Page updated 04/29/98; to return to my main homepage, click here
Now, a second wave of media coverage biased toward a negative view of anime has appeared in the US as "Pokemon" is set to be brought to the airwaves...
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Some background on this situation:
A 'photoinduced epileptic' attack that affected hundreds of Japanese
schoolchildren followed a scene in the 38th episode of the #1 children's
anime "Pokemon", or "Pocket Monsters." which aired on December 17th, 1997.
(For reference in the US, imagine sitting down to watch "The Simpsons")
The first wave of casualties, reported to be 300-400 children, were
followed by an additional 300 to 500 more who rented videotapes of the
episode, or saw the scene when confused Japanese broadcasters reaired
it on the evening news the same day.
Although the episode was prescreened by its broadcast station
TV Tokyo before release (a common practice), several factors led to the
accident. The scene that caused the problem depicted the show's mascot
character "Pikachu" recovering from a bright yellow explosion and showed
its eyes flashing in an 8-second sequence of flickering blue, red and
yellow lights. The sequence was not particularly unusual, and many other
anime have used similar effects, so it was overlooked as harmless.
The difference in this case appears to be several technical factors: The
sequence's sheer length, several seconds longer than normal, increased
the danger. The sequence was also inadvertently timed in such a manner
that it matched the 'firing rate' of common television picture tubes, thus
intensifying the effect upon the optic nerve. (here
is an article that helps explain the phenomenon)
In addition, photoinduced epileptic attacks can be caused by exhaustion,
stress, and sitting too close to the television. All of the above are
facts in most Japanese schoolchildren's lives, who live under constant
academic and social pressure in small homes. Experts have speculated
that the children were intensely focused and involved with the show,
literally 'glued to the set' when the scene went off like a bomb in their
faces.
As a result, Angry Japanese parents, scientists, specialists in epilepsy,
and the broadcasting stations of Japan are now in a turmoil attempting to
figure out exactly what went wrong and what to do about it. New
legislation on anime broadcasting is being called for as the artform of
anime goes 'under the magnifying glass'.
The US media has responded with sensationalist articles about the
"Pokemon" accident- many seeming to hearken back to 'Japan-bashing'
of the 80's. Many articles have slandered anime, citing it as
'violent', 'plotless' and even implying that it's unhealthy to watch.
The mass media is doing only minimal research on these articles, citing
irrelevant sources such as VP of Programming Mike Lazzo from Time-Warner's
Cartoon Network.
By contrast, articles such as this excellent piece from the anime e-zine
EX entitled "The New
Stereotypes of Anime and Manga" are ignored...
This page is intended as a rebuttal to negative articles and
misstatements that are being promoted by the US media. Alongside are
several links of interest relating to this situation.
Who the heck's this crazy fangirl?
Here is a copy of my response to an e-mail asking
for more information about how this whole project got started...
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Current Headlines: Paradox Press Prints "Big Bad" Anime (4/29/98) According to a report from several people I've received, Paradox Press, an imprint of DC Comics, has put out a book called the "Big Book of Bad" which lists, as its final entry, a bit on Anime in general thanks to the whole Pokemon incident. You can find more information here ABC News Lets A Standard Slide When the first wave of semi-hysterical Pokemon media reports came in, ABC NEWS was a cool voice of rationality and counterbias to the notoriously poor USA Today article. (For more information on the article and our letter-writing campaign to USA Today, as well as the original ABC NEWS response, click here.) However, I'm sorry to report now that, while ABC put out a fair and relatively unbiased main report (you can click here to see it) about the impending arrival of the "Pokemon" Nintendo product here, they also allowed a side-story to run which is insulting and ill-informed. Here is the link to the questionable article, entitled "Japanese Opinion Turns Against Rougher Anime", which was released on April 16, 1998. Among other problems with this piece, it emphasizes a connection between manga, the Tokyo subway nerve gas attacks, and a teenager's death. This is an article similar in tone to the one put out by Jefferson Graham and Tim Friend for USA Today several months ago. As usual, I've done research to see what else I could turn up on the author, including previous articles. As before, although I did find a personal e-mail address for the author of the article, I ask that it not be mailed to- I have contacts for ABC, and they're the ones that need to receive any comments. Jon Herskovitz is a reporter who works out of Tokyo, and has contributed articles for Daily Variety, Reuters, and the International Herald Tribune. Here are links to a few of the articles which he wrote that I was able to track down, anime-related and non:
SIGHTINGS: Japanese
Mothers Demand Cartoon Controls"
Now, in none of these articles do I see or detect the kind of amatuerish
slant that was displayed in the ABC News side-piece. All appear to be
straightforward, even pieces. I was starting to think that maybe someone
editing at ABC really twinked out, but then, I found
thislink... While the article isn't downright insulting, it comes across as sneering, additionally labeling Evangelion as "almost anti-Christian". (With all the biblical references and religious symbolisms in Eva, I'd argue exactly the opposite. Never mind that in Japan, Christianity plays a poor third to Shintoism and Buddhism, and is a 'minority' religion, and seems to be considered an interesting alternate mythology to toy about with by creators such as Kunihiko Ikuhara and Hideaki Anno...) Okay, what does this mean? This means, apparently, while Mr. Herskovitz is a fine and competent business writer, he appears to either dislike anime, or doesn't understand it, or is playing to the mass fear and mistrust of Japanese animation. (Even Mononoke Hime was referred to as 'a bloodthirsty princess', making no mention of the story's ethical or moral philosophy, rendering this a judgement without the necessary background information a reader would need to make a fair decision on whether or not her behavior is justified.)
Rebuttals/Commentary:
Want to let the ABC News staff know what you think of the article?
Here's a couple of places to write to: For another view of the piece, from a Japanese citizen and anime fan, look here for an excellent rebuttal mail forwarded to me, written by Ryoko Toyama, one of Team Ghiblink's mainstays and a regular contributor to the Miyazaki Mailing List. An additional commentary on the piece, written by Kevin Eav, is here. Todd Harper, a journalism student, sent me this response. I find it sad and unfortunate that once again the 'sex and violence' charge is being leveled indiscriminately by the US media against all anime, regardless of content. |