Anime

“So you wanna study anime at Harvard, huh?” J-Pop Culture & Academia

By AnimeEv 1 year, 10 months ago

Japanese popular culture, like all mass-media cultural phenomena, has often been viewed as once-removed from the canon of ‘proper’ culture and therefore runs the risk of being derided and excluded by the academy and higher education facilities. The good news is that Japanese cultural studies programs are evolving rapidly, allowing students a chance to tackle research that reflects and explores more and more of the subtle variations, taxonomies, and idiosyncrasies of J-pop culture. We’ve tracked down three academics (in three countries!) to get an idea about what it is like to be a grad or post-grad student researching such topics.

Wanna know what it’s like to study anime? Get on board. Also be sure and check out our interview with Tokyo University doctoral candidate Patrick Galbraith.

Brian Ruh

Indiana University
Author of Stray Dog of Anime: The Films of Mamoru OshiiStray

Describe your personal and academic background.

I grew up mostly in Indiana, with a brief stint in Boulder, Colorado. I was certainly a child of the 1980s – I was obsessed with Star Wars (which came out a couple of months before I was born) and this translated into science fiction in general. Luckily, due to the popularity of Star Wars, there was plenty of entertainment for boys like me, particularly animated shows. So as I grew up I watched things like Voltron, Robotech, Starblazers, and Tranzor Z.

In high school, shortly after I discovered the Beat Generation and cyberpunk literature, I re-discovered anime and began watching what I could find from the local video stores. (As far as I knew, there were only a couple of other people at my school who were interested in anime, and I didn’t know about anime clubs at the time.)

I went to Purdue University, where I began studying biology. However, midway through I had a change of heart and switched my major to philosophy. I had been taking Japanese as my foreign language, so I studied abroad at Nanzan University in Nagoya for a semester.

Once my undergrad career was coming to a close, I was unsure of what to do. I decided to go to grad school in Asian studies after reading a book chapter by Susan J. Napier on “Akira.” So after a semester of substitute teaching (since I graduated in December), I began an M.A. in Asian cultures and languages at the University of Texas at Austin, where I got to study with Dr. Napier.

I finished my M.A. in two years and wrote my thesis on the use of myth in a few of Mamoru Oshii’s films. After my MA program was over, I worked a few jobs (including doing some freelance Japanese translation for a company that was designing computerized cash registers for the Japanese market) and decided to try to expand my thesis into a full book on Oshii’s films. (More on that below.)

I also decided that grad school wasn’t yet done with me, so I applied to a number of film and media studies programs, and began my PhD work at Indiana University, where I still attend. (However, even though I’m still a student there, I now live back in Austin while I finish my dissertation.)

Where are you studying right now? What are you currently studying and in what department?

I’m at Indiana University in the Department of Communication and Culture. The department has three main areas of emphasis – rhetoric, media, and performance. My main studies have of course been on the media studies side of things, but readings and classes in performance studies have also informed my work.

How did you matriculate into your program?

At the time my wife and I were looking to move back to the midwest to be closer to our families. My department at Indiana also fully funds (or at least it did at the time) all of its graduate students (you teach classes and they’ll cover your tuition and give you a stipend).

You’re in a unique position in that you became a published author when your dissertation was put into book form. How did this all come about? Will we see a second edition of your book?

I’d say it’s all because of my masterful skills, but I think a lot of it is luck as well. After I had finished my M.A. and was thinking of making it into a book, I wrote an introduction and a few sample chapters to show to prospective publishers. I asked Dr. Napier, who was my mentor in my M.A. program, if she would give me the contact for her editor at Palgrave, with whom she had just published “Anime from Akira to Princess Mononoke.” I sent him the chapters and he offered me a contract.I was also lucky in that I was proposing my book at a time when the popularity of anime in the US was on an upswing, so it seemed like there would be a good opportunity to ride some of that buzz.

I would love to do a second edition of the book some day (or an entirely new book on Oshii). I wrote the book rather quickly under a fairly tight deadline, so I’d like to take my time with the next one. There is certainly much more to say – Oshii has done so many projects, film and otherwise, since 2004 that I sometimes wonder when the man sleeps!

