Consumers X Producers = What Are You, a Fanatic?
The short take–
Fans:
Hobbyists:
The long take–
The guy who created the animation short “Happy Machine” is none other than Masaaki Yuasa, the director of the Madhouse artsy-fest Kaiba. Perhaps it’s just a strong influence from Eastern philosophy, but both Kaiba and Happy Machine (and others, I’m sure) have a strong underlying message about the cycle of matter, of life, and of memories. It’s not quite like reincarnation but it is all rather rooted in this irreverent glow that uncomfortably tickles my western sensibilities. It combines a modern, nihilist notion of the intangibles such as memories and feelings–that they are manipulated, physical and ordinary objects. At the same time, in true Asian style, he puts these intangible essence of human existence on a pedestal.
What did tickle me comfortably a while ago was Satoshi Kon’s visit at NYC a couple months back. He mentioned to the audience there about the nature of animation’s relationship with its fans as it transformed from something he looked towards watching every week as a teenager. Back then he would savor every episode of his favorite show a week at the time and take his 7 days to digest it. The mental and emotional exercise also fan the flames of anticipation for the next episode. Today, for most so-called fans, anime is just “yet another” sort of entertainment. It’s merchandise. Anime no longer is something that is appreciated but consumed. It folds into a supplement a way of life. (Ok, maybe I embellished a little.)
Perhaps it is important to remember that I’m taking concepts and notions from people who are a part of this industry. And what’s more, they are just one aspect of a relatively complex industry. But as a serious, introspective fan, the examination of how you relate to your hobbies or profession or obsession, whatever it is, is something of a necessity. But how I relate to people like Satoshi Kon is not going to be the same as how I relate to Sony or Masao Maruyama, even if they’re all in cahoots.
Maybe I am just a romantic, but I believe how one person relates to something else ultimately is the underlying motivation of how we act towards that something. Your heart is where your money is. You like to do the things you love. You think about the people you care for. That is why internet argument is serious business and online narcissism is commonplace.
And I’d like to talk about Xam’d in this context. It isn’t because I think the anime is particularly worthy of my recommendation (it is quite good but I don’t know if I like it even), but it’s a good example of understanding this greater context. Just like how some people care about where the food they eat comes from, how it’s grown, etc; people ought to care the context of their anime habit if they care enough about what they feed their brains. I figured this is at least a badge of serious fandom, but also it’s no big deal if you don’t care.
Anyways, what made Xam’d noteworthy for me is that it’s precious. While by no means I like the limitation (crappy DRM/rental haet) or its cost (which is a little high for comfort) that come attached to the show, it has reproduced the television viewing experience for me. By that I mean how a Heroes or Lost or 24 fan would watch the latest episode–in high def, 5.1 audio, and 101% of your attention. Better yet you can invite your friends. The short DRM period made this a bit necessary (and difficult), but the high quality production makes it a rewarding experience.
There is something about watching anime in that way. It makes them more enjoyable than they really are.
(I believe this is why anime clubs work, even if YMMV. There is just something to sharing the experience as an end, rather than just a means to entertaining yourself.)
And this is why I create stuff. It’s why I blog Xam’d. Sure, you can have people who are burnt out on reviewing anime they don’t care about, but that’s no fun. What is fun is sharing about something that is the end–the purpose of why you’re doing all this stuff. It’s like blogging because you want to talk about what you write on your blog, not so much because it’s just what a fan blogger is suppose to do.
It’s the two sides to fanaticism. A fan is just a nicer term for a fanatic; but fans can act out of the love for self or out of the love for the stuff, just like a normal person. I believe this is really why we see this difference. The penchant for merchandising is merely a reflection of people’s reverence and putting money where it matters. It’s respect. And I believe the industry nods to those who like it, and there’s a mutual understaning and support despite what cynics may think.
And in that way all the concepts I mentioned in this post come together in a feedback loop. We see how passion and profession crash when JP talks about fandom and hobbies. The semantic sidetracking aside, it’s about action. It’s like why you like something sometimes but you don’t always want to go fanboy or fangirl over it, and spend lots of money. Yet at other times you are more than willing to pluck down the bucks where your mouth is, spend the time to make a cosplay or draw a doujinshi or hunt down that store which sells taiyaki.
It’s like being a Christian versus being a Born-Again. Anyone with enough willpower can walk the walk and talk the talk, but is the experience genuine? Is it also deliberate?
Like Author, I had my moment of revelation that turned me into the man I am today even if I saw and even liked plenty of anime before that moment. It’s not a slow, slippery slope that took me into a descending darkness, but deliberate and calculated steps, aided by escapist tendencies yet tried by some degree of integrity and a desire to be able to be honest with myself.
This path of transformation from merely consumer, a “fan” of something; to an active participant–a hobbyist, an evangelist, an advocate, an organizer, a volunteer, a staff, an animator–is all the difference between a happy fan and a jaded one. For an analogy, one person is doing it just because it drowns his sorrow, the other actually gives the alcohol he drinks some damn!
It’s like how, in Happy Machine, the protagonist returns full circle and steps into the man-shaped indent. That is one way of how all of this is suppose to work.
Good post. Watching Strike Witches on BOST has given me similar thoughts.
I’m much more strict on DRM though. I boycott DRM-products, and that doesn’t just mean not buying them. It means not pirating them…not contributing to their fanworks, or cultural symbolism…not thinking about them, not speaking about them. If a company wants to put a work of art/entertainment (what’s the difference) out there, but makes it only available with DRM…I would prefer it completely ignored and without any cultural currency or following.
I completely feel you man - after all, I’m a guy who’s trying to become a director after being inspired by anime, so I’d like to say I’m one of the fans who’s gone long beyond consumer. I could actually probably say I had a definitive time as well, since when I was into anime 3 years again, I was more of a consumer (albeit an obsessed one) and it wasn’t until a mix of Evangelion and Haruhi years later that I really got into anime on another level, and started wondering how I could be a part of it. And then ef made me realize what I had to do.
In any case, great post : D
[…] wrote a very interesting entry, quite stimulating. In my path of anime, I went from fan to consumer and slowly getting back to the […]
anon: I respect that. Too bad for both you and them, I guess.
Reminds me of my college anime club, where I would have been there just because it was showing anime, but it was the rest of the audience there that made the experience more fun. A shared experience does wonders, I guess. :/