corr: asking your inputs about the Bunkacho project, the National Center for Media Arts
sushil khattri
sushil_khattri at yahoo.com
Wed Jun 17 15:02:17 EDT 2009
DON"T send me any more email.
i am so tired of getting this
--- On Tue, 6/16/09, hakutaku at kansaigaidai.ac.jp <hakutaku at kansaigaidai.ac.jp> wrote:
> From: hakutaku at kansaigaidai.ac.jp <hakutaku at kansaigaidai.ac.jp>
> Subject: Re: corr: asking your inputs about the Bunkacho project, the National Center for Media Arts
> To: KineJapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu
> Date: Tuesday, June 16, 2009, 7:02 PM
>
> It has been interesting to follow the many insightful
> suggestions by Aaron and others concerning the possibility
> of this new government project.
>
> As someone who teaches both anime and manga ( among other
> areas), I wanted to say a few things about the importance of
> including manga. Manga does indeed have quite a history in
> Japan, yet so do cinema and animation. One key role of manga
> today is the way it serves as a base for developments in so
> many areas, including anime, games, and some types of live
> action cinema. To study Nausicaa, Akira, or Tezuka's
> animation (to name only a few of the most internationally
> popular) animations without deep study of their related
> manga is to form a very incomplete understanding of their
> production and meaning. To deeply study many of these areas
> of necessity involves manga, so to exclude the collection,
> preservation, exhibition, and most especially scholarly
> analysis of manga from such a center would be regrettable.
> As I live in Kyoto, I regularly visit the Manga museum
> there, however, it is far from an ideal basis for a
> institution to study manga. The collection and Museum
> activities are largely focused on teenage and younger manga
> and audiences. They do invite noted manga creators to
> lecture but most of these lectures are fan based and
> directed rather than having scholarly content. There have
> been a few scholarly symposia and a few good (but extremely
> small and without catalogs) exhibitions of archival
> materials in their minimal display space, yet it is hard to
> imagine without a major change of direction that this Museum
> could develop or meaningfully support deep research, major
> exhibitions, and so on. Also, its location in Kyoto makes it
> hard to access for the academic and population centered in
> Tokyo and the Kanto area.
>
> Given the history of such things, it is likely that
> something will be created in Tokyo that won't be what we
> would like to see and it will become necessary to see how
> whatever appears can then be made more useful. Nonetheless,
> this online discussion of what might be valuable seems like
> a significant opportunity to consider the importance of
> interdisciplinary work in contemporary media in Japan. I
> have often been frustrated by seeing a division made between
> the study of manga and anime among Japanese scholars despite
> the rewards of simultaneous consideration of these
> integrally interrelated forms. I hope others might share
> online some thoughts about these topics.
>
> Paul Berry
> Professor
> Kansai Gaidai University
> Osaka
>
> >I have received quite a few messages on and off list.
> Thank you so
> >much! One thing that has become clear is that the ideas
> I received
> >are almost completely absent on Japanese websites and
> blogs, perhaps
> >all 704,000 sleds I hit on google. This is also the
> case in the June
> >4 symposium in which the four brains of the center
> plan--Hamano
> >Yasuki (prof. at Tokyo U.), Satonaka Machiko
> (cartoonist), Tosa
> >Nobumichi (artist), and Moriyama Tomoe
> (curator)--expressed their
> >opinions (http://ameblo.jp/akihiko/entry-10274113451.html).
> So it
> >seems very significant to address researchers'
> viewpoints and
> >demands, though I think I should be careful about
> this politically
> >sensitive issue. I might post later. Many thanks
> again!
> >
> >Hideaki Fujiki
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >On 2009/06/12, at 22:37, Ariane Beldi wrote:
> >
> >> Dear all,
> >>
> >> This message is only superficially related to this
> fascinating
> >> discussion,
> >> but since you are talking about early Japanese
> animation, I can't
> >> help but
> >> signal the forthcoming retrospective on 60 years
> of animes at the next
> >> Locarno International Film Festival
> >> (http://www.pardo.ch/jahia/Jahia/home/lang/en) in
> Switzerland. Here
> >> is the
> >> Website with the description of this part of the
> festival and an
> >> upcoming
> >> detailed program: http://www.mangaimpact.ch/. These events are
> being
> >> organized in cooperation with the National Museum
> of Cinema of Torino,
> >> Italy. If I'm not wrong, the museum will also be
> holding a special
> >> exhibit
> >> on Japanese animation until the end of this year.
