Summer Wars

[merin_chan]

Woo, review time! Here’s how much I enjoyed Hosoda Mamoru's Summer Wars. I saw it this weekend at Winnipeg's Plastic Paper Animation Festival with my friend Adam, who brought along delicious chocolate raspberry truffles. I had one before the screening and he set the bag between us as the movie started...but I didn’t get to eat another truffle. That

Comments

[starlady38]

Right, I'm watching this one tomorrow.

[merin_chan]

Ooh, let me know let what you think!

[starlady38]

I will!

Since I'm moderating an anime panel at Wiscon I'm trying to catch up on the backlog of stuff I've accumulated to watch...

[merin_chan]

Wish I could be there! Are there specific films/series your panel will be talking about, or just anime in general?

[starlady38]

I'm moderating two, actually. The first is a general anime panel on whether the emphasis on ensembles/teamwork in many anime opens a possible feminist space. The other is a straight-up Miyazaki Hayao & Studio Ghibli panel. We'll see how it goes. (And any thoughts you might have on that first question, I'd love to hear. I think it's an interesting position to argue, certainly.)

[merin_chan]

Hmmm, that is an interesting question. I can see how anime that show teamwork might be more feminist-friendly than the Superman-style "lone hero saves the world single-handedly" plot. But I think there are sometimes problems of representation and tokenizing with team/ensemble anime. If it's not the old "token woman" chestnut from sentai shows, it's a more subtle sort of character typing. Take Sailor Moon for example. Each girl represents a particular image of femininity (ditzy, smart, glamourous, mysterious, athletic), different from the others only insofar as her difference makes her useful to the team. It risks falling into Spice Girls-brand empowerment: girl power, but only through these certain acceptable roles. The team mentality can minimize real, disruptive differences, just as certain kinds of feminism gloss over ethnicity, class and sexuality in the rush to unite women under the common banner of gender. I go in for coalitional politics, the motley crew approach, and I tend to like anime with a mixed cast of characters that

[starlady38]

http://starlady38.livejournal.com/348067.html

And also, thanks for your thoughts! They are appreciated, and will be used, I think. :-)