Anime Otaku:
Japanese Animation Fans Outside Japan
Annalee Newitz
Bad Subjects, Issue # 13, April 1994
In Japan, the term otaku is a kind of insult; it refers to a person who is so involved with a particular type of fan subculture that he or she becomes obsessed, even insane. One way otaku gets translated into English is with the somewhat derogatory term 'fanboy.'
In America, fans of Japanese animation often call themselves otaku with pride, although they are quick to point out that the term is, in fact, insulting.Otaku gets
appended to any number of fan subculture categories to indicate one's allegiance to them. For example, a motorcycle fan would be 'motorcycle otaku,' and fans of Japanese animation -- known as anime -- would refer to themselves as 'anime otaku.'
This form of self-identification among (largely American) fans of Japanese animation tells us something about what it means to consume anime outside Japan: in order to affiliate themselves with anime fan culture, American fans are calling themselves by a name the Japanese use as an insult.
The entire aticle can be seen here.
Wednesday, August 9
On the Edge of Spaces: Blade Runner, Ghost in the Shell , and Hong Kong's Cityscape
Abstract
Sf films such as Blade Runner and Ghost in the Shell take a deep interest in the Hong Kong urbanscape at the turn of the century. With its history of dislocation, migration, and marginality in its colonial days, Hong Kong emerges as a model city for the sf genre of "future noir"; its overcrowded, disjunctive cityscape provides a perfect setting for multiculturalism in a postmodern context. This article takes readers on a guided tour of a unique shopping mall at the hub of Hong Kong urbanscape, Times Square, as an illustration of how we can read out of it an "urban secret located at the intersection" of sf and the postmodern.
The whole article can be read here
Sf films such as Blade Runner and Ghost in the Shell take a deep interest in the Hong Kong urbanscape at the turn of the century. With its history of dislocation, migration, and marginality in its colonial days, Hong Kong emerges as a model city for the sf genre of "future noir"; its overcrowded, disjunctive cityscape provides a perfect setting for multiculturalism in a postmodern context. This article takes readers on a guided tour of a unique shopping mall at the hub of Hong Kong urbanscape, Times Square, as an illustration of how we can read out of it an "urban secret located at the intersection" of sf and the postmodern.
The whole article can be read here
Warchowski Bros On Speed Racer, Live action adaptation
The Wachowski siblings proposed live-action adaptation of Japanese anime classic "Speed Racer" is now on the starting line awaiting the greenlight at Warner Bros. reports Production Weekly.
The production has set up shop on the Burbank lot, taking over the offices that were home to Bryan Singer's now defunct "Logan's Run" remake. The move comes two years after the film was first proposed by actor Vince Vaughn who confirmed last month he still remains committed to the project.
The film would see Vaughn play Racer X, the long-lost but protective brother of the title character who is a young driver that travels from race to race with his family.
Source
The production has set up shop on the Burbank lot, taking over the offices that were home to Bryan Singer's now defunct "Logan's Run" remake. The move comes two years after the film was first proposed by actor Vince Vaughn who confirmed last month he still remains committed to the project.
The film would see Vaughn play Racer X, the long-lost but protective brother of the title character who is a young driver that travels from race to race with his family.
Source
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