Forum - View topicAnime Expo in Houston Chronicle--anime/Manga fans nerds??
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freshkazuki
 Posts: 235 Location: Texas |
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I know I'm a long way from California, but it was neat to see a full page article in yesterday's Houston Chronicle "Zest" section titled "Drawing attention: Future of Japanese Animation and comics is looking bright in America" which covered the Anime Expo in Anaheim. The main gist of the story was about how the traditional base of anime and manga which was male is opening up more and more to women. A statement which I think is wrong. Why? Because I think females have been highly involved in anime/manga fandom the whole time. I could be wrong, but it's nothing new to me that females like anime and manga. The reporter talked to some visitors and guests at the Expo about why the mediums have such mass appeal. The general answer was that there are stories for all kinds of fans from sci-fi, romance, horror, comedy, etc. There was more about yuri and yaoi and what they were and the art styles that differentiated them. It also commented on how anime and manga are being more and more produced on computers rather than hand drawing every scene.
It ended with the questions, can anime and manga "break cultural barriers?" and "Can it move past the fringes of nerddom?" and that anime and manga are "spreading, spreading, spreading." These questions pretty much shot down the whole article to me. It's already BROKEN cultural barriers!! It wouldn't be making millions of dollars of business in the US alone if Americans couldn't understand it. And my god.......NERDS!!!!!?????? 
Is there still even such a thing as a nerd? I mean, how 1980s can you get? This was obviously an old coot that wrote this. NERD!!!???? Anime and manga fans????? I actually think anime and manga fans are COOLER than normal people!!  I do think that anime and manga fans are wiser when it comes to cultural differences as well, at least as far as Japan because you learn so much about their traditions and way of life sometimes indirectly through the medium, even down to things like food, festivals, schools, working conditions, cities, etc. Nothing gets my goat more than when non-anime fan friends of mine ask "you still watching that Chinese stuff?"  To which next time i will reply "you stupid nerd, its Japanese!!!!"
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LydiaDianne
 Posts: 5634 Location: Southern California |
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One of the problems with some of these reporters is that they are just told "go here and report on thus and so." They are not fans or even slightly familiar with the medium, so they fall back on the tried-and-true: Nerds, women breaking into the medium and the breaking of cultural barriers. These poor reporters are not given the opportunity to do some research and find out that anime/manga is a multi-million or even billion dollar business in the US. So, we really shouldn't blame the reporter, we need to blame their editor for not allowing the reporter prep time.
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Vortextk
 Posts: 892 Location: Orlando, Fl |
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It may be 1980's, but nerds still exist. My hobbies are definitely "nerdy", but I try to look presentable, stay clean, I don't have any funny accents(what's with those anyway?), and try to stay out of any "XXXXX nerd activity rocks!" argument.
If you want proof, go somewhere you're sure to see them. I work at a blockbuster and I've seen a good couple of dozen stereotypical looking/sounding nerds in my couple of months with the store. I mean seriously, when I went to my first con in february, I felt like a god among men. Not because I have any reason to, but if you look at it through the nerd--->cool spectrograph of society, I was higher than pretty much everyone there. Not to say I'm very high anyway. I'm single with anime/gaming being my major hobbies since I stopped doing music after graduating highschool; but I can tell you I felt higher on that day. Think of the word nerd as a description rather than a put down. I think it's forgotten that major anime "nerds" in Japan are just that, nerds there as well as here. Most people will probably see anime, but not buy 10 manga and 3 series a month until their room is full of shelves and brighter colors than you can imagine. And anyway, as far as breaking cultural barriers, I don't see how anime has done it. Maybe it's made a pin prick and been slowly siphoning in to some. If breaking the barrier is simply acknowleding it exists, I guess it has done that. But if you're defining it as a full out basic knowledge of anime and the watching of it, few people have been "broken" in. |
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Wolverine Princess
 Posts: 1100 |
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I don't think it's such a bad thing to be called a nerd. I refer to myself as one all the time. In my opinion, the insult hierarchy for anime fans goes like this: nerd>geek>dweeb>loser>rabid fanboy/fangirl>adult man who lives in his mother’s basement who watches cartoon child pornography. |
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Zalis116
Moderator
 Posts: 6921 Location: Kazune City |
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As I learned in a random journalism class, the media tend to report on the fringe elements of any group, because those are more exciting and interesting to readers. So, they don't talk about the 30-year-old guys in business suits or the conservatively-dressed college girl; no, they show the most outrageous cosplayers and all the other "freaks" that make people sit up and take notice of the article. It's the same with things like Gay Pride parades-do the TV cameras show the normal, everyday people who support the movement, or do they show the crazy, flamboyant types who draw all the attention? Until many things in society change, anyone who likes things that aren't traditional/normal/"respectable" are at risk of being called nerds or a similar label. |
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PantsGoblin
 SubscriberEncyclopedia Editor  Posts: 2969 Location: L.A. |
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Here's the complete chart of all geeks/nerds: The Geek Hierarchy Lol, don't take it seriously. |
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LydiaDianne
Posts: 5634 Location: Southern California |
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OOOH LOOORD!!!! 
And I actually qualified for a couple boxes on the top row!  Oh well, I was called a nerd throughout High School...girl with glasses who like to read 
BTW the music was PERFECT for it! |
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Wolverine Princess
Posts: 1100 |
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There's a bunch of different versions of that chart floating around the internet, but I like this one best. |
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Dargonxtc
 Posts: 4463 Location: Nc5xd7+ スターダストの海洋 |
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I seriously fell out of my chair.
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ramezrh
 Posts: 21 Location: United Kingdom |
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hehe i suppose if you look at it i am a geek and/or nerd by most sensible definitions but I've never considered this an insult its a term coined by stupid narrow minded people to make people intelligent/open minded/strong willed enough to have varied and sophisiticated interests in life feel bad.
Someone covers their wallpaper in man u crap and theyre "footy mad" someone does this with star wars/star trek and theyre a nerd ... i fail to see the point of it not that my room IS covered with that crap anymore ahem .. the person in this article talks about "breaking out" of nerdom like the very nature of a medium can change merely by raising its popularity it truly shocks me that in this day and age people still seem to think with their spleens. Hehe i have to admit i like Anime's new popularity though it made all sorts of stuff like advent children and the higher budgeot "new" anime possible it was funny with me the very first time i saw an anime front cover box i new i was gonna love this crazy japanese stuff =) and that was at about 12 years old. At 25 now its been amazing how much peoples attitudes have changed its the same with heavy metal for me anyway maybe im some kind of trend yardstick rofl. 
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