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cyberbarf VOLUME 13 NO.5 EXAMINE THE NET WAY OF LIFE DECEMBER 2013 IN THIS ISSUE: ANIME EDITION
MIYAZAKI BARFETTES NORTH AMERICAN CARTOONS ANIME COLLECTION iTOONS WHETHER REPORT NEW REAL NEWS KOMIX! SHOW HACK!
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cyberbarf EXAMINE THE NET WAY OF LIFE cyberbarf MIYAZAKI COMMENTARY It is rare for a master to go out on his own terms. Animation legend Hayao Miyazaki decided in September, 2013, to retire from directing feature animation films. Miyazaki is a rare individual who has inspired the next generation of animation directors and he has had a global influence on the industry. It also changed my viewing habits and expanded the scope of my entertainment choices.
When 72 year-old master anime director Miyazaki told reporters from around the world that he will retire from creating feature-length films after his latest work, “Kaze Tachinu” (The Wind Rises), many people did not believe it. He has announced his retirement many times before, but this time it appears to be real. “I will no longer direct feature-length films,” he said. The problem is with age and health issues, the stress and grinding deadlines for hand drawn animation is daunting even for young artists. He has come full circle to have his final movie be the centerpiece of one his first interests, aviation, which has been depicted and fantasized in many of his earlier works. “I am free. I want to work for another 10 years. There are things I want to do, but not anime, ” he said. It has been widely reported that Miyazaki has started to work on a new manga, a Japanese style graphic novel based upon the warring period of his country. It is probably true with all successful people that it is hard to fully retire, to divest oneself from one's life's work. But it is better to go out on the top of one's profession than being dragged down by critics. By all accounts, he is a quiet but demanding leader who is respected by his co-workers and peers. He has taught many artists the values he has brought to animation and story telling. He has shared his views in many articles and lectures. If I were asked to give my view, in a nutshell, of what animation is, I would say “whatever I want to create. In other words, I am talking about doing something with animation that can't be done with manga magazines, children's literature or even live-action films. I am talking about building a truly unique imaginary world, tossing in characters I like, and then creating a complete drama using them. He has given his audiences lush, complex and enchanting worlds in which to explore with their imaginations. From a Castle floating above the clouds to an amusement park filled with strange spirits, Miyazaki set a high standard of excellence in his stories. He gives a great deal of thought to story construction and character interaction to give both young and older audience members points that they can relate to in their normal lives. Filmmaking, like all entertainment, is to be a diversion from one's daily routine. It is an escape mechanism. To young people, anime is something they can incorporate into their private world. (There is a yearning for a lost world). It's a sense that you may be currently living in a world of constraints, if you were free from those constraints, you would be able to do all sorts of things. The word nostalgia comes to mind, Adults, fondly recalling something from their childhood, often speak of nostalgia. But even three, four and five year olds feel a similar sentiment. It's something that all of us, regardless of age, actually experience, Most people feel unfulfilled by something in their lives, even if they don't consider themselves to be living in an unhappy environment. (A person may believe they have lost certain opportunities). Yet we can still enjoy ourselves in different fantasy worlds. And this yearning for other, lost possibilities in may be a major motivator for those of us in the industry. It was after reading that quote that I realized the truth in what Miyazaki was saying; when I see my young nieces and nephews they want to pick up on the games and fun that they had experienced in earlier visits. The sense of continuation by repetition from past experiences with family members is the kind of nostalgia that adults may not realize is happening to their own children. It may also explain why a small child can watch the same TV cartoon show over and over and over again. Tapping into the endorphin zone of a person's mind is the goal of any entertainer. It is finding the appropriate gateway that Miyazaki was so successful, by bridging the culture gaps to make universally recognizable characters to which viewers could identify with and root for while the events in the story unfolds. I stumbled upon Miyazaki's work by accident later in my life. American television, especially the inane cable television reality show circuit, forced me to surf through the higher channels to find something new and different to fill the down time. It was during one of those runs through the channels that I stumbled across an animated movie from Japan which was critically acclaimed by the critics and the Academy Awards - - - Spirited Away. Spirited Away, in my opinion, is the best animation or live-action film ever made. It is a story of a young girl