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Nele Noppe

CFP: From an Intercultural Crossover to a TransculturalPhenomenon: Manga, Comic, Graphi... - 0 views

www.diigo.com/...5baf0923d645848efb2a5bd1f1f30a

academic call_for_papers manga comics

shared by Nele Noppe on 16 Jun 09 - Cached
  • CALL FOR PAPERS Title: From an Intercultural Crossover to a Transcultural Phenomenon: Manga, Comic, Graphic Novel International Conference at the Cultural Institute of Japan, Cologne (Japanisches Kulturinstitut Köln, The Japan Foundation), September 30 – October 2, 2010, in cooperation with CITS (Center for Inter- and Transcultural Studies, University of Cologne) Manga, comics and graphic novels are shaped by different cultural codes and shifting visual and narrative conventions. This conference focuses on the historical development and theoretical aspects of comics and manga by stressing their mutual influences. Whereas European and North American art and popular culture exert a great impact on Japanese manga, such as the Franco-Belgian tradition of “ligne claire” on Ōtomo Katsuhiro and Taniguchi Jirō, Walt Disney’s animated films on Tezuka Ōsamu and Christian and Antique ideas on Miyazaki Hayao, Japanese manga influence the concept and visual conventions of modern European and American comics as well, as can be seen in the work by Frédéric Boilet, Moebius, and Frank Miller, among others. Moreover, the intercultural exchange between the Japanese manga tradition and equivalent forms of sequential art in other Asian countries (i.e. China, India, and Korea) largely contributes to the dissemination of new hybrid art forms in the realm of comics and manga. The purpose of this conference is to bring together scholars and other experts of different countries and different fields, i.e. literary studies, picture theory, cultural studies, linguistics, narratology, film studies, and semiotics, who pursue different areas of investigation in this field. In order to adhere to a general outline for this conference, the papers might deal with one or several of the following topics: • Intermedial, intercultural and narrative perspectives for the interpretation of the graphic novel and other genres of sequential art prominent in both comics and manga • Comparative analysis of the construction of time and setting in comics and manga • The functions of color in comics and manga • Similarities and differences between Japanese and other Asian manga and European and North American comics • Impact of wordless comics and manga • Historical development of the mutual influence of comics and manga • Change of the conventional verbal signs (such as speech balloons, sound effects, typography) • Influence of films and cinematic style on the production of comics and manga • Influence of visual codes derived from art history and popular culture in order to create an individual artistic style Contributions from academics and experts interested in any of these areas and in international perspectives are particularly welcome. There are plans to publishing the proceedings of the conference afterwards in book form. The deadline for proposals is: *31 August 2009*. Please email a 300 word abstract (for a thirty minute paper, followed by 15 minutes for discussion) and a short biography as an attached word document to Bettina Kümmerling-Meibauer at: bettina.kuemmerling@t-online.de and Franziska Ehmcke at: amm07@uni-koeln.de Notification of the acceptance of proposals will be made by 30 September 2009. The conference fee will be 120 Euro, including catering, technical equipment, conference folders and various arrangements. The conference venue is located in the Cultural Institute of Japan, not far from the University of Cologne. For details, go to www.jki.de (text in German and Japanese). For further inquiries contact the conference convenors: Bettina Kümmerling-Meibauer Universität zu Köln Institut für deutsche Sprache und Literatur II Gronewaldstr. 2 50931 Köln Germany E-Mail: bettina.kuemmerling@t-online.de Franziska Ehmcke Universität zu Köln Ostasiatisches Seminar (Japanologie) Albertus Magnus-Platz 50923 Köln Germany E-Mail: amm07@uni-koeln.de
Nele Noppe

