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Norris, Craig. "Cyborg girls and shape-shifters: The discovery of difference by anime and manga fans in australia." Refractory 8 2005. Accessed 4 Mar. 2011. <http://blogs.arts.unime ... australia-craig-norris/>. Added by: joachim (04/03/2011, 12:39) |
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| Resource type: Web Article Language: en: English Peer reviewed BibTeX citation key: Norris2005 Email resource to friend View all bibliographic details  |
Categories: General Keywords: Animation, Australia, Fandom, Identity, Interculturalism, Japan, Manga, Reception, Superhero Creators: Norris Collection: Refractory |
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| Attachments | URLs http://blogs.arts. ... alia-craig-norris/ |
| Abstract |
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This essay explores how manga (Japanese comic books) and anime (Japanese animation) fans in Australia construct ideas of manga and anime’s difference and Japanese-ness. It is based on a number of interviews I conducted with members of anime clubs around Australia, particularly looking at how fans’ racial and gender identities were being constructed through their experiences of manga and anime. While the manga and anime characters I’m looking at are not conventional superheroes – they don’t have special costumes, and rarely do they battle against clearly defined villains for a noble cause – there are some general connections where the fans’ favourite characters do perform heroic acts, saving cities from marauding cyborgs, terrorists, and malicious government and military organisations. Saving and helping the people they love around them, and so on. And, if we consider one of the acts of superheroes to provide role models to others – then these characters and their flaws and differences do provide fans with ‘super herioc’ role models of difference they can use to critique racist, culturally exclusivist identities they perceive in Australia. It is also the moral ambiguity and often all-too-human weaknesses of the characters that many of the fans I interviewed pointed to as an important element of their enjoyment – saying that these stories were not American superhero adventures gave them a way of exploring and promoting a different type of cultural capital and identity.
Added by: joachim |