The Dreaming: Chapter 2 all finished. Now inking chapter 3!
Okay, I finally got my sorry ass together and is posting up all those academic papers I picked up at the Melbourne Monash University Manga Symposium 3 weeks ago. Unfortunately, I only have the papers from the Japanese side, as the apeakers on the Australian side didn’t have papers to hand out. Which is too bad, because there were some genuinely interesting stuff – but for that purpose I’ve decided to post up the titles of their papers and their email addresses whereever possible. My own paper’s in Session 4 – though file sizes can be huge due to the pdfs.
Imagining Japan: A Symposium
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Session 1 – Background for Understanding Popular Culture in Japan
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Sex and Violence in Japanese Popular Culture and War: Putting the Focus on Boy’s Culture – Prof Kimio Ito (Osaka University)
Lacks the necessary graphics as part of the presentation, but very interesting concerning the evolution of shonen manga, especially from wartime Japan to modern day manga.
The Decline of Rokyoku: ‘1960s’ as a Significant Point in the History of Popular Culture in Japan – Dr Manabe Masayoshi (Osaka University)
Not quite so manga-related, but “Rokyoku” is something you’re BOUND to have seen in manga. It’s a type of Japanese drama/singing that is kind of like Noh in its minimalism. Documents the changes and outside influences in the form.
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Session 2 – The Grammar of Manga
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Language in Contemporary Japanese Manga – Prof Kinsui Satoshi (Osaka University)
The Body in Contemporary Japanese Manga – Prof Yoshimura Kazuma (Osaka University)
A must-read if you can read Japanese, and reads Japanese manga. “Cyborg 009” seems to be some sort of benchmark for manga, especially concerning linguistic and racial stereotypes – these 2 papers document the way manga creates a language on its own; forming a separate reality that doesn’t have much to do with the reality we live in. Real popular culture crystallisation. This panel also included a “performance” by a 4th year student of Seika University; Ms Sato Maki. Too bad I don’t have a picture of her doodles – she was asked to draw faces of people of different nationalities, for example a Japanese, an American, a German, a Chinese and a Korean. Her drawings of each seemed like re-tread of every ethnic stereotype there could be in existence – which, like it or not, is actually a main staple of manga and popular culture in general. The Japanese readers of manga (should) know that these character faces are of ethnic stereotypes, so what they do is to give visual cues as to the background of a particular character. Believe me, that pig-tailed girl in the “China doresu” yattering in pidgin dialect may be considered offensive in the West, but in Japanese manga it serves a REAL purpose.
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Session 3 – The Global Construction and Consumption of Japan
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The Imagined Worlds of Australia’s Manga Fans – Dr Crag Norris (Monash University)
The Otaku Sub Culture in America – Joshua Sarcewicz (Student, East Stroudsburg University – USA)
Mobile Phones and Diversity in the Spread of Japanese “Cute Culture” in the Asia Pacific – Larissa Hjorth (RMIT University and University of Melbourne)
No papers for these 3, goshdarnit.
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Session 4 – Responses to Manga Culture in Australia
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An Introduction to the Workshop Concept – James Rampant (Monash University)
Some translated manga at http://www.lostinscanlation.com/. No, it’s not a giant freebie; it’s a university student project.
Manga in Singapore & Funky Ninja Magic – Kenneth Chan (Monash University)
Adopting Manga: From Hong Kong to America – Queenie Chan (Manga Artist)
I actually went first on this panel.
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Session 5 – Japan as Image
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Japan as Image – Installation
This is a panel that presents it’s papers as an interconnected diagram (points above). It’s not necessary to analyse the diagram to understand the papers, but it shows how the pop culture landscape of Japan is all interrelated.
Exporting (or exported) Otaku – Dr Omote Tomoyuki (Osaka University)
Centralised Pop-Japan – What the Acceptance of Japanese Popular Culture in Korea Tells Us – Dr Yamanaka Chie (Osaka University)
Exported Japan – On Japan’s Culture Policy – Mr Ito Yu(Osaka University)
Girl’s Popular Culture Going It’s Own Way – The Diffusion of Japanese Cute and Yaoi – Ms Jessica Bauwens (Osaka University)
Japanese Anime Becoming Mainstream – Or is It? – Renato Rivera (Osaka University)
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Session 6 – Manga Culture, Japanese Art and Cinema
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Imagining Gi-wafu: Gi-yofu Kenchiku, Manga and Japanese Contemporary Art – Dr Rio Otomo (Melbourne University)
The Hong Kong Connection: Wong Kar-ai’s 2046 and Japanese as the Language of Desire – Katy Stevens (La Trobe University)
Fuyu no Sonata: Japan’s New Image of Korea – Alison Tokita (Monash University)
Knowing Japan Through Image and Reality: A Reading of Peter Carey’s “Wrong About Japan” – Dr Craig Norrish and Prof Ross Mouer (Monash University)
The Impact of Cultural Policy on the Avant Garde: The End of Angura System – Dr Peter Eckersall (Melbourne University)
Again, no papers.
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Session 7 – Alternative Imaginings in Japanese Popular Culture
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A Short History of ‘Hentai’ – Dr Mark McLelland (Queensland University)
Everything you will ever need to know about hentai, and how the word has been misappropriated in English. No paper unfortunately, but the word hentai is actually misused in English; referring to anything of a sexual nature whereas in Japanese, it refers to extreme forms of perversion. It seems Hentai has a long and colourful history in the underside of Japanese Popular Culture.
Imagining ‘Asia’ in Japanee Videogames – Dr Dean Chan (Edith Cowan University)
A dream job: writing papers on video games.
Robot Culture – Kirsty Boyle (http://www.karakuri.info)
Think the Japanese obsession with robots is a 20th Century phenomenon? You’re wrong.
