Introduction
For my visual and audio presentation, I would like to explore myself as a fan of anime and manga and what it means for me to be fascinated by a part of the Japanese culture. I will look at how this obsession impacts on my identity. I will also be looking at the value it holds for me.
Anime & Manga
What is anime? Well the word 'anime' is a shortened variation of the word 'animation' and is best described as Japanese cartoons. Manga is anime's printed counterpart, similar to comics, however, the style of drawing is different and the volumes (collections of chapters) are read from the back to the front, right to left and top to bottom.
Below are some visual and audio examples,
The video is an opening sequence from an anime called Naruto.
The above image is a page from my favourite series One Piece. As you can see, it's in black and white which is the norm for manga. It's a treat to have coloured pages!
Identity
Our identity is how we represent ourselves to the outside world. Being a fan of anime and manga is an important part of my identity. What started as simple curiosity has developed into an ambition. It has become my dream to learn Japanese and become a teacher of English as a foreign language, particularly in Japan. Therefore, anime and manga have had an increasing impact on my ideal self.
It is these positive thoughts that have created a self-fulfilling prophecy. Previously, I was always thinking that I would not achieve much but now, because I am positively thinking about my future, I am taking actions to make it come true. This also corresponds with the Pygmalion effect which states that if someone has an expectation of themselves then they are more likely to perform better.
However, whilst my ambition is public and not something I hide, I refrain from talking about my obsession and keep it as a part of my hidden self. According to the Johari Window, we have four 'selves'. The open self is information you don't usually hide such as gender or eye colour. The hidden self is information you might conceal from others such as sexual preferences. The blind self is what you don't know about yourself but other people can see and lastly, the unknown self which is concealed from everyone, including yourself. It's part of your subconscious and can only be accessed whilst dreaming.
The reason I keep my hobby as part of my hidden self is because of its reception. In Japan, anime and manga is well received and a staple part of their popular culture, some titles such as Akira even moving into the realms of high culture as examined during the exploration of value. However, here in the UK, it's a subculture that is little known. It is true though, that with the introduction of American companies translating and airing anime on televisions, the popularity has increased, especially in America and Europe. But very few delve deeper than the dubbed versions. As such, within my group of friends, there are a very limited few that actually know what I am talking about and I can hold a proper conversation with. Their reluctance to understand has lead me to curb my enthusiasm around them. This could interlink with the looking glass theory because I am concerned about people's perception of me. My blind self can also be explored because people see me as being obsessed with Japanese culture. If you were to ask my friends whether this is a prominent part of my identity, they will confirm that it is. However, the act of hiding this aspect of my identity relates to Goffman's theory of cynical performances.
I do not talk of my enthusiasm around
my friend thus acting to please them and
not myself.
In some ways, this could also define my identity as a non-conformist. Instead of investing my time in activities more conforming to the UK's culture, I choose to immerse myself in Japan's culture. This act of non-conformity, in reality, is quite secluding however, there are many forums and social networking websites that can be accessed where there are similar minded people. As such, fans of anime and manga have very much become a subculture or a cult within the UK's own culture.
The idea of forming website communities and forums is linked to Gergen and Gergen's theory about how we protect ourselves from negative feedback. Gergen and Gergen believe that we will try to mix with similar minded people. In my case, this is true as I am an active member within many online communities and social networking groups that are designed for fans by fans and where people can trade ideas and reviews. As mentioned before, I keep my fan status as a part of my hidden self which to some extent, could be considered as changing my behaviour to conform to the norms of my family and friends. Another 'defense mechanism' that I activate is the changing of negative comments into a joke. If someone criticizes me for my choice of reading material, I can laugh and crack a joke about it. One of the seven interpersonal communications can also be applied here. The dissonance theory relates to how I use gestures such as shrugging and lack of eye contact to remove myself from the situation.
Value
For my identity as an English person, anime and manga have little value. It's a barely known subculture that has a very low position within popular culture. It most certainly would not be considered high culture, even if its fanbase were to grow exponentially. In Japan however, watching anime and reading manga are considered a normal activity and the subject of many conversations. The title of 'mangaka' (a professional manga artist) is prestigious and pays very well, making a huge profit for its creator and it's enjoyed by a large percentage of the Japanese population. There are some titles, such as Akira which I mentioned before, that would be thought of as high culture in Japan.
In fact, Akira is considered a landmark for Japanese manga and animation. It is also quite revered among its Western fans however, Western canon is consider to be "all the best that has been said and thought in the world", said by Matthew Arnold, which had been determined by white middle class men. Frank and Queenie Leavis went further and identified the canon as being important, declaring that popular culture was lacking in taste, addictive, superficial, sentimental and self indulgent. Anime and manga would never become a part of the UK's high culture due to post colonialism. The British Empire had a complex set of ideas when imagining the world. These complex ideas include assumptions and what is right and wrong. The UK has deemed anime and manga to be wrong as it from a culture different to it's own, subsequently, having no value.
Identity
Our identity is how we represent ourselves to the outside world. Being a fan of anime and manga is an important part of my identity. What started as simple curiosity has developed into an ambition. It has become my dream to learn Japanese and become a teacher of English as a foreign language, particularly in Japan. Therefore, anime and manga have had an increasing impact on my ideal self.