who is moving with her parents to a new town. She is not happy with the change, and is quite melancholy. When her father makes a wrong turn, they wind up in front of an abandoned station that fronts an abandoned amusement park, another casualty of the Japanese financial implosion. So they go off to explore this abandoned amusement park, but when sundown occurs, the place turns into a place occupied by the spirit world. Not to give any spoilers to those who have not seen the film, the premise, the setting, the characters and transformations are spellbinding as the story arcs to a dramatic conclusion. It won the Academy Award for Best Animated Film. I think we should engage in many kinds of projects (at his Studio Ghibli) . But I do think we should stay a studio that makes good movies for children to watch. I think it is vain to think we can confront problems of the adult world through animated films. This is not to say that films aimed at children are any easier; they can even be more difficult because they deal with origins and fundamentals. I want to depict the reality of present day children in Japan - - - including their desire - - - and make films that will inspire heartfelt enjoyment. I think there is something to making a unique film that is still compelling in this era of instantaneous mass consumption of digital media. Most major studios are concerned with franchise films, those stories that can beget a stream of sequels so the main character becomes a box-office annuity. There are so many copycat movie themes as a well as plain bad shows that muddle the choices for viewers. There is a cosmic entertainment overload with TV, SatTV, streaming, time shifting and internet videos all screaming for attention. For my generation, cartoons were rare and something to be treasured. When we happened to see something that was particularly good, interesting, or exciting, we felt extremely lucky. Today, we are in the midst of a flood of animation. If you sit in front of a TV set these days, you are immediately deluged with a vast amount of animation. We are now in what might be called the mass consumption era of animation. Everyone has a story about themselves in the old days. But the moment we start telling these important stories, we sound like old folks repeating the same thing over and over again. And it's hard to strip the past of whatever sentimentalism and glamorization we have added to it. A memory that may have been the size of a single postage stamp at one point all of sudden grows into a five feet by four feet tableau. For this reason, I have decided not to look back. I have done a lot of foolish things in my time, but I won't regret them. I have resolved to shoulder the responsibility for them and not forget to take the responsibility with me all the way to the incinerator in the crematorium. But perhaps, after all, this is just a way for me to justify things. At the passing of an era, it is normal to reflect. Many reviewers have put in their own reasoning and opinion on symbolism that is allegedly contained in many Miyazaki films. Yes, he admits that he has a social conscious. And in some respects, his use of young female characters as the lead in the films bolsters a sense of the underdog in tackling problems in their worlds. His films have an emphasis on nature, something that most Americans do not take notice of until a hurricane, tornado or flood wrecks havoc in their town. But nature is more than just the weather. And it is opening up one's mind to other cultures, can we learn new viewpoints on how the world is viewed by different ethnic groups. Globally, through technology, we are more connected than ever. But media bias and political spin extracts objectivity from even the international news reports. The only focused time an average person has to communicate with other cultures is through entertainment channels. We are now living in a society that is wealthy yet poverty-stricken. We are able to list to large amounts of music and watch large numbers of videos. But only a small fraction of those move us. My foundation is this: I want to send a message of cheer to all those wandering aimlessly through life. It occurs to be that civility is an important way to deal with our current problems. There is definitely a fissure in humanity's karma. When we consider the relationship between nature and humans, although humans are part of nature and nature gives us life, there is a definite break between us and nature. We try to conserve nature because it yields a nature useful to us as a species. But nature is essentially savage. It negates culture and civilizations. Despite humans' efforts to improve things for themselves, nature contains elements flatly opposed to our efforts. And in certain cases these lead to rifts between societies and ethnic groups. At a minimum, to be civil means to initiate civility; but not to demand it of others. I have enjoyed all Miyazaki's works. I have collected his films, and I have given copies as gifts. I encourage everyone to sample his works. People never get to meet respected idols. If I ever had the chance to meet Mr. Miyazaki, I would do two things: I would thank him for the hours of excellent entertainment his films have provided; and then I would ask him one question: Why did you leave one human trapped in bath house at the end of Spirited Away?
