New York City. Archived from the original on 6 June 2013. Retrieved 6 June 2013.

McCarthy, Tom (2006). Tintin and the Secret of Literature. London: Granta. ISBN 978-1-86207-831-4.

Samuel, Henry (18 October 2011). “Tintin ‘racist’ court case nears its conclusion after four years”. The Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 19 October 2011. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
Tintin in the Congo. (2020, August 6). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved August 11, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tintin_in_the_Congo#CITEREFSamuel2011

Week 1 Questions.

  1. How has the academic reception of popular genres changes over time?
  2. What might the value be of studying them?

One of the reasons that genre changes over time is due to that fact of audience expectations but when it comes in terms of the academic reception of such genres. Although asides from this, after some research that had been done, in terms of contemporary audiences they are likely to be far more sophisticated viewers than in comparison to the audience who had first seen moving pictures or television programmes. Thus which then leads the audience to be more familiar with established genres that they have for instance read texts from, this is primarily because they feel the connection and once more a sense of familiarity due to such codes and conventions they have come across before. For instance, if one was to watch an action/adventure film and supposedly the protagonist dies and does not manage to save the damsel in distress, you are bound to be surprised and be caught off-guard as this was not something you were to expect; or for example if you are watching a romance film then typically you would expect the female to end up with the male she is in love with (“Why genre changes over time?,” 2014). However, because there are certain aspects of familiarity with these codes of conventions such as for instance the character, setting and music which all then further tends to raise expectations, and again these expectations are based on the readings of similar content of texts. More or so due to such popularity of certain texts it tends to prove that for a lot of the viewers “familiarity breeds contentment rather than contempt”(“Why genre changes over time?,” 2014). Despite this, these texts still need to repeat the pattern of certain codes and conventions all the while adding something new and the purpose of this is to keep the audience from seeing the same context and keeping the genre supposedly to be “fresh and new”, this for example can be done by a motive of contemporary setting, means of a plot twist or perhaps even a scene where the antagonist acts or behaves unexpectedly. The value of studying such changes is beneficial as it greats a better understanding amongst what sorts of different types of content that there may be; Finding out about the highlights of various sorts of such given genres enables perusers of these types of texts and/or content to perceive what they are perusing and rapidly modify their understanding and preferences in terms of reading styles. In actuality, readers tend to frequently go over novel structures and kinds. The primary concern to watch is that a sort is positively not a resolute shape which these genre  works must fit into, yet a social occasion of compositions that share certain resemblances – whether or not of structure, execution setting, or subject. For example, all the compositions that make up the more established kind of per state misfortune share certain ‘family likenesses’. They are sensational works written in a particular method for language, they consider human feelings, for example, for example pity, they show divine beings like for instance gods and goddesses speaking with human individuals, and so forth and so forth. That at that point further allows us to consider them to be an undeniable social occasion. Regardless, yet certain ‘middle’ highlights depict any given sort, the restrictions of each class are fluid and are consistently penetrated for academic effect (“Why literary genres matter,” 2014).

References:

https://www.jstor.org/stable/23416317?seq=3#metadata_info_tab_contents

Why literary genres matter. (2014, October 1). OUPblog. https://blog.oup.com/2014/05/why-literary-genres-matter/

Questions week 1

How has the academic reception of popular genres changes over time?

Popular literature, such as comic books, manga, sci-fi and fantasy, are becoming increasingly more popular, not only with the audience but also with the academics and it has now become a serious object of study (Wegrodzka, 2018). As Berger (1992) points out, the essence of pop culture is its ability to supply the reader with material that feels familiar. It’s confusing but also contains enough variation to keep the reader interested Berger, 1992). The growth of popular literature has resulted in increase in academic publications, studying every aspect from the historical, theoretical, cultural, industrial to the philosophical, sociological and specific genres (Wegrodzka, 2018).
According to Schneider-Mayerson (2010) popular fiction has rarely been explored as a general object of study.
Mountfort (2020) popular genres have tended to be rejected from the “authorised literary canon” and that literature such as poetry, high prose and drama holds a more privileged status.  
Genres such as comics, sci-fi and fantasy works are often considered to be unserious literature, although many literature programmes include them as part of their educational plan (Mountfort, 2020)

What might the value be of studying them?