It is these positive thoughts that have created a self-fulfilling prophecy. Previously, I was always thinking that I would not achieve much but now, because I am positively thinking about my future, I am taking actions to make it come true. This also corresponds with the Pygmalion effect which states that if someone has an expectation of themselves then they are more likely to perform better.
However, whilst my ambition is public and not something I hide, I refrain from talking about my obsession and keep it as a part of my hidden self. According to the Johari Window, we have four 'selves'. The open self is information you don't usually hide such as gender or eye colour. The hidden self is information you might conceal from others such as sexual preferences. The blind self is what you don't know about yourself but other people can see and lastly, the unknown self which is concealed from everyone, including yourself. It's part of your subconscious and can only be accessed whilst dreaming.
The reason I keep my hobby as part of my hidden self is because of its reception. In Japan, anime and manga is well received and a staple part of their popular culture, some titles such as Akira even moving into the realms of high culture as examined during the exploration of value. However, here in the UK, it's a subculture that is little known. It is true though, that with the introduction of American companies translating and airing anime on televisions, the popularity has increased, especially in America and Europe. But very few delve deeper than the dubbed versions. As such, within my group of friends, there are a very limited few that actually know what I am talking about and I can hold a proper conversation with. Their reluctance to understand has lead me to curb my enthusiasm around them. This could interlink with the looking glass theory because I am concerned about people's perception of me. My blind self can also be explored because people see me as being obsessed with Japanese culture. If you were to ask my friends whether this is a prominent part of my identity, they will confirm that it is. However, the act of hiding this aspect of my identity relates to Goffman's theory of cynical performances.
I do not talk of my enthusiasm around my friend thus acting to please them and
not myself.
In some ways, this could also define my identity as a non-conformist. Instead of investing my time in activities more conforming to the UK's culture, I choose to immerse myself in Japan's culture. This act of non-conformity, in reality, is quite secluding however, there are many forums and social networking websites that can be accessed where there are similar minded people. As such, fans of anime and manga have very much become a subculture or a cult within the UK's own culture.
The idea of forming website communities and forums is linked to Gergen and Gergen's theory about how we protect ourselves from negative feedback. Gergen and Gergen believe that we will try to mix with similar minded people. In my case, this is true as I am an active member within many online communities and social networking groups that are designed for fans by fans and where people can trade ideas and reviews. As mentioned before, I keep my fan status as a part of my hidden self which to some extent, could be considered as changing my behaviour to conform to the norms of my family and friends. Another 'defense mechanism' that I activate is the changing of negative comments into a joke. If someone criticizes me for my choice of reading material, I can laugh and crack a joke about it. One of the seven interpersonal communications can also be applied here. The dissonance theory relates to how I use gestures such as shrugging and lack of eye contact to remove myself from the situation.
Value
For my identity as an English person, anime and manga have little value. It's a barely known subculture that has a very low position within popular culture. It most certainly would not be considered high culture, even if its fanbase were to grow exponentially. In Japan however, watching anime and reading manga are considered a normal activity and the subject of many conversations. The title of 'mangaka' (a professional manga artist) is prestigious and pays very well, making a huge profit for its creator and it's enjoyed by a large percentage of the Japanese population. There are some titles, such as Akira which I mentioned before, that would be thought of as high culture in Japan.
But, I am studying myself as one of these Western fans. And for that identity, anime and manga are of a great value to me. Here are some reasons why:
Money - I have spent a lot of money building up my collection. Each volume costs £6.99 and then there are specials such as databooks (information about the characters not revealed in the main manga) which on
average cost £10.99. The anime is more expensive, however, I minimise the cost by only buying completed box sets and not bit by bit. These box sets vary in price but one example was £40 for Ghost in the Shell, series two. Add this to my collection of paraphernalia including video games and playing cards and the price is quite high. I can estimate my entire collection to have cost me at least £800 so far and I am constantly adding to it.- Ideal Self - Being a fan of anime and manga has helped me find a route in life that I would like to pursue. As mentioned before, I wish to become a teacher of English as a foreign language in Japan. Because of this, I am beginning to embrace a whole new culture and I value my experiences. Having this determination and decided path has given my new confidence that will allow me to achieve my aspirations and ambition. If I had not found anime and manga, would I be in this position now or would I just be content with staying out of trouble and never aiming higher? To become a teacher of English as a foreign language I would have to partake in a course, one of the popular choices being the CELTA institution. This idea of having educational asset complies with Pierre Bourdieu's idea of cultural capital. This attainment of an educational asset will give me an advantage over those who do not thus improving my individual social mobility.
- Friends - Even though I do not have face to face interactions with these people, I have made plenty of friends on many different forums designed for fans. Due to my actual 'real life' friends not sharing my passion or being even remotely interested, this is a great relief. With these people, I can freely converse about titles and discover new ones through word of mouth. Another theory of Goffman correlates with this. He says that our public identities are masks that we wear for our audience in order to keep up appearances.
To me, these three things have a significant value. Despite my friends and family being unable to understand my addiction, I wouldn't change it for the world! In fact, if a fire were to break out at my home, I would battle the flames to grab as much of my collection as possible and make a run for the door and leave everything else behind. I might give my parents a heads up though!
