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 MangaLife: On Culture Written by Liz Reed In part one of this series, I broke down the definition of “culture” into three parts: fine arts and humanities; a combination of knowledge, belief, and behavior; and a shared set of values that characterizes a particular group of people. Now, how does this apply to manga, especially when you add other world forms like American manga (Amerimanga), Korean manhwa, Chinese manhua, and French la nouvelle manga? Just looking at the characteristically overdrawn eyes, “Kya!” sound bubbles, and scenic backgrounds like Tokyo tower reveal exactly what the story aims to capture: Japanese culture at its finest. Even magical and supernatural genres that seem far from Japan (even out of this universe) often portray the culture through mannerisms and speech. For example, I recently read and reviewed Pandora Hearts, a supernatural story that takes place in a mythical land with no strong connections to Japan. However, the characters still bow when greeting, apologizing, and even before fighting, largely depicting the traditional Japanese custom. But even more interesting, Pandora Hearts is an homage to the classic American story, Alice in Wonderland, with the “Abyss” representing Wonderland, a character named “Alice” with mysterious rabbit powers, and a slew of other characters that mimic the dark elements of the book. This type of modern manga shows that not one culture, but multiple, can influence a story’s theme, characters, and drawing style. As I brought up in the last feature, manga historians have identified two time periods that captured many issues and themes explored in manga, (pre-Meiji) and (Meiji) eras. Japan’s rise to world power status, modernization, and wartime poverty introduced deeper, more complex topics in manga, appealing to the emotions of adults and children alike. Modern manga is still influenced by these eras, as seen through popular titles like Ruroni Kenshin, which follows a wandering samurai repenting his sins of the war during the Meiji era.  However, many historians also point out that the (US Occupation of Japan) (1945-1952) also shaped the styles of Meiji manga, including “U.S. comics (brought to Japan by the GIs) and images and themes from U.S. television, film, and cartoons (especially Disney)” ((Wikipedia: Manga)). But the cultural borrowing goes both ways! Today, many Amerimangas like the popular English-language webcomic, Megatokyo, utilize Japanese cultural jokes, phrases, and even settings. The whole premise of the series is about two Americans who are so obsessed with anime, manga, and conventions, they decide to leave everything behind and go to Japan. The satirical humor and culture-clash aspect of this webcomic has helped gain wide popularity and a printed version as well. Manga junkies from all over the world can identify with these main characters! By combining multiple cultural references that educate and feel familiar to the reader, this Amerimanga webcomic is paving way for other artists and storylines all over the world.  Does anyone remember Code Lyoko and Totally Spies? These French anime series used similar art forms and expressions distinctive of Japanese manga and anime. From sweat drops and super deformed bodies/eyes to supernatural themes combined with increasingly technical 3D CGIs, I could hardly tell that it wasn’t Japenese anime until Googling out of curiosity. But with this cultural sharing, clashes are also inevitable. Take the live action film The Last Airbender. In the anime version (which is American-made), the main character’s name, Aang, is pronounced Aaa-ng, a hard “a” sound that’s not used in many Asian languages. Filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan had to make a crucial decision: stick closely to the anime or fix the pronunciation for the sake of the culture. Shyamalan said as an Asian himself, he felt the need to correct the pronunciation outweighed the need to stay true to the series. Needless to say, his change brought criticism from angry fans. In an interview with Indie Movies Online, Shyamalan said: “…I fought like crazy to have the pronunciation of the names to go back to the Asian pronunciation. So you say "Ahng" instead of "Aaang" because it's correct. It's not "I-rack," it's "ee-Rock." I'm literally fighting for all this. And who's getting blamed? ME! This is incredible. And so it's infuriating, this stigmatization, that the first word about the most culturally-diverse movie of all time is this accusation.” ((Indie Movies Online)) While culture clash of values, personalities, and speech will persist as long as other countries adapt and transform manga into their own forms, the Japanese influence is undeniable. Does the culture make the story? Do images of shrines in the ancient eras, a busy Tokyo intersection, or a sea of high school student in matching uniforms draw us in? Does the exotic, unfamiliar nature of a culture that is not our own make manga, well, manga? I believe culture is a large part of what makes Japanese manga successful, but it isn’t everything. The growing popularity of Amerimanga and other forms online and in print is a testament to the interest in other cultures all over the world. And after all, I still have to explore Art, Characters, Plot and Dialogue, and Tone/Mood to understand why we’re all living this Manga Life. Share |
30 August 2010 25 August 2010 11 August 2010 6 August 2010
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