The Problem (?) with Blogs (at least, my problem.)
I spend a lot of my time reading anime blogs, especially more opinionated ones. Of course, I usually have my own opinion about an anime, but I read them to gain new perspectives on the anime I watch. But recently, it seems as if I just absorb those opinions into my own. My own voice seems to be lost in an avalanche of other opinions. Each thing I read shapes what I think.
So what?
This probably says something about me. I don’t really have the strongest opinions in the world, and I usually believe what I read. Does that mean I should stop reading blogs? I’d say not. This might just be a phase: confusion about what I think I believe. It’s easier to say what somebody else thinks than to formulate my own opinion (religion?). Hopefully I’ll grow out of it. Maybe it’s just part of growing up. I wouldn’t know.
I remember reading somewhere about a psychological study which showed that one person could change the opinions of a whole group just by asserting his or her opinions over and over again, by staying to it. Opinionated blog writers are sort of like that, voicing their opinions over and over again. Though, it is probably human nature to express one’s opinion. At least, to some. For the rest of us, we just listen and absorb. It’s easier than independent thought.
I’m not saying that blog should not be opinionated, or, to put it another way, bias. Humans are biased by nature; a nonbias human does not exist. That’s kinda why I think that news companies which advertise “unbias reporting” are pretty ironic. You want unbias reporting? Make a machine to do it. And even then, a person made the machine.
I’m sure there are some people out there who write their own blogs. I might even read your blog from time to time. I’m not telling you to stop writing what you think. Even if I did, it wouldn’t stop you. I could say, take a step back and thing about the effects of what you write. But I won’t. I mean, is it wrong to express one’s opinions? I’d say not. After all, what am I doing right now? I don’t really care what you think or do in response. Do whatever, really. (Please don’t burn me?)
Maybe problem isn’t the best word. Is it really a problem? Maybe this is simply a trait that makes us human: the ability to integrate outside opinions into our own. But never before has so many different opinions been available to a person. With the advent of the Internet, one can connect to so many more people, read so many more things. Is there a limit?
I don’t know. I really don’t. All I can say is, human nature is pretty flawed. Or maybe it was just fit for another time.
…
It seems like I’m giving blogs and the Internet some pretty bad rep right now. I’ll write something of the other opinion soon. Hopefully. Though it seems I’m very bad at posting these days.
Nothing-a-doing…
Well, it has been quite a while since I’ve made a post. Two to three weeks, I guess. Since Winter Break ended, I’ve had way too much work to do, what with finals and club stuff, as well as the fact that I got sick. The day before finals started. Yeah, it sucked. Ah well.
While I won’t be typing up an official post per se, I will be showing you a few ideas I have for posts which I will probably expand on in the (hopefully near) future. I typed most of these up on the fly when having a sudden idea, so they probably won’t have the best grammar or spelling or word choice in the world.
1) touhou and web 2.0
read this first: http://cardcaptor.moekaku.com/2008/09/01/riding-on-fans-energy-touhou-fan-culture-and-grassroot-entertainment/
basically, the idea of web 2.0 is very similar to that which the otaku community has been doing for many years: “foster[ing] innovation in the assembly of systems and sites composed by pulling together features from distributed, independent developers.” (quote from wikipedia. I know, not the best quote. whatever.)
the example ima use is touhou. thats when you go read the first link now.
basically, ZUN created a huge phenomenon. how? by “inspir[ing] its fans to create” (from the touhou article)
you can read more about how he did it in the article
i just want to connect the web 2.0 idea to the thing them otaku have been doing for a long time now.
yeah, thats it for now.
tl,dw.
(if you didnt get that, look up tl,dr)
I’ll probably add to this after I go to this speech on web 2.0 I’m going to sometime in Feb and learn a bit more about it.
From what I know, they at least seem similar.
2) why watch anime?
why does one watch anime?
at first, one may watch it because they are mesmerized
to avoid reality
to watch people do things you would never think of doing
to explore exciting new lands beyond one’s imagination
but, in the end
by watching anime, you learn something about yourself
think of it as human nature 101
in order for anime to be popular, one needs to be able to connect to the anime
and that connection is human nature
usually, something within the anime, usually a major theme of some sort, teaches the viewer something about themself
we can connect to that part of human nature and are attracted to it.
at least, below surface level, all the nice animation or cool explosions
there lies something which we can all connect to
that is why we watch anime.
a saying goes that we learn from our struggles
in anime, there is always struggle
if there were no struggle, there would be no story (ok, slice of life is an exception. but in slice of life, it is much easier to find something to connect to (see previous paragraph))
one could say that we learn from the characters’ struggles
or, i could stop spewing out random crap.
examples:
clannad: family (cite MOE blog)
->change vs the status quo: a theme that’s been popping up recently
–>it is almost human nature to dislike change, whether it be for better or worse (ok, dont talk to me about obama. thats simply because bush sucked SO MUCH, we needed to have change)
–>we can connect to okazaki’s dislike for change
–>i did read something in a book recently about “status quo bias”
I might put some links for this later.
other ideas:
a blog post on 5cm/sec: symbols, themes
a post on seating placement in anime (always in back, usually near window -> well, at least, never in the front.)
->does this tell us about the target audience/the characters in the anime?
ef ~desu: symbols
toradora: dig a bit deeper, look under surface level. looks stereotypical, but it aint.
->toradora really should be a visual novel. choose who you want, go with it. screw “canon endings”.
–>wait: “A visual novel based on the series will be produced by Namco Bandai Games playable on the PlayStation Portable and will be released in April 2009.” says wikipedia. sounds epic.
note: congrats to sankaku complex for its partnership with nico nico, a relationship which will be benefical to both communities, opening up nico nico to the english community and giving both sites more hits.
read more: http://www.sankakucomplex.com/2009/01/23/niconico-douga-charts-at-sankaku-complex/
http://www.sankakucomplex.com/2009/01/20/niconico-complex-niconico-douga-unlocked/
A book never written
A Catcher in the Tubes: A Tale of Modern Teenage Angst
:O
I wonder what it would contain…
“Lost, I surfed on my favorite anime blogs… but they just didn’t appeal to me anymore…”
Or something along the lines of Ghost in the Shell?
…I have no idea where that idea came from. wtf.