Mountfort (2020) points out that popular genres often are excluded because they are new, though they are gradually accepted into the academic world. According to Mayerson (2010) the study of popular fiction requires specific attention and he writes that “a novel is “popular fiction” if its success is measured (by the public and its publisher) as much by its sales and the devotion of fans (by its author) as opposed to timeless literary quality.”
         Batzke (2018) writes that the fact that fantastic texts and elements in literature are being widely accepted is very beneficial development and that opening up for the studies of popular literature has “created an almost impenetrable thicket of research.”
Eagleton (n.d) points out that modern genres such as tv programmes and pop might tell us more about today’s society than literary ‘classics’ (Mountfort, 2020).
Comics, manga, science fiction etc. often point out problems with our society and allows the reader to encounter issues in a different way than ‘normal textbooks’. These medias also allow the reader to connect and understand the story on a more personal level then something created in the 1900s, because it’s easier to relate to.
I also believe it’s worth studying just because of the way it engages and captures the audience and bring people together. 

Sources:

Batzke, I., Erbacher, E. C., Heß, L. M., & Lenhardt, C. (Eds.). (2018). Exploring the fantastic: Genre, ideology, and popular culture. Transcipt Verlag

Berger, A. (1992). Popular Culture Genres: Theories and Texts. SAGE Publications.

Mountfort, P (auth). (2020). ENGL602 popular genres. Retrieved from https://blackboard.aut.ac.nz/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_96250_1&content_id=_5273101_ 1&mode=reset

Schneider-Mayerson, M. (2010). Popular Fiction Studies: The Advantages of a New FieldAuthor(s). Popular Culture Association.

Wegrodzka, J. (2018). Popular genres and their uses in fiction. Peter Lang GmbH, Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften.

Week 3: Gender

The representation of women within The Adventure of Tintin by Herge can be said that there were really little, to none in some albums, it is a big gap with the representation of men. According to Fem (2012) “there are no real female characters except for a couple women who make barely a dent in the storyline.”

If there were any women within the story, “the portrait is hardly flattering” (Mountfort, 2020). Most female characters can only be seen in the background, such as passerby or within the crowd. They often can be seen carrying their children or are doing activities associate with markets or preparing the food. They do not have any dialogue and voice or real role within the story, if the reader did not pay any attention to the background they will never notice any of the women within the background of the setting.

Some female characters who had any dialogue will either be a maid, a wife and/or a mother, who only talked about their husband or children, they never talked about themselves. They also almost always being portray as emotional and weak, they will often than not be seen panicking, crying or fainting and needing help from the protagonist or other male characters. Barely a handful of female characters “have any real agency or if they do, as with diva Madame Bianca Castafiore and, to a lesser extent, General Alcazar’s wife, Peggy, they are often depicted as irritants at best and at worst nags.” (Mountfort, 2020). 

According to Mountfort (2020) in some albums there are “even complete omission of women”, meaning that in some album there were no appearance of female character at all. Such as within Tintin’s seventh volum, ‘On a marché sur la Lune’ or Explorers on the Moon (1954/1959), there were 62 pages without a single female character being seen. And within Tintin’s tenth volum, ‘L’Étoile mystérieuse’ or The Shooting Star (1942/1961) the only time female character are seen “are at the docks where a where a ship is berthed” (Mountfort, 2020), in page 20 and 22.

In conclusion they are very little representation of women within the The Adventure of Tintin. According to Fem (2020) there need to be “more strong female characters in children’s books.” This is because children’s books can play an important role in “changing the way we as a society treat masculinity as though it’s the norm.” (Fem, 2020).

