To what extent has Illustration constructed our understanding or view of historical events and perceptions of truth?
I want to investigate the ‘weeaboo’ and ‘otaku’ culture in this essay. ‘Weeaboos’ are white people who denounce their own culture, considers themselves as Japanese, and is obsessed with Japanese culture, specifically manga and anime. ‘Otaku’ is a Japanese term similar to ‘weeaboo’, except ‘otakus’ are Japanese and aren’t white. I want to explore the world of anime and cosplay and investigate how these are outlets for escapism. Another aspect I want to look into is how manga and anime romanticizes Japanese culture and the extent that affects ‘weeaboo’ and ‘otaku’ culture. This also links back to my level 5 essay about orientalism and commodity fetishism. The romanticization of a culture led to a ‘perfect’ culture which ‘weeaboos’ worship and fetishize. I also want to interview and possibly psychoanalyze them to find out how anime has affected their way of thinking and if they use it as a method to escape from reality. This topic could potentially lead to a topic about subcultures, but I’d like to focus more on the romanticization of culture (both East and West) within manga and anime, and how that allows people to use it as an outlet to escape from reality. I could possibly look into Japanese illustrators for the practical side of this module which is of great interest to me.
5 relevant/related subjects • Japanese culture • Otaku/Weeaboo culture • Escapism • Commodification/romanticization of culture • orientalism
5 quotes • “Weeaboo: A non japanese person who basically denounces their own culture and calls themselves japanese. They try to learn japanese through the anime they watch and usually end up pronouncing it wrong and looking like a complete idiot.” – urban dictionary • “within the fluid expanse of the amateur managa movement have crytalized fascinating and rare expressions of the more spontanous and untempered fantasies of a broad section of contemporary Japanese Youth.” – Sharon Kinsella, Japanese subculture in the 1990s: Otaku and the Amateur Manga Movement • Young people today differ far less from their elders in what they deem to be morallyright and personally desirable than had been suggested by romanticized accounts of the Youth Culture” (weeaboo culture stems from orientalism?) –Harry C. Meserve, Youth and the Future
5 quotes • “In the 1980s, otaku were described as social rejects, those who failed to conform, communicate with others, and connect consumption and play to productive roles at home, school, and work. Sharon Kinsella points out that in the 1990s otaku came to symbolize for media commentators the downfall of Japanese society itself.” – Patrick W. Galbraith, Akihabara: Conditioning a Public “Otaku” Image • “Cosplayers spend immeasurable monies and hours constructing or purchasing costumes, learning signature poses and dialogue, and performing at conventions and parties, as they transform themselves from "real world" identities into chosen (fictional) characters.”— Theresa Winge, Costuming the Imagination:Origins of Anime and Manga Cosplay
websites • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SORQSepPrxk -What Japanese Think of Weeaboos (Interview)
• http://geekout.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/12/otaku-is-it-a-dirty-word/
websites • https://8ch.net/mai/ (forum board dedicated to weeaboos’ ‘waifus’, their imaginary wives from a manga or anime series) • http://www.mit.edu/~rei/manga-romanticism.html
5 books • Fandom Unbound: Otaku Culture in a Connected World – Mizuko Ito • The Otaku Encyclopedia: An Insider's Guide to the Subculture of Cool Japan – Patrick W. Galbraith • Boys Love Manga and Beyond: History, Culture, and Community in Japan – Mark McLelland, Kazumi Nagaike, Katsuhiko Suganuma, James Welker • Freud and Fundamentalism: The Psychical Politics of Knowledge – Stathis Gourgouris • Orientalism – Edward Said