Selected Miyazaki films to check out: Princess Mononoke My Neighbor Totoro Howl's Moving Castle Spirited Away Up on Poppy Hill Arriety (The Borrowers) Kiki's Delivery Service The Wind Rises Nausicaa Valley of the Wind Castle in the Sky Ponyo Porco Rosso
cyberbarf barfette Apple Computer needs to stop listening to Wall St. pundits. The analysts kept demanding for years that Apple create a cheaper smartphone in order to get into the Asian markets. However, it turns out that the new high end iPhone 5S is out selling the cheaper 5c model by three to one. Production of the 5C is actually being cut in order to meet demand for the 5S. It goes to show you that the investment bank analysts and tech pundits have little clue on how to run a global company. If they were so smart, why are they generating $3 billion a quarter in profits from their own ideas? barfette A financial firm is trying to get SEC approval to start a trading platform to buy and sell professional athletes. It smacks of highly speculative indentured servitude. It is a form a gambling that the NFL will probably object to; besides the league and player agents will not want player contracts assigned to the general public. It is supposed to work that the financial firm will sell a “tracking stock” which normally means that it is phantom or a security that reflects the price of some intangible value. Under this proposal, it is alleged that the firm will sell $10.5 million in “shares” of the athlete. The athlete will take $10 million in exchange for twenty (20) percent of his athletic income (player salary and endorsement deals). Now, most athletes like pro football players, do not have guaranteed contracts. One injury and their career is over. One arrest or scandal and their endorsement deals are voided. It is assumed that there will be no liquid stock exchange for these athlete stocks. This makes no economic sense to any sane investor. It is gimmick that is trying to snare dollars from avid sports fans. barfette Some states are now granting driver's licenses to cars. Not people, but to self-driving cars. The concept of a self-driving car is counterintuitive. The whole idea of a teen getting their driver's license was the responsibility and skill of controlling a moving vehicle in traffic. It is the American form of personal freedom. The use of sensors, GPS, and on-board computer technology, car manufacturers want to push sci-fi automation into the daily lives of consumers. The first hint at this trend was cars that self-parallel parked, a maneuver that many drivers find difficult. Then cars started to have other safety features like back-up camera sensors to alert drivers of children or objects behind the vehicle. Now, car companies have night vision, head up windshield displays and front sensors to automatically break. These safety features are in response to more and more distracted drivers. Even with self-driving cars, a licensed driver needs to be in the driver's seat in case something goes wrong. But, that caveat is illogical. A driver needs to be driving the vehicle in order to have the quickest reaction time to events in front of him. Driving a car is not a video game where you can re-set everything after a crash.
cyberbarf EXAMINE THE NET WAY OF LIFE cyberbarf NORTH AMERICAN CARTOONS CYBERCULTURE America grew up with the classic cartoon genre that was an elongated vaudeville, silent movie buffoonery and slapstick.
American cartoons have the starting point in most minds with Mickey Mouse and Disney classics. In current television, Fox TV's Sunday animation block of the Simpsons is what has dominated the genre for the past 25 years. The Simpsons edgy popularity has allowed other, more adult edgy cartoon shows to find audiences, such as South Park, Family Guy, Archer, Venture Brothers, and other Adult Swim titles. In the heyday of NickTV, there were numerous shows that were extremely popular with the GenXers such as Rugrats, Power Puff Girls, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Rocko's Modern Life, Invader Sim, Samurai Jack, which complimented imports like Pokemon, Dragonball Z and other fighting game tie-ins. This allowed channels to re-boots of classic Marvel and DC comic heroes, such as Superman, Batman, the X-Men, Ironman and Wolverine. There were also MTV produced cult classics like Spawn and The Maxx. The important North American animation titles, which combined the story telling fantasy of classic anime and American elements of style, include Avatar, the Last Airbender, which led to a recently concluded sequel, The Legend of Korra. The popularity of family animation movies made by Pixar and Dreamworks have allowed the acceptance of animation on television to continue to expand into prime time television slots. American animation tends to follow the patterns of live-action situational comedies than to tackle subjects such as the supernatural, fantasy or horror genres. Current American television has been fractured into a few major pieces: reality, news-talk, animation, sit-coms and police dramas. Animation continues to give the best opportunity to change the run-of-the-mill plots and recycled stereotypical characters.
