29/50 and home!
29. Permitted and Prohibited Desires by Anne Allison
I read this for a final project, and since the project was making an annotated bibliography I'm just going to copy and paste (well, I'll cut out a bit; I wrote way too much for the assignment). Herewith:
Anne Allison is an anthropologist, but this book is based on techniques from a variety of fields. Reflecting on research and products from the 1980’s, this volume was a bit dated even when it was first printed. It is composed of chapters on two distinct topics which Allison unsuccessfully attempts to merge. Topic one is the consumption of a genre of pornographic manga aimed at heterosexual men; two is the role of mothers in Japanese society. Yet it does make the book more useful for anyone studying anime, as chapters one through three stand on their own and provide a useful mix of clear explanations of many standard Western theories - situated alongside Japanese theories - and a carefully non-judgmental analysis of misogynistic erotic manga which is accessible for an undergraduate audience but also introduces new ways of looking at these manga for academics. Her lack of judgment actually becomes one of the major problems of the book. She is not arguing a lack of female sexual desire, but while male sexual desire is dealt with extensively female desire as represented in the book is limited to fake reports of incest and the joys of preparing children for school. Lastly, Allison’s arguments would be greatly strengthened by reference to more numerical data, which is often sadly and overtly lacking.
The book's got some holes, but it was interesting and fun, and "interesting and fun" in a way that would transfer to someone with a less-intense interest in Japan than me.
So, I got home late last night. My finals are over, though the cold I caught during them is not :(
I'm not that sick, but I made myself a bit worse by first shoveling snow and then walking through it to go to the library/shopping for a few hours. Luckily I have most of my Christmas shopping done and my plans for break are basically,
1. See people.
2. Read some stuff.
3. Get rid of stuff (see items read in 2.)
4. Rest.
... in no particular order. I was able to get a temporary license and registration before I left California, so I am officially a California citizen now. Which kind of sucks, because I'm irate about Congress' lack of action on the 9/11 responder health bill and I have no idea who to call. Boxer? Or was she my old Congresswoman? Grr.
Okay, it's time to get ready for bed. If anyone in the DC area wants to hang out, call me. (Not in the morning though, please; I'm still on West Coast time.)
I read this for a final project, and since the project was making an annotated bibliography I'm just going to copy and paste (well, I'll cut out a bit; I wrote way too much for the assignment). Herewith:
Anne Allison is an anthropologist, but this book is based on techniques from a variety of fields. Reflecting on research and products from the 1980’s, this volume was a bit dated even when it was first printed. It is composed of chapters on two distinct topics which Allison unsuccessfully attempts to merge. Topic one is the consumption of a genre of pornographic manga aimed at heterosexual men; two is the role of mothers in Japanese society. Yet it does make the book more useful for anyone studying anime, as chapters one through three stand on their own and provide a useful mix of clear explanations of many standard Western theories - situated alongside Japanese theories - and a carefully non-judgmental analysis of misogynistic erotic manga which is accessible for an undergraduate audience but also introduces new ways of looking at these manga for academics. Her lack of judgment actually becomes one of the major problems of the book. She is not arguing a lack of female sexual desire, but while male sexual desire is dealt with extensively female desire as represented in the book is limited to fake reports of incest and the joys of preparing children for school. Lastly, Allison’s arguments would be greatly strengthened by reference to more numerical data, which is often sadly and overtly lacking.
The book's got some holes, but it was interesting and fun, and "interesting and fun" in a way that would transfer to someone with a less-intense interest in Japan than me.
So, I got home late last night. My finals are over, though the cold I caught during them is not :(
I'm not that sick, but I made myself a bit worse by first shoveling snow and then walking through it to go to the library/shopping for a few hours. Luckily I have most of my Christmas shopping done and my plans for break are basically,
1. See people.
2. Read some stuff.
3. Get rid of stuff (see items read in 2.)
4. Rest.
... in no particular order. I was able to get a temporary license and registration before I left California, so I am officially a California citizen now. Which kind of sucks, because I'm irate about Congress' lack of action on the 9/11 responder health bill and I have no idea who to call. Boxer? Or was she my old Congresswoman? Grr.
Okay, it's time to get ready for bed. If anyone in the DC area wants to hang out, call me. (Not in the morning though, please; I'm still on West Coast time.)