Describe your academic goals. Do you see yourself teaching? Publishing? Working in an educational or for-profit capacity?

Right now as I’m finishing my dissertation I’m also working at the University of Texas in the registrar’s office as a software developer. I have a young family and we really like it here in Austin right now. I always have more ideas for new writing / publishing / business projects than I can handle at any one time, so who knows what my next steps will be.

Tell me a bit about your thesis or dissertation.

My dissertation is on anime and globalization and (borrowing from Napier and Hiroki Azuma) the “database fantasyscape.” In various chapters I write about things like the reception of anime in the US, how anime is marketed in the wake of digital fansubs, anime as cult media. (One of my dissertation chapters contrasting the reception of Robotech and Voltron with that of Warriors of the Wind [the edited version of Hayao Miyazaki’s Nausicaa] will be published as an article in the next issue of Mechademia.)

When did you decide you’d study topics centered around Japanese pop culture?

I’d had an interest in Japanese culture and anime for a while, but it wasn’t until I read Napier’s chapter on “Akira” that I realized that this was something I could actually study.

What advice do you have for other potential grad students who’d like to study anime, et al?

First of all, know the Japanese language. I mean, know it really well. Since it’s something that I don’t deal with on a daily basis, it’s something that I still find myself struggling with.

Also, if you’re interested in either manga or anime, watch many films. Not just Japanese ones, but films from all over. That’s what creators like Oshii and Osamu Tezuka did, and I think that shows in their works.

Finally, know what you’re getting yourself into. Think of what you plan to do after you get your degree. How will it help you? Will it really put you on the path to doing what you want to do?

Rolando José Rodríguez De León, Ph.D

University of Panama

Describe your personal and academic background.

I have a Ph.D. in Audiovisual communication and Publicity, and a Masters Degree in Computer animation, plus two postgraduate levels, One in Computer Education and the other in Adult Education.

Been teaching various subjects for the last 14 years, from B&W to Color photography, animation, TV production, Research and Film studies.

Have written several articles about animation and have worked in short stories made with Claymation, 2D animation and 3D CG animation, also also created a few documentary scripts and have done editing for several Panamanian companies. But right now I’m working on Audiovisual research at the University of Panama.

Describe your academic goals. Do you see yourself teaching? Publishing? Working in an educational or for-profit capacity?

Last year I got my tenure in Film Studies at the Design Department of the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Panama.

Love teaching and working on the field with my students whenever it’s possible. I have been lucky since I have work for profit as a Cameraman, a DV-editor, and in scripting for both animation, documentaries, commercials and short stories, so (I) can pass that knowledge to my students.

Sadly the Panamanian market is too small for publishing research books, and editors are not really interested in publishing anything that it’s not really profitable. I still keep on researching and writing, and just finished research on Japanese animation broadcast in Panama, it involved 26 years (1974-2000), since before 1974 there are no written references or information.

I’m also thinking on a manga-anime analysis of Akira for 2013 in order to celebrate the 25th anniversary of its creation.

Tell me a bit about your thesis or dissertation.

My thesis was an analysis of the works of Satoshi Kon. I had a few problems since it was the first thesis on Japanese animation and the Professors were reserved about the subject. It took me a lot of work to convince them that it was film studies even though it was animation. The thing that I enjoyed the most was to be able to interview Mr. Kon via e-mail, his answers were profound and really interesting.

I would love to publish it in the future, especially if I can wait and add a few more films by Mr. Kon.

When did you decide you’d study topics centered around Japanese pop culture?

While I was in Madrid studying (for) my Ph.D there was a festival by Nippon Connection in Barcelona and it featured a pre-1947 animation from Japan. When I saw it, I got interested immediately and wanted to know more about the works made by them and had no idea if it was 'available’.

I found a place, in Japan, where I got three VHS tapes of JVC’s Showa Animated Film Collection (vol. 3 to 5), and converted it to DVC-pro in order to capture it and digitize it.

At that moment I decided that if I was interested in this, maybe some other people might be too. Since there was almost no information in Spanish about any form of Japanese animation, I decided to do get in the field and try to make a niche for myself.

What advice do you have for other potential grad students who’d like to study anime, et al?