References:

Fem. (2012). “The Adventures of Tintin,” Gender and the Power of Nostalgia. Femmagazine. https://femmagazine.com/the-adventures-of-tintin-gender-and-the-power-of-nostalgia/

Mountfort, P. (2020). ‘Tintin, Gender and Desire’ Journal of Graphic Novels and comics. Routledge Taylor & Francis Group. DOI: 10.1080/21504857.2020.1729829

Mountfort, P. (2020, August 4). Tintin and Gender_Part 1. [Powerpoint slides]. Retrieved from https://blackboard.aut.ac.nz/bbcswebdav/pid-5314289-dt-content-rid-12497028_4/xid-12497028_4

Mountfort, P. (2020, August 4). Tintin and Gender_Part 2. [Powerpoint slides]. Retrieved from https://blackboard.aut.ac.nz/bbcswebdav/pid-5314289-dt-content-rid-12497029_4/xid-12497029_4

Week 1 Popular Genre

Popular Genre 2020  – Week  1  

  1. How has the academic reception of popular genres changes over time? 

We all have different tastes and by academic standards popularity is no indication of good storytelling that comes now in the form of cartoons, comic books, science fiction, fantasy, detective stories, film noir, graphic novels, television series and anime. Even though many people enjoy this type of entertainment it was often not considered as ‘serious’ or ‘high’ literature by the academic elite who tended to be white, male and English speaking. We are now a more literate society than at any time during the past and nowadays authors can reach a wider selection of the public.  

Serious literary works, unlike popular genre fiction, had not transitioned well into the age of digital media. Universities offer courses now that reflect this change to examine practices associated with popular genre to examine humanity that has become part of the cultural gestalt.  

  1. What might the value be of studying them? 

The value of these courses is potential future employment. By exploring the foundation of popular genre gives one an insight into development of structure, characterization, setting, context, mode(s) that contribute to an audience’s understanding of a composition, use of technology and other literary devices to reach readers in all corners of the publishing industry. Additionally, works by writers from different backgrounds eg gender, ethnic, sexual orientation or other marginalized group gives different perspective, themes and messages the author wishes to impart that maybe more pleasurable relevant and tell us more about society today than do literary classics. 

 
REFERENCES  

Mountfort, P. (2020). AUT Blackboard. Popular Genres ENGL602. Powerpoint Week 1. Retrieved from https://blackboard.aut.ac.nz/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_96250_1&content_id=_5273101_1&mode=reset 

Week 1 Popular Genre

Popular Genre 2020  – Week  1  

  1. How has the academic reception of popular genres changes over time? 

We all have different tastes and by academic standards popularity is no indication of good storytelling that comes now in the form of cartoons, comic books, science fiction, fantasy, detective stories, film noir, graphic novels, television series and anime. Even though many people enjoy this type of entertainment it was often not considered as ‘serious’ or ‘high’ literature by the academic elite who tended to be white, male and English speaking. We are now a more literate society than at any time during the past and nowadays authors can reach a wider selection of the public.  

Serious literary works, unlike popular genre fiction, had not transitioned well into the age of digital media. Universities offer courses now that reflect this change to examine practices associated with popular genre to examine humanity that has become part of the cultural gestalt.  

  1. What might the value be of studying them? 

The value of these courses is potential future employment. By exploring the foundation of popular genre gives one an insight into development of structure, characterization, setting, context, mode(s) that contribute to an audience’s understanding of a composition, use of technology and other literary devices to reach readers in all corners of the publishing industry. Additionally, works by writers from different backgrounds eg gender, ethnic, sexual orientation or other marginalized group gives different perspective, themes and messages the author wishes to impart that maybe more pleasurable relevant and tell us more about society today than do literary classics. 

 
REFERENCES  

Mountfort, P. (2020). AUT Blackboard. Popular Genres ENGL602. Powerpoint Week 1. Retrieved from https://blackboard.aut.ac.nz 

Week 3 Question

Why might the queering of Tintin offer new life to the series?

Tintin is an iconic comic book series, however it has been subject to much controversy regarding representation of woman (depicted as irritating and naggy), race (depicted as native and unintelligent in earlier comics) and the queer community (non-existent).  In recent years, there have been multiple fans as well as critics such as Lichtenstein (1993) who claim that he has queer tendencies and is supposedly in a closeted relationship with the Captain (p.1). However, I believe that the queering of Tintin could have serious negative results, rather than breathing new life into the series.