> >>
> >> Since I live in Switzerland (though not in Ticino,
> the Italian-
> >> speaking area
> >> where the Festival takes place) and plan to attend
> it at least for
> >> a few
> >> days, if anyone is interested and would like some
> information about
> >> travel
> >> and accomodation arrangement, I'll gladly try my
> best to help you.
> >>
> >> I apologize that one of my only contributions to
> this mailing list
> >> is not
> >> directly linked to the topic and hope you will not
> mind too much.
> >> However,
> >> reading your discussion reminded me of an article
> about this coming
> >> retrospective, which said that most of the animes
> that will be
> >> presented
> >> come from Western collections. Apparently, it is
> only recently that
> >> Japanese
> >> institutions have decided to keep archives of
> these productions.
> >>
> >> Again, I'm sorry for intervening here with this
> announcement only
> >> slightly
> >> related to the topic of your discussion.
> >>
> >> Best,
> >>
> >> Ariane Beldi
> >>
> >> Ph.D. Candidate
> >> Doctoral School in Media & Communication
> Studies
> >> University of Geneva, Switzerland
> >> http://www.unige.ch/ses/socio/communication/bienvenue.html
> >>
> _______________________________________________________
> >> beldi9 at etu.unige.ch
> >> http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=591868073
> >> http://www.linkedin.com/in/arianebeldi
> >> http://arianebeldi.wordpress.com
> >>
> >>
> >> -----Message d'origine-----
> >> De : owner-KineJapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu
> >> [mailto:owner-KineJapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu]
> De la part de Eija
> >> Niskanen
> >> Envoyé : vendredi, 12. juin 2009 02:17
> >> À : KineJapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu
> >> Objet : Re: corr: asking your inputs about the
> Bunkacho project, the
> >> National Center for Media Arts
> >>
> >> I would add to Aaron's great list:
> >>
> >> The center should have a preservation and
> restoration program for
> >> Japanese
> >> early animation, and should actively collect any
> historical documents
> >> related to early animation.
> >>
> >> It would really be a waste of money to build
> another manga museum,
> >> as Kyoto
> >> already has a great one, so part of the funds
> should rather go to
> >> supporting
> >> Kyoto Manga Musuem and arranging mutual
> cooperation between the
> >> Center and
> >> Kyoto Manga Museum. Same goes to NFC.
> >>
> >> Eija
> >>
> >> 2009/6/12 Sarah Teasley <sarah.teasley at rca.ac.uk>:
> >>> In response to Aaron's reply, hear hear!
> >>>
> >>> Following on Aaron's points 6) and 8), I would
> adapt the phrasing of
> >>> his 8) and add that the point, in the end, is
> how cool Japan is
> >>> towards its own media history, and how
> confident Japan is that
> >>> animators, game designers, media artists,
> other 'geijutsuka' and
> >>> 'kurieta-' and the companies that they run
> and/or that employ them
> >>> will continue to produce work with skill,
> originality and verve,
> >>> whether or not the Bunkacho builds a generator
> for them.
> >>>
> >>> ________________________________
> >>>
> >>> Sarah Teasley / sarah.teasley at rca.ac.uk
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> On 11 Jun 2009, at 22:19, Aaron Gerow wrote:
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> I've
> been watching the news on this and have had my
> >>> worries too.
> >>> There's a lot of politics going on, but
> building one more box with no
> >>> plan is not going to help much. I also fear
> the usual rush for "new
> >>> media" which forgets the entire history of
> cinema behind it.
> >>>
> >>> Quickly,
> here are some things I would stress:
> >>>
> >>> 1) Do
> not build anything until a clear plan has been made for
> >>> how the facility should be used. This plan
> should be made not by
> >>> government bureaucrats, but by researchers,
> fans, and industry
> >>> figures
> >>> in equal numbers. Personally, I think it is
> important that the center
> >>> should be a research and exhibition center
> first (the NFC's
> >>> problem is
> >>> that it is a preservation facility first,
> leaving research as an
> >>> after
> >> thought).
> >>>
> >>> 2)
> Crucial is defining its place amongst the various
> >>> media. If
> >>> it does anime, clearly it does film, since
> much of anime was
> >>> produced on
> >> film.