Patience is a virtue, and in this field you’ll need a lot of patience. I discovered that fellow professors didn’t understand the importance of studying popular culture, and since it’s animation related it’s 'child stuff.’

Once I even got called “a Ph.D of little comics”, which is the name used to refer to animation in general here in Panama.

But if you like what you do, if you feel you’re helping, guiding, by all means keep working. There’s nothing better than the satisfaction you can get by doing something you love while helping others in the process.

Today you could be working in a strange field, and tomorrow they may call you a 'visionary’.

Herb L. Fondevilla, PhD candidate

Art Environment Support
University of Tsukuba
Ibaraki, Japan

Describe your personal and academic background.

I graduated from the University of the Philippines with a degree in BFA Visual Communications in 2001, and entered the same university’s Masters program in Art History the same year. At the same time, I worked as a freelance graphic artist and illustrator, and met a lot of young Filipino artists and became familiar with the local art scene. During those times, I began to notice that a lot of Filipino visual artists were beginning to follow Japanese visual aesthetic related to anime and manga. It was interesting since Filipino artists tended to follow Western aesthetics, and this influence has only began to manifest itself from the beginning of the 1990s, though Japanese anime has been airing since the 1960s (dubbed in English).

Since I studied Japanese in university as a hobby (I’m also a fan of anime), I became aware of scholarships to Japan. I first came to Japan in 2001 under a JAL scholarship program, then returned in 2003 under a Japan Foundation Japanese Language Program. That’s when I started to become aware of the Japanese art scene too. Finally in 2006, I received a scholarship from Okazaki Kaheita Scholarship program, and shifted my Masters studies to Japan, and I’ve been here since, now working on PhD degree.

Where are you studying right now?

I’m studying at the University of Tsukuba in Ibaraki, Japan.

What are you currently studying and in what department?

I’m working on my PhD in Art Environment Support, under the department of Comprehensive Human Sciences, at the University of Tsukuba.

You’re studying in Japan, correct? How did you matriculate into your program?

I was accepted at the University of Tsukuba’s Art Environment Support Program under Prof. Yasuyoshi Saito. He approved of my research plan, after which I applied to several scholarship programs. I passed the scholarship exams and interview of the Okazaki Kaheita Scholarship Foundation which enabled me to come here to Japan for my Master’s. My scholarship expired in 2008, and after that I qualified for another private scholarship program; Nitori Scholarship Foundation. It was only for two years though, and now I’m on my own, third year as a PhD candidate.

Describe your academic goals. Do you see yourself teaching? Publishing? Working in an educational or for-profit capacity?

It is my goal to teach at a university, or work as a university researcher.

Tell me a bit about your thesis or dissertation.

The title of my dissertation is Pinoy Visual Pop: The Influence of Japanese Pop Culture on Philippine Visual Arts. For close to six years, I have observed and documented the works of several artists, and in general, the visual arts scene in the Philippines, specifically those that utilize Japanese popular culture elements or concepts in their works. My paper discusses these influences from studio arts, Internet and multimedia, to short films, TV commercials, and print media. I have kept close tabs with some artists and galleries, and monitored trends in visual arts. I also kept abreast with new movements in Japanese visual arts such as Murakami’s Superflat movement and Midori Matsui’s Micropop.

When did you decide you’d study topics centered around Japanese pop culture?

I wanted to study something that will interest me for a long time, since graduate studies is practically a lifetime. I like anime, and Japanese pop culture interested me. Moreover, I’m also an artist and aspiring art historian. I thought; why should I study something that that has long gone past, when I can study history in the making?

During my preliminary research, I realized that research on contemporary Philippine arts is practically non-existent. There’s a growing database of research on Japanese popular culture, but almost always based on studies in the United States or Europe. You’d be hard-pressed to find anything of Japanese pop culture’s influence (that has nothing to do with economics, politics, or social studies) on visual arts in SouthEast Asia, despite its growing popularity.

I found a niche in my choice of dissertation topic, that is fun, contemporary, and always interesting. :)

What advice do you have for other potential grad students who’d like to study anime, et al?

Find a special niche, and work on it! There’s much left to be analyzed and discussed, so keep at it! :)

AnimeEv is the content director of Ani.Me. He is currently over-using odd adjectives and editing something for somebody.

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