Mr. John's doing that "othering" thing that he does, but this time it's a little different and maybe a little more intriguing -- almost by accident.
See, his premise is that Americans demand a certain weight and heft to their anime. Which is an idea that appeals to me -- I certainly like to think I demand a lot from media that I consume, even to the extent of investing it with meaning if the creators seem to have fallen short in that department. As John says, "Countless Americans maintain the personal standard that an anime has to contain some degree of literary substance in order to be worth watching." So far so good, I think. I actually agree with that.
But I think that he errs in saying that this is because "America's anime viewers demand justification for watching 'cartoons.'" I don't think that the American anime watcher thinks, even subconsciously, that anything animated is beneath notice if it doesn't have a murky palette that's at least half blood. I'm not willing to underestimate us to that extent. John writes that "Americans instinctively think [cartoons] are a childish medium intended for children," and I think that's oversimplified at least, possibly simply incorrect. It may have been true twenty years ago, but things are different now.
We can change our preconceptions. I've always believed that. If we watched cartoons as children, we can appreciate the same works anew as adults. And I've seen that happen as well.
So why don't we watch the sort of "trifling" series that John mentions? Why isn't this sort of slight work popular outside of Japan? I think it's simple -- each person only has a limited capacity to consume and enjoy media. We have our entire quota and more of mindless escapism provided to us for free and practically without volition. Anime, on the other hand, because it's imported, has to be sought out deliberately. (Once we get past
Naruto,
Pokemon, and friends.) That takes effort, for which we demand some return.
That's it. A simple explanation for why I'd rather watch
Ghost in the Shell than the harem anime
du jour that has nothing to do with my feelings on cartoons, instead relying solely on the ratio of effort to expected return.
And I still like
Idol Project. A lot. Don't forget it.
words from chris, 2009-07-24 01:27:41, los angeles