Matthew Parris is an openly gay British journalist for The Times who published an article regarding Tintin’s sexuality which led to much controversy. One of his more infamous quotes was when Parris (2009) stated that Tintin is obviously gay because he was “a callow, androgynous blonde-quiffed youth in funny trousers and a scarf moving into the country mansion of his best friend, a middle-aged sailor?”. These sorts of comments immediately create stereotypes. If he was in the LGBTQIA+ community, the reasoning should not be due to attributes such as his clothing and accommodation, but due to the writing and characterisation.

Labelling a character as gay for the sake of representation comes across as insincere. This insincerity could potentially lose existing fans. Herge had made it clear in interviews that he does not view Tintin as a queer character. France Info, the French public news radio network, stated in 2009 that when studies in the 1970s claimed this, Herge scoffed at the theory. In theory, it depends on whether you believe in death of the author or authorial intent. Authorial intent is the simple idea that what the author tells us regarding their work is fact. On the other hand, the ‘death of the author’ is the concept that “regardless of what the author intends to say with a book, the true meaning of a book can only be determined by the reader” (Barthes, 1967). Personally, I think both have a part to play, however with Herge’s obviously negative opinion towards this theory does indicate that officially queering Tintin could come across as insincere, and there’s no guarantee of gained fans.

Tintin’s character is neutral and open to interpretation. He does not seem romantically interested in woman, however representation of woman in Tintin generally is minimalistic. Critics claim there is homo-erotic subtext, but other critics do not agree. Mountford (2020) even stated that “envisaging Tintin as a girl or young woman would make little material difference to his depiction in the series, other than perhaps to raise eyebrows at his living arrangements” (p. 13). In conclusion, I do not believe an official queering of Tintin would breathe new life into the series, due to the potential creation of negative stereotypes and the author’s intent being completely dismissed. If people see him as a queer icon however, they have the right to view him as such. There are plenty of queer icons that do not identify as homosexual, such as Judy Garland or Beyoncé. However, he does not need an official label.

 

References

 

Baker, F (12th January, 2009) Tintin ‘outing’ enrages fans who insist he is so macho. Retrieved from https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2009/01/12/tintin-outing-enrages-fans-who-insist-he-is-so-macho/

 

King, R (10th January, 2009) French furious that Brits say Tintin was gay. Retrieved from https://www.businessinsider.com/2009/1/french-furious-that-brits-called-tintin-gay?r=AU&IR=T

 

 

Mountfort, P. (2020). Tintin, gender and desire. Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics. https://doi-org.ezproxy.aut.ac.nz/10.1080/21504857.2020.1729829

 

 

Ramsey, R (7th June, 2017) Authorial intent and the “Death Of The Author’. Retrieved from https://duelinglibrarians.net/blog/authorial-intent/#:~:text=In%20other%20words%2C%20authorial%20intent%20means%20very%20little.&text=%E2%80%9CThe%20Death%20of%20the%20Author%E2%80%9D%20or%20authorial%20intent%20still%20creates,be%20up%20for%20new%20interpretations.

 

Week Four Questions

Is anime a high or low cultural medium, according to Susan Napier (2005) and what are some of its sub-genres?

According to Susan Napier (2005), anime is considered a popular and dominating culture in Japan, however, in America it is seen as a “sub” culture. Often, anime is seen as a type of low culture depending where you are in the world, but at its roots, anime is a popular cultural phenomenon that inspires from previous high cultural Japanese traditions. Traditions such as Kabuki, woodblock prints, and martial arts can be seen as significant influences on a range of genres found in anime, as well as insights from worldwide twentieth century cinema and photography. The complex issues and narratives in high culture literature are also explored in anime, while entertaining the audience with its provocative visuals, as well as provoking viewers on a range of real-life contemporary issues. For instance, the ecological issues that can be seen influenced in Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke and much of his other work.

