Before having a superficial knowledge about
animation, I thought animation was just a genre for younger generations and to
give the audiences pleasures. To me, Animation was just an entertaining tool
that I used to watch on TV frequently after school when I was a kid, enjoying
myself. At that time, it's for sure that I absolutely had no sense of the depth
and variety of animation. However, after the reading, I have found that the
world of animation is far more than just an amusement.
In Japan, animation belongs to a 'popular' or
'mass' culture and "intellectually challenging art form" while it is
considered to be a 'sub' culture in America. Unlike older art forms, on the surface level
of animation, the audiences get pleasures but deeper level, it also provides
them with specific contemporary issues. Anime in Japanese culture is a "cultural
phenomenon worthy of being taken seriously, both sociologically and
aesthetically." (Napier, 2005, p.4) Thus, some of the animation stories are
rather thought-provoking to audiences.
Animations particularly in China has been
required to be educational as well as enjoyable. In addition, the Chinese
animation emphasizes the importance of material that deals with morals,
national characters, an originality of the culture and applying human traits to
characters. (Lent, 2000) In Asian societies nowadays, the genre seems to be
very significant in terms of cultures and economies as well.
In economic terms, Asian nations spotted a
niche in animation market. Animation business is related to the economic
benefits since it represented "most of the country's cultural products
exports." (Lent, 2000, p. 14) Once an anime makes a big hit that results
in exporting, for example, Princess Mononoke, its images and pictures are
present everywhere, making an enormous economic effect.
I could notice this global phenomenon of
animation since they are one of the genres that we are dealing with in this
paper. Apart from the entertainment reason, animations in Asian societies exist
for more reasons such as education, adornment, commercial enterprise, global
phenomenon (cultural force) and reflection of a society with insights into significant
issues.
References
Lent, J. A. (2000). Animation in Asia:
appropriation, reinterpretation, and
adoption or adaptation. Retrieved 28 September, 2012, from
Napier, S. (2005). Why anime? In Anime: from Akira to Howl's Moving Castle
(pp.3-14).
Hampshire: Palgrave/ Macmillan.
Hi David, you've shown a good grasp of the readings but you also need to use specific examples from Princess Mononoke to back up your arguments - and show Mike that you have actually watched the film!
ReplyDeleteHi, thanks for your feedback Karen. I just mentioned the film 'Mononoke', which obviously seemed to have been a successful hit around the world, to say about the economic benefics it would make in animation business. I think this paper dealing with the film is also evidence of its big hit. And yes I've seen the film in the screen section but I didn't fully understand the story because of my poor English listening. I might want to watch it again!
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