1. Video Clip
The term “Otaku” explained by SourceFed
host, Reina Scully, who was born in Japan, raised in US, and now works as
SourceFed host and translator.
All anime shown or mentioned in this video
1:00 Mobile Suit Gundam 1:27 I Can't Understand What My Husband Is Saying 1:49 Shiroubako 1:51 The Comic Artist and his Assistant 2:03 Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-Kun or Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun 2:14 Electric Town Bookstore or Denkigai no Honya-san 2:40 Lucky Star 2:47 Watamote 2:56 Oreimo
2. Articles
Is Being Otaku Bad?
(Just the article "Is Being Otaku Bad?". pages 6~8)
In this article, the writer raises questions about what being an Otaku means. In this article, you can have a glimpse of why Otaku has a bad image in Korea, and how Otakus can be good to our society.
Nationalism and Otaku: New interpretation of Otaku’s negative connotation in Korea
Fans of Japanese pop culture face dilemma
Korean fans had many problems and still now they face dilemma. Korean
anime fans have to fight the widespread preconception that anime is only for
children. And a mere 20 years ago, the Korean government placed heavy
restrictions on imports of Japanese cultural products. These restrictions were
lifted in the early 2000s. However, many Koreans still harbor ill feelings over
the resulting influx of anime and manga. Also, Japan's refusal to apologize for
its wartime atrocities, as well as the Dokdo dispute, have kept both nations on
edge. This hostility has spilled onto the Internet.
When I grew up, I met lots of friends who really loved Japanese comedy show, music, and drama. Many of them went to the foreign language high school as me. I didn't recognize any wrong or awkward characteristics on them, but rather felt envy at their fluency of Japanese language and open-mind to the other culture. Therefore, I didn't have any chance to see OTAKU through the eyes of some Koreans having an antipathy to Japan. With these two articles, I could re-examine the real and possible problem of accepting anything without any notice. I guess that just some cartoonists are painting the irrational and inappropriate comics in Japan. Korean OTAKU who have a lot of contacts with these may need some attentions. However, I respect their preference. Thank you for the interesting discussion topics. I would like to listen to the presentation on Tuesday !
답글삭제To be honest I too had a fairly negative view of Otakus. I just though it was abnormal to be so obsessed with made up characters that are cartoons. Actually I did not even know that Otakus was defined as people with obsessive love for a sub-culture. Instead I thought Otakus meant those who are indulged in Japaneses anime and comics. After reading this blog post I realized that I had the wrong idea of Otakus and my views changed slightly. However, although I understand that some may be fangirls and love characters from movies and such, I still don't understand why some are so attached to things that are not living such as anime characters. I really wish you guys can tell me the reason during your presentation!!
답글삭제In the article "Is Being Otaku Bad?", the writer defines Otakus as people with passion and professional knolwedge of a certain area who produce secondary creations, and at the same time the writer knows that most people think Otakus are people obsessed with Japanese animations. I think this definition is used to lump them together, interrupting further discussions about Otakus obsessed with Japanese animations. I think most people have negative connotation on the latter, not on the former, so it seems Otaku we discuss has to be specified.
답글삭제I do enjoy Japanese anime and manga, but I think some people too obsessed with Japanese animations are problematic. One aspect is unrealistic pattern of behavior. Some people speaks and acts like Japanese anime character. I think the form of communication is crucial because it makes listeners ready and let them concentrate on what one says. Surely, not every Otaku has such a problem and it is not fair to view people who enjoy japanese culture as problematic. However, I think such negative aspects also have to be discussed.
Yes, Otaku can positively contribute to our society. I understand being Otaku means being an expert in a place. This gives individuals a great courage. The Otaku network also helps out people in seclusion. They are criticized for being an expert in no-useful categories. But think of the mathematicians or scientists. They are all Otakus! Opponents might argue that researchers contribute to the development of our society. However, the Otaku population's consuming action promotes national economy. They are the ones who enjoy the 'developed society'!
답글삭제I think image of Otaku is mainly made in internet. It is easy to find the online articles that laugh at Otaku describing them wearing glasses, covered with pimples and being over weight. This mockery can make Otaku be defensive. I agree with the opinion Otaku can bring a positive effects in society. They have professional knowledge and potential to make some products in their field. But the potential is hindered by our negative thought by making them feel guilty about their hobby. We need to see them as same as we see other people who have different hobby.
답글삭제I deeply agree with the content of the news articles. The main barrier for Otaku culture being treated as a normal culture in Korea is the hostility of Koreans toward Japan. So I think that it is somewhat necessary for anime Otakus not to follow Japanese culture blindly.
