Collectors and academics

Abe-Nornes amnornes at umich.edu
Wed May 20 04:02:06 EDT 1998


Makino Mamoru is simply extraordinary. While doing research on the
translation of Paul Rotha's Documentary Film from the late 1930s, I
stumbled on a copy of the first edition that had corrections scrawled
between every single line of the book. After some digging, I determined
that it was the property of one of key critics of the translation. I showed
it to Makino---who has done considerable work on the 1930s---with some
trepidation. I knew he'd covet it. He did, and I could do nothing but hand
it over. But I didn't mind it, since I knew that there would still be
access to the book just because it was him. 

But he's extraordinary. This curious mix the scholar-collector. It sounds
like an uncomfortable combination, but is it? Perhaps we could think about
the nexus of collecting and cogitating. The pleasure of the collector=otaku
far exceeds fetishism, at least in its popular sense. Collectors purchase
and poach the objects of their fascination; they endlessly arrange their
"data" in patterns that are meanful, at least for them. In a world of chaos
there are certain pleasures to this manipulation and making meaning. It
seems to me this deeply corresponds to the work of historians and our
pleasures. Indeed, until the moment of publication or presentation, many
scholars are slippery when it comes to defending their territory. Thus,
it's not surprising that many of the historians of Japanese film are also
serious collectors, and that none share their knowledge and materials like
Makino---the ultimate otaku-scholar=gentleman. 

What's the difference between a PhD and Otaku in the end?

Markus



More information about the KineJapan mailing list