> >>> If it does include non-film media, will it
> include TV? How is manga
> >>> "new media"? What of computer games? How are
> all these to relate to
> >>> existing archives like the NFC or the Kyoto
> Manga Museum or NHK?
> >>> Personally, I think mixing anime, manga and
> anything "cool" is a
> >>> problem: it is stretching too far, is
> confusing (it has no principal
> >>> other than some vague pop culture or
> market-based definition), and
> >>> steps on many toes. I would drop manga and
> focus on anime, TV,
> >>> computer games, and media art, though of
> course allowing for research
> >>> and exhibitions exploring connections with
> other media like film.
> >>>
> >>> 3) As a
> research center, it should have not only a library
> >>> and
> >>> viewing facilities, but space for conferences
> and workshops. Viewing
> >>> should be easy and inexpensive for individual
> researchers. The center
> >>> should have a publication arm that produces
> academic journals,
> >>> exhibition catalogs, and full-length
> monographs. The center should
> >>> both employ a full staff of researchers--who
> have time for research
> >>> and the freedom to be inventive in research
> and programming--and have
> >>> fellowships for one-year research projects on
> site. A research center
> >>> cannot succeed without connections to
> academia, so the Bunkacho must
> >>> cooperate with the Monkasho to create academic
> programs at nearby
> >> universities to further media research.
> >>>
> >>> 4) The
> Bunkacho must coordinate with industry to collect not
> >>> only important end products, but also
> materials related to
> >>> production,
> >>> including internal company documents. NHK and
> the other TV networks
> >>> have been terrible at making available their
> full catalogs: the law
> >>> should require them to deposit all that in the
> center for free,
> >>> unrestricted viewing. The Bunkacho must
> also work with companies to
> >>> have them waive copyright for use of stills,
> etc. of any publication
> >>> produced by the center, or for any materials
> that a scholar uses from
> >>> the center in class or in publications. The
> center should be thought
> >>> of as not following industry, but leading it
> in terms of its
> >>> cultural, not
> >> economic aspects.
> >>>
> >>> 5) As an
> exhibition site, the center should not only hold
> >>> regular series, but also regular festivals and
> lecture series for the
> >>> general public. It thus needs various size
> halls for such
> >>> exhibitions,
> >>> some of which can be rented for scholarly or
> community media events.
> >>>
> >>> 6) The
> center should not just be thought of as an
> >>> international promotion site for the
> industry's products, but an
> >>> independent cite for critical research and
> discussion. It can work in
> >>> concert with industry, but its needs should
> trump that of
> >>> industry. It
> >>> should thus focus primarily not on introducing
> Japan's new products,
> >>> but on critically examining their history,
> culture, ideology, etc.
> >>> Only such an institution will get the respect
> of foreign researchers.
> >>> To further the international aims of the
> center, it should also
> >>> sponsor international fellowships,
> translations of critical works,
> >>> and
> >> subtitling of historical media works.
> >>>
> >>> 7) The
> center must be fully budgeted for at least a decade
> >>> after it opens, which means lots of money for
> staff, publications,
> >>> and
> >>> events. That is the problem with hakomono
> gyosei: fund what's good
> >>> for
> >>> your construction company buddies, but not
> what will actually fill
> >>> the
> >>> box. If they want to avoid the impression that
> this is just Aso's pet
> >>> project, this center should not be built until
> other related
> >>> institutions like the NFC are reformed and
> fully funded.
> >>>
> >>> 8) The
> point, in the end, is not to show cool Japan, but to
> >>> show how cool Japan is towards its own media
> history.
> >>>
> >>> A bit
> quickly written (I probably forgot a lot) and probably
> >>> totally unrealizable, but I hope this helps.
> Thanks for the chance to
> >> dream a bit.
> >>>
> >>> Aaron
> Gerow
> >>>
> Assistant Professor
> >>> Film
> Studies Program/East Asian Languages and Literatures
> >>> Yale
> University
> >>> 53 Wall
> Street, Room 316
> >>> PO Box
> 208363
> >>> New
> Haven, CT 06520-8363
> >>> USA
> >>> Phone:
> 1-203-432-7082
> >>> Fax:
> 1-203-432-6764
> >>> e-mail:
> aaron.gerow at yale.edu
> >>> site:
> www.aarongerow.com
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> --
> >> Eija Niskanen
> >> c/o Hirasawa
> >> Koenji-kita 4-2-10
> >> Suginami-ku
> >> Tokyo 166-0002
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >
>
>
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