답글삭제However, I also think that there should be no criticising of Otakus besides the cultural subordination. For example, we should not stereotype Otakus from the mere fact that they like 'Japanese' animes. I personally think that it is really disgusting that those people, especially within my age, like the Japanese comics 'One Piece', 'Naruto', or 'Bleach' criticises other Otakus who like other animes. This is kind of discrimination that comes from the mind 'different thing is a wrong thing', which is very vulgar mindset of some Koreans. We should respect Otakus as a group having their own interest, as long as they does not show mere subordination toward Japanese culture.
I agree that Otakus can contribute to the society in various ways. There are many Otakus in diverse fields and some of them are experts. We can use their talent and it can create much more added value. However it's still true that there is a negative stereotypes about Otakus in Korea. I hope it'll be better for your articles to suggest some ways to change distorted stereotypes about Otakus. We need bulid a foothold which Otakus can unfold their hidden talents and give the society big gifts. Nevertheless, you articles gave me valuable lessons about how Otakus can serve useful activities. Thank you for your effort!
답글삭제I too had a negative perspective about Okakus. I couldn't understand why they were excessively immersed into comic books or anime. But after reading the articles, I learned that they are a big group of consumers. Also, I learned that the generally negative views in Korea are caused by the nationalism and hatred towards Japan. I didn't know that fact. It was interesting to know about it and it changed some of my thoughts. However, on the stereotype that Otakus don't socialize well, I think it's partially true. Personally, I knew some Otakus back in middle school and high school and they really kept to themselves. They formed their own group and actually didn't let anyone else join in, so I think that has caused that stereotype to surface. Anyway, thanks for the research!
답글삭제The term Otuaku always carried a negative connotation with it to me. It seems absurd and unnatural to have so much obsession over something that one would dedicate an unreasonable amount of time, affection, and effort, while still enduring the piercing criticisms. While this group's research has helped ameliorate some of these perceptions of mine, I still feel that unhealty obsessions with certain things is a problem that may require some specific attention. I do have strong negative feelings towards this group of people as they have caused much disturbance and annoyance to me personally before. I would really like to hear more about the research and the perspectives of the interviewees from the presentation
답글삭제The second and third articles are very interesting to me. Thank you for providing two different views of a same issue. Obviously, there is a danger that being otaku can be connected to thoughtless worship toward Japanese culture. But also it is true that otaku who uncritically accepts the ideas of Japanese nationalism is just a very small part of the whole otakus. But I think, because there are obvious dangerous factors in Japanese animations or games, fans must always recognize that, and make a distictive line between being a fan of animations and being a fan of Japan.
답글삭제And it was very interesting that otakus can be very helpful in various ways! Thanks for your effort!!!! :-)
I think there is a blur in the distinction of otaku. I love detective conan, Hayao's work, Pixar, and Marvel comics. Occasionally I spend all day watching movies. But people usually don't consider me as an otaku, since there are few Japanese films I see. This is what is wrong about having negative views on the otakus. There is a real handsome Korean celebrity who is very popular. And his hobby is collecting and making lego! To me, watching and collecting what I like and admire is a sound hobby. To the extent that they don't harm other people(non-otakus) it would be a wonderful activity.
답글삭제I personally think that Otaku is really not a bad thing, and since our world is diversifying time after time, there might be some people who like reading comics or people who like characters in it. I am pretty much surprised that people in America also use the term Otaku to call people who are into the japanese comics, because I originally thought that is was a term just in Korea. I also think that there is no big difference in people who like Japanese comics and people who like movie characters or pop stars, and they are somewhat helpful to our daily lives.
답글삭제I have seldomly seen some of my friends who are totally into Japanese anime and mangas. Even though I have seen them singing anime songs or watching animes, I could not understand why they liked it so much. I thought they were being childish. However, it was because of my prejudice that anime is just for kids. I learned a lot from this blog post about Otakus. It was firmly stereotyped by Korean society. By reading this post, I also learned specific reasons why Otakus were negatively viewed in Korea. Now I know that I could also become an otaku if I become deeply interested in something. Even though there are some problems of natiinalism in Japanese anime, I think Korean Otakus might be the ones who would solve this problem because they are the ones who know the most about it.
답글삭제I found that some kinds of subculture can be related to a nation-scale. Especially, Otaku is related to Korean and Japan relation. In historical context, these two countries experienced many things: Korea being colonized by Japan, and Japan's atrocities to Korean people, and they do not show sincere kinds of apology, so negative thoughts to them do not easily disappear, so we should deal with a variety kinds of things and consider many things! We have a further way to go, I think.
답글삭제[Chun Soo Young]
답글삭제It was interesting to know the origin of Otaku culture. What caught my attention was differences between why Koreans and Japanese think Otaku is problematic. Although both countries do not consider Otaku and its subculture highly-desirable, Koreans mainly thinks so because of our accumulated hostility derived from historical incidents. On the contrary, Japanese think lower of Otaku because of certain criminal case that took place in the past(Otaku murderer&molester). Both countries share common view that Otakus are aloof from the mainstream society. Looking at this, I kind of developed my curiosity about the various origins of stereotypes.