iPad Publishing No Savior for Small Press, LGBT Comics Creators - 3 views

prismcomics.org/display.php

comics censorship digital_manga manga non-academic technology

shared by Nele Noppe on 28 May 10 - Cached
Ariane Beldi liked it
  • Anticipated as a potential savior of the comics industry, distribution of digital comics through Apple's iPhone and iPad is proving not to be the magic bullet many had hoped for. Format issues, pricing concerns, and censorship of content are hindering many creators, particularly those making lesbian and gay comics, from taking full advantage of this new outlet for their work.
  • But Apple chose ePub as the format for books sold through iBooks; the format is not designed to support fully illustrated projects like art books and comic books, and presents them with large white margins on each page. There are only a handful of graphic novels available in the iBooks store; most have been modified to show a few panels per page to avoid shrinking the content excessively.
  • Even if a creator happened to have the technical proficiency to write her own comics app, going from iBooks to a boutique comics app is hardly ideal for a small publisher or self-published creator. You have no opportunity to reach readers unless they specifically look for comic books; you don't benefit from the browsing and search traffic on the larger store and your books won't appear in searches. But even if a creator or small publisher persevered and created and successfully promoted his own comics app, there is the last, and possibly most significant, hurdle to overcome: Apple censorship.
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  • Digital magazine store Zinio, like all content suppliers for iPhone and iPad, agreed to Apple's "Regional Content Review" for all items sold through their app. This means that all "in-app purchasable" content must be approved by Apple to be acceptable to the broad U.S. population (the United States is one "region") or it will block it. The more obvious targets for censorship in the Zinio store included Playboy and Penthouse magazines, but Vogue France was also rejected because it features artistic and occasional use of nudity. Vogue France is also not stocked at Wal-Mart stores for the same reason.
  • Stories have surfaced about comic books being blocked as well. In February, Stephen Lindsay, the creator of Jesus Hates Zombies, discovered that a link to buy his book through the ComiXology app had stopped working. A ComiXology rep explained in a tweet that Apple "deemed it inappropriate according to their SDK guidelines" and they were forced to remove it.
  • "Here's the thing," said Lindsay. "Jesus Hates Zombies doesn't involve any sex whatsoever. None. It has violence and swearing, but that's because it's a mature readers horror comedy. But the violence isn't even intense. And being a black and white comic, there's zero red blood, which means any gore is dramatically cut down."
  • When asked if it would be fair to say that any comics with content that would fit in an R-rated movie (violence, brief nudity without explicit sex) would fit into Apple's guidelines, Murphey agreed.
  • "People seem to think that Apple is slamming our hands down every day saying 'No — we shall oppress this material— you are not permitted to do anything that we do not deem to be family friendly'… and that's not what's happening at all," Murphey continued. "Apple has not censored what we publish in a way that we feel has been terribly oppressive. When things first started in 2008, before they had the parental controls in effect, they were much more strict about what could and couldn't be allowed in the store. Now things are much better."
  • "My problem with Apple banning [Jesus Hates Zombies] is simply this," says Lindsay. "They allow the Marvel book Kick-Ass. How in God's name is my book worse than Kick-Ass when it comes to content? The simple answer, it's not. But because Kick-Ass is a Marvel book, it gets a pass."
  • The experience of smaller publishers producing books with LGBT characters and situations also seems hard to reconcile with Murphey's assessment of Apple's guidelines. Tom Bouden's adaptation of The Importance of Being Earnest was rejected as an iPad app for the App Store, again due to "materials that may be considered obscene, pornographic, or defamatory." A handful of sexually suggestive images depicting men, some extremely mild, were specifically flagged as problematic in the 80-page graphic novel.
  • perhaps to avoid calling attention to its restrictions, Apple did not allow black censor bars to appear in content.
  • Yaoi Press packaged their graphic novel Zesty for submission to the App Store with the assistance of digital provider Fika Publishing
  • The book was rejected without explanation.
  • "I'm not as hopeful about the iPad as I was this morning," said Abraham in an article about Manga on the iPad for About.com. "The iTunes store just rejected Zesty, our tamest graphic novel, without citing a reason. We thought this could be a bright spot for us, akin to our sales on Amazon Kindle, but we're very discouraged right now."
  • We have snuck onto Apple platforms through the Kindle app." A search on Amazon's Kindle Store for Yaoi Press titles yields a wide range of prose and graphic novels, all of which can be purchased and synced to an iPad or iPhone. Kindle purchases do not happen "in-app", and are not required to be reviewed and approved by Apple. Amazon appears to have no content restrictions with regard to sexual content; even explicit sexual material appears to be fair game for Kindle books.
  • "Amazon doesn't seem to have a problem with the story," Bonte said. "They accepted it for digital distribution. The problem with Amazon is that they take 70% and Apple only 30%, plus the platform is absolutely not usable for comics.
  • "If Dylan was 20 today," Tate wrote, "how would he feel about your company? Would he think the iPad had the faintest thing to do with 'revolution'? Revolutions are about freedom." "Yep, freedom from programs that steal your private data," Jobs responded. "Freedom from programs that trash your battery. Freedom from porn. Yep, freedom. The times they are a changin', and some traditional PC folks feel like their world is slipping away. It is."
  • Ariane Beldi on 28 May 10
     