Akira is a key animated film that brought a new perspective to the culture of anime when it first appeared outside of Japan in 1990. During the time of its release in the west, animation was typically viewed as a minor art form, reserved for children or abstract art-house films, and Japanese animation was further marginalized in comparison. With the popularity of Akira, it spurred the culture of Japanese anime into the more mainstream field of entertainment, and anime became an important figure in the global cultural economy. Akira even became a top selling video in the year after it was released in the UK, while also heightening its popularity in other European countries as well. Furthermore, Japan has been known for many of its “high cultural” products like haiku poems, Zen, and martial arts, however, animated films and videos became a bigger product in the 1990’s and remains as a big export. Thus, propelling anime from being a topic of smaller subgroups to a bigger marginal niche audience in mainstream media.

Moreover, unlike cartoon animations in the west, which has a larger focus on an audience encompassing mostly children, anime in Japan has viewers that vary from both children, to college students, and young adults. Napier (2005) describes anime’s pop cultural phenomenon in Japan as cutting across “generational lines to be embraced by everyone.” With different anime’s catering to different age groups, it also appeals to different contemporary issues and visual factors in the form of sub-genres. Cyberpunk is a popular anime genre with works like Akira, and Ghost in the Shell. Another popular sub-genre is Shoujo anime, which is targeted at an audience for younger girls, and often has a young, female protagonist. As can be seen, anime as a medium holds many different visual elements of generic, thematic, philosophical and psychological components to create a distinct and aesthetic world.

References

Napier, S. (2005). Why anime? In Anime: from Akira to Howl’s Moving Castle (pp.3-14). Hampshire: Palgrave/ Macmillan.  

Week 4 Question: What was the cultural impact of Akira (1988), and why does it occupy a key place in the canon of anime greats?

1. What was the cultural impact of Akira (1988), and why does it occupy a key place in the canon of anime greats?

Among the wide catalogue of influential anime, there is nothing more important to the development and popularity of the genre than Akira (Otomo, 1988). Akira is one of, if not the most important anime creations, it was the film that exposed many western audiences to the world of Japanese animation and as a result, the cultural impact of Akira was ginormous. Akira’s impact truly cannot be understated, Susan J. Napier mentions that “Akira is also a complex and challenging work of art that provoked, bewildered, and occasionally inspired Western audiences when it first appeared outside of Japan” (Napier, 2005, p. 5). The cult following that Akira acquire was substantial considering how unknown anime was to the western world earning over $80 million worldwide in VHS sales alone. Put simply, Akira showed the western world that Japanese animation existed.

 

Before Akira, animation in the west was predominately seen as a medium design for children Napier mentions how “animation was generally regarded as a minor art, something for children, or, perhaps, the occasional abstract, art-house film” (Naiper, 2005, p. 5). This is seen with how the vast majority of Walt Disney Picture films are designed for a much younger audience, specifically children. For western audiences that grew up children’s cartoons, Akira would have been genuinely shocking as it was radically different from what they would have been exposed to. Akira’s visuals, soundtrack, storyline, and other aspects were unlike anything western audiences would have seen at the time. Akira was uncompromising in this regard and is another reason why it had a massive cultural impact. This idea is true for a lot of anime, as Napier states “Its complex story lines challenge the viewer used the predictability of Disney … while its often dark tone and content may surprise audiences who like to think of cartoons as childish or innocent” (Napier, 2005, p. 9). Akira showed western audiences an animated film that did not stray away from graphic depictions of violence and sexuality, something that was virtually never seen before the advent of Akira.

 

Akira was also influential in the creation of the subgenre, Japanese cyberpunk, popularizing the subgenre after the Akira manga series started it. Without Akira some of the most influential and important anime simply would not exist, it paved the way for other important Japanese animation to make their way over to the west and further the interest in anime. Due to the monumental cultural impact of Akira, it has cemented itself as a key film in the great canon of anime alongside many other great works. A reason as to why Akira established itself as one of the greats in the anime canon is how it has remained culturally relevant even 32 years after its creation. This is due to the poignant themes and imagery in Akira resembling a lot of the continuous struggles that people face against corrupt government systems.

 

References

Napier, S. (2005). Anime: from Akira to Howl’s Moving Castle. Hampshire: Palgrave/ Macmillan.

Otomo, K. (Director). (1988). Akira [Film]. Tokyo Movie Shinsha.