Paper Topics I (5-6 pages) due October 4 You may also make up your own topic but check with me first.

1. In this class we have discussed various reasons for the great popularity of manga, and by extension, anime, such as the pictocentric tradition, long commutes, and as an alternative to Hollywood dominance. In “Dreamland Japan” Fredrick Schodt suggests (p.51) that manga, particularly the fantasy kind, are popular because “the gap between fantasy and reality in Japan is enormous”,ie. because the Japanese live in a relatively safe homogenous society then enjoy all the more reading about bizarre and fantastic other worlds. Or, as Schodt says “the point here is that the inherent stability of modern Japanese society may give people more leeway in their fantasy lives.” Discuss this assertion, using examples from anime and/or manga. 2. Luca Raffaeli mentions how “Time is often ...slowed down [in anime] offering us the chance to follow the thought that comments and transforms and experiences that that particular moment of emotional perturbation...in Japanese cartoons the characters are often waiting for something like a clashwith the enemy, for a match, for a love encounter.” (p.129). Analyze the use of time and pacing in such  works as the Yamato series , Aa My Goddess or Video Girl Ai. 3. In his article on Yamato Saito Kenji quotes Kodai Susumu’s nearly final words “sometimes it is easier to die than to survive,” (translated a little differently in the version we watched ). How does Saito seem to approach these words?How do these words function within the overall context of the film? 4. In her article on “Cuties in Japan” Sharon Kinsella talks about how the young girl in Japan (and her various accouterments such as stuffed animals) is seen as both a symbol of the increasing importance of young women as economic forces and, paradoxically, as symbolic of infantilation or weakness. Do the girls in the romantic comedies we have viewed fit into her categories? Why or why not? 5. Paul Wells suggests, (p.26) that “the whole idea of animated film is to suppress the categories of normal perception.” Using examples from anime, discuss the special qualities of the animation medium, and explore whether Well’s statement is correct.

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