    It looks like I'm not about to get an iPad! I have already decided not to get an iPhone (short-lived batteries, locked software, cost of mobile internet subscription) but it looks like Apple is heading in a direction with which I can't agree, meaning that my next computer certainly won't be from this brand. There were things I didn't like with Microsoft either, but it seems that Apple is doing even worse. And Google isn't walking that much of a more satisfying path. After I'm done with my dissertation, I'm definitely planning on learning better how to use linux and other open-source materials.
  • ...2 more comments...
  • Nele Noppe on 28 May 10
     
    I did get an iPhone last year. The very high cost is somewhat balanced out by the great ease of use, but after all the random app-banning and the launch of this new reactionary device, I have to agree with you and quit buying Apple products. This kind of content censorship is incredibly harmful.
  • Ariane Beldi on 28 May 10
     
    Ah! So, you were also a victim of the iPhone craze! ;-) I must say that it does look very enticing and seducing, but I feel that Apple is going too far with all these automatisms, to the point that you don't even know where the stuff you download or even write is stored on your device. There was a time when Apple products were more transparent than Microsoft's. But now, ergonony for the sake of ergonony and design have taken over completely to the point that Apple products are becoming complete "black boxes". My next cell-phone will certainly look a lot more like a smart phone than mine does now, but it won't be an Apple product, nor probably an Android one. I don't like all these geolocalization softwares. I'm not sure what it will be, because my present cellphone is doing ok and have no idea how long it will last, so it will depend on what's available and within the reach of my wallet.
  • Nele Noppe on 28 May 10
     
    Yes yes, it was a bad call, thank you for rubbing it in ;) In my defense, they hadn't started with the app-bannings and absurd censorship policies back then. Listening to Jobs defining "freedom" now, it's like hearing Agent Smith explain the purpose of the Matrix. I'm not sure what my next phone will be, either. Android looks better, but Google owns quite enough of me as it is.
  • Ariane Beldi on 28 May 10
     
    Well, I don't blame you! My father got one as soon as he was able to. His excuse was that he needed to receive emails on his cellphone, but there were other brands and models who could do the same. They just weren't as sexy and let's face it, not as frequently displayed in public spaces. As for me, since I didn't want to get a mobile internet subscription, as they are quite expensive in Switzerland (around 60 Euros/month and for a limited amount of downloaded data), an iPhone would have been pretty much useless and would have costed me a fortune (without phone subscription, they were sold between 700 and 800 Euros a piece). So, what saved me, in reality, was simply lack of money and other priorities than mobile telephony. Moreover, I have an iPod mini on which I can download music, radio recording and video shows, so I don't need anything else to entertain me during my train travels. So, really, I have absolutely no merit whatsoever for not following fashion...if I had had the money, who knows...I might have fallen to the craze too! ^_^
Nele Noppe

