LAUAN501: Study Task 2- Understanding text

Text:

Masami Toku (2015) International perspectve on shojo and shojo manga: The influence of girl culture , Routledge.






An exploration on the artistic and aesthetic development of shojo manga, Chapter 10 discuss the concept of "Bishojo" (pretty girl) in the context of the Taiwanese fandom and the culture thats surrounds it. Within this, the author highlights the wide range of target audience of "bishoujo" characters , not only limiting to the male audience but extend to quite a significant female base as well mostly in their teens and mid-twenties, and in this particular case of Taiwan, the female base holds the majority. It also highlights the close relationship between bishojo and the term "moe" meaning the burning passion for a particular character type and the the otakus- fans who are obsessed with virtual characters. "Moe" can encompassed various aspect of the character from appearance to personality and the particular type that appeals to a certain audience shape their concept of what a bishojou is. Such as the example of the magical girl genre given by the author through the series Sailor moon,  exemplifying the otome-moe ( young maiden ) or Cardcaptor Sakura and characters such as Shimikaze from Kancolle or Shiro from No game no life representing the lolicon type (fascination for young girls). Understanding these different types and their audience can be the key to create the most effective bishoujo character that have the widest reach across the genre.

  

LAUAN501 :Study task 1- Initial Ideas

- Initial finding:

Main are of interest : Female characters

- Phenomenons : Hypersexualisation of female characters 

                            Otaku and Bishoujo culture in Japanese design 

                            Emergence of strong female characters in recent media

-Sources :

Kotaku article : "Sexism , Character design and the role of women in created worlds"

Artist Takashi Murakami's "Nurse Ko2"

Book: Virtual character design for games and interactive media 

- Potential sources: book : Creative character design 

                                reference images : Lara Croft 

=> Seeing a development of sexual icon to a strong female role 

Result for this topic can discuss the process of creating a "strong" female character. 

LAUAN501: Preparatory task

- Culture is a massive force in the creation o an animation ,which is why for my theme for this year's COP , I've gone with seeing how cultural context  impact the contents and function of an animation.

The Simpsons (1989- present) - United State :

- A massive pop-cultural force in modern U.S , the long running series is comedy parody of the "average working-class family" in the States, and doesn't shy away from touching controversial and relevant social issues that had happened along is 618 episode airing.

- The number of cultural and global event that has happened during its airing are numerous, but I think the most influential one would still be the rise of the Internet and the digital era.

 









Ghost in the shell (1995)-Japan

Director Mamoru Oshii's vision of the future shares a message that was seen as happening at the time with the rise of the digital age and technology , especially in Japan , and how that rise has changed how we think and who we are as a member of society, eventually became culture itself. Interestingly enough, 1995 was also the year the the US first introduced the iconic "Predator" drone, closing the gap on what is fiction and what is real further more.

 







Valuable Kopeck , (1941) - Soviet union

- Culture dictates function , which is why in 1949 Soviet union , animation became more a less a mean of propaganda. This piece in particular , aimed to criticized the financial institution and purpose of the West and the whole of capitalism itself. This was among the shift in attitudes towards the West from allies against the Nazis during WWII to bitter rivals, which would culminate into the Cold War, also evidence in 1949 being the year that the Soviet first test their nuclear bomb.

Totally Spies! (2001)-French-Canadian

- A extremely popular and far-reaching series, its was created during the rise of girl -bands and pop stars of the early 2000s ( with icons such as Britney Spears at the time) . This coupled with the release of Charlie's angel open up a whole new market for "girl properties" as little to none has existed up until that point.

 




Princess Iron Fan (1941)-China

Created by the Wan brothers in the midst of WWII and the Japanese occupation of China, this was the first animated feature created by the country telling a piece the tale of the popular Chinese literature work : Journey to the West.  It was fuelled by the ambition of making a product that would match the standard of Snow White in the US , which coincide with the feeling of nationalistic pride among many Chinese during the occupation at the time.