cyberbarf ANIME COLLECTION CROSSCULTURE The finding of Miyazaki led to expansion of entertainment choices. When cable cartoon networks began to show Japanese kids shows, it opened the door for acceptance of anime in the U.S. Cartoon Network's Adult Swim continues with the tradition with its late Saturday Night program schedule. Anime has its own unique artistic style. Many of the character sport oversized, Keane style eyes with odd, pointy hairstyles. This is transition from manga artist drawing techniques. In some respects, anime has more flowing action sequences than American cartoons.
After finding anime on television, it would soon expand into surfing the Internet for streaming videos and fan sites in order experience more diverse programs. Anime subject matter runs the gambit from historical samurai tales, to teen sports, to teen high school romances-supernatural-vampire, to mecha-robots to science fiction and fantasy.
Here is quick list of my anime collection of films and television series, with summary reviews: Spirited Away: Miyazaki's masterpiece; a must-see film. My Neighbor Totoro: Miyazaki's crowning achievement which introduces the world to the studio's future mascot. Princess Mononoke: Miyazaki's film about humans versus nature. Howl's Moving Castle: Miyazaki's quirky, magical steampunk like fantasy film. Grave of the Fireflies: Takahata's grim film on post-war Japan; possibly the most depressing movie ever made. FLCL (Fooly Cooly): An insanely crazy surreal madcap slice of life series. Cowboy Bebop: A paramount science fiction, jazz infused series about space bounty hunters. Samurai Champloo: A paramount samurai conflict buddy road show series. Moribito, Guardian of the Spirit: An excellent science fiction supernatural period series about honor and commitment. Ghost in the Shell: The series and movies are the best science-fiction police technology series with deeply layered plots. Death Note: An engaging science fiction drama which pits two genius characters against each other over the power over life and death. 5 Centimeters Per Second: Shinkai, a director hailed as the next Miyazaki, tales on interconnective relationships. The Girl Who Leapt Through time: Hosoda's film about a girl who can time travel. Steamboy: A classic steampunk anime adventure story. Redline: A premier racing adventure film. Desert Punk: A strange series of bounty hunter adventures in a desolated wasteland. Chobits: The socially awkward boy who finds an advanced female humanoid robot must unravel a mystery. Speed Grapher: The story of photographer who stumbles into the seedy underworld. In addition, there are the Three Major Anime Series that have been long running staples in manga and television series: Bleach, the story of a human soul reaper battling monsters in the real world; Naruto, the story of a young orphan ninja who wants to be respected by his village; and One Piece, a supernatural pirate story of a rubberized leader named Luffy. The vast catalog of anime titles are available through streaming services such as Crunchyroll and Hulu, as well as retailers such as Amazon and Best Buy. Many series are available in box sets for those who like to marathon, binge viewing, especially for those current, long running titles.
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| Question: Whether the four major television networks will have to abandon their old program model to produce more edgy cable-like shows? |
* Educated Guess * Possible * Probable * Beyond a Reasonable Doubt * Doubtful * Vapor Dream |
| Question: Whether the Apple and Samsung global patent battles will continue through the end of this decade? |
* Educated Guess * Possible * Probable * Beyond a Reasonable Doubt * Doubtful * Vapor Dream |
| Question: Whether the NFL trial balloon of having a second Thursday night game to push programming to its own channel and streaming service will be accepted by fans and players? |
* Educated Guess * Possible * Probable * Beyond a Reasonable Doubt * Doubtful * Vapor Dream |
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