The Visual Linguist - manga - 0 views

www.emaki.net/...manga.html

non-academic visual_language manga

shared by Nele Noppe on 06 Dec 07 - Cached
  • At most, various sources mention one or two different conventions, but I couldn't find any extensive type of cataloging. (though, if anyone is aware of such a thing, please let me know)I started trying to make a cross-cultural list like this back when I used to have the forum, but that project seems to have stagnated. This is a research project just waiting for someone to take it up (like oh so many)...
  • Underlying message: Graphic systems are not universal
  • one graphic system can influence another one
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  • Graphic systems (or rather, human minds that produce graphic systems...) are fluid and changing
  • Multilingualism in visual language!
  • Children are choosing the "manga style" en masse to draw in — a consistent style which is beyond the scope of a single author and belongs instead to a community. Underlying message: Children learn to draw by imitating others
    • Nele Noppe
      Nele Noppe on 06 Dec 07
       
      is manga style easier to draw in for kids than, say, more realistic superhero style?
  • To this extant, it wholly removes them from the social context in which they usually appear. They did have some actual books on display, though they were kept under glass – meaning people couldn't flip through them at all. Of all print-culture visual languages, manga in Japan seem quite the paradigm example of using a Language over Art context. Seeing them pulled from that context and put into a dominantly Art setting was an interesting clash of these underlying cultural forces.
    • Nele Noppe
      Nele Noppe on 06 Dec 07
       
      emphasize the importance of context, the fact that manga images/signs are meant to be interpreted as part of a whole
Nele Noppe

Frenchy Lunning: Japan Journey! - 0 views

verticaltime.blogspot.com/...japan-journey.html

manga manga_research non-academic

shared by Nele Noppe on 02 Jan 08 - Cached
  • the distinctive characteristics…reflect the Japanese subconscience and can be identified only by stripping away the influences of the modern history of manga as an imported style…Yet highlighting only those characteristics would slant the debate toward a closed argument…an echo of Orientalism.
  • Toys, animation, gaming, and western comics all show the influence of manga and anime, but evidence of this aesthetic can also be found in fashion, graphic design, industrial design, and fine art. Though initially this was considered a trend that would peak and be replaced, this movement, has steadily expanded since it emerged in the late 1980’s (in the US), and has established itself as a substantial and sustaining aesthetic, one that has transformed western design and consumer culture.
  • the continuing steady growth of manga and anime around the world in markets like France and Italy, which embraced manga years before the U.S. did, would appear to indicate that interest in anime and manga is not a flash-in-the-pan fad, but a trend that will continue on the upswing for some time to come. (www.icv2.com/articles/news/2953.html)
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  • demonstrates the potential for new transnational aesthetics that become the uniting factor in such movements. Such an account of manga is crucial to understanding the ways in which transnational markets continue to expand and differentiate themselves, and begins to project how utopian images of the global village might become a reality.
  • I propose to look at manga graphics through an historical perspective, to trace lineages and flows of the art within Japan and from Japan to the world. Both from the standpoint of the images themselves, but also with an eye to other influential graphic objects whose national, commercial and popular cultural position in Japan meant that they have been overlooked as contributing influences on manga styles.
Nele Noppe

The Graphic Classroom: MACBETH: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL - 0 views

graphicclassroom.blogspot.com/...macbeth-graphic-novel.html

academic comics education literature

shared by Nele Noppe on 23 Sep 08 - Cached
  • Sometimes you have those moments, the ones when you look at a product and wonder why you did not think of it first.
  • jaw dropping in its ingenuity, approach to comic literature, and classroom utility.
  • The illustrations are also very appealing as they are detailed, colorful, and representative of modern comics. The art does not play to the child, but caters to a wide audience, pulling no punches and showcasing the story conscientiously.
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  • Classical Comics kneaded the word “adaptation” in such a common sense way, I am befuddled that no one thought of it before. Other comic adaptations of classic literature make a choice: Replicate every word and every scene exactly as it was in the original text, or take liberties with the language and the storyline. Classical Comics, on the other hand, takes what should be the obvious choice – all of the above – and creates different versions of the story to suit both traditional purists and modern audiences. The result is a brilliant product in three volumes, perfect to suit the needs of many, while still maintaining the authenticity of the original text. It is brilliant.
  • Shakespeare was meant to be seen, not read.
Nele Noppe

Thought Police Can't Protect Real Children - 2 views

www.translativearts.com/thoughtpolice2010ej.html

non-academic manga anime sexual_content children law censorship crime games

shared by Nele Noppe on 08 Apr 10 - Cached
  • would have established the catagory of "nonexistent youth"
  • The banning of fictional depictions of child abuse would likely be as meaningless as the banning of fictional depictions of car chasing with the aim toward reducing motor vehicle accidents in real life.
  • If content alone was the issue, war footage and horror films should be banned as well.
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  • Content in itself is not the issue--Child pornography has been outlawed because the methods involved in production involve real children in possibly abusive circumstances. How the material was produced is what makes it criminal, not what impression it conveys on the audience. 
  • Child pornography involving real children being sexually abused is horrid beyond words. For that very reason, I find it reprehensible to mix together such acts of human misery and suffering with illusionary fantasy that exists only in the author's imagination. Widening the definition of child pornography to include fictional material belittles the gravity of real sex abuse.
  • Many convicted criminals also cite the Bible as their inspiration of conducting astonishingly savage acts, and yet few would attribute the Bible as the root cause of such criminal behavior. Why?--Because free societies accept the principle that people are responsible for their own actions.
  • It is very dangerous to restrict the actions and rights of citizens based on the principle that some limited number of individuals may act irresponsibly. This is the equivalent of removing knives from the household kitchen because someone used a meat cleaver to commit a crime. Again, this logic is unbelievably reckless as well.
  • Furthermore, crime statistics published by the Japanese police themselves show no causality between the proliferation of erotic material and sex crimes. The crime rate has dramatically decreased since WW2 while the availability of erotica and violent fictional entertainment has risen by leaps and bounds during the same period.
  • It is easily imaginable that an endless cycle of accusations and denials will unfold regarding establishing the "true age" of fictional characters. Authors and publishers will more than likely attempt to proclaim that the characters look young, but they are actually above the age of 18. Physical attributes vary between widely depending on race and ethnicity, not to mention fictional non-human characters.
  • Publishers and authors are extremely proficient in adapting toward new regulations. If graphical depictions are banned, then abstract or comedic depictions will increase.
  • Either an ever increasing set of symbols will be deemed to be inappropriate to be linked to a core human attribute--human sexuality--or the futility of the ban will lead the law to become impotent over all.
  • Even today, numerous adult manga publications have self censorship standards that are mind-boggling. Authors have complained about how some editors have insisted on having all female characters appearing in their works be endowed with large breasts because drawing women as they appear more like in real life was deemed "too childish looking." 
  • Banning the fictional depictions of minors involved in sexual situations will make a fundamental core human attribute taboo.
  • Such a ban will stifle creativity and impoverish the cultural landscape.
  • The value attributed to works of literature and art change over time. The works of modern art and literature from the last two centuries are filled with examples where they were deemed to be vile, corruptive trash by contemporary authorities, but now these same works enjoy high status as priceless cultural treasures.
  • A culture grows richer through addition, not by subtraction.
  • A ban on fictional depictions of minor engaged in sexual situations has the very real potential to brand individuals as sex offenders even though they have had no sexual contact with real people. I believe there could be no legal justification for destroying people's lives simple because they drew doodles on paper, but the proposed ban would create such a legal precedence. 
  • I am absolutely certain that history will not look back kindly upon such a ban, and it will join a long list of colossal failures of regulatory policy, such as the prohibition of alcohol in the US between 1920 to 1933, various sodomy laws, the comic book code, and bans on socialist literature in Japan during the prewar era. It is important to note that all these failed moral crusades were led by virtuous and diligent individuals intent on making the world a better place. 
Craig Norris

Call for papers: PopCAANZ: The Popular Culture Association of Australia and New Zealand - 0 views

POPCAANZ 2nd Annual International Conference June 29-July 1, 2011 | The Langham Hotel, Auckland, New Zealand Call for Papers - deadline for submissions: January 30, 2011 The Popular Culture Assoc...

academic manga anime

started by Craig Norris on 13 Jan 11 no follow-up yet
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