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#5 Platform - Otaku Spaces
Apr. 13th, 2012 07:47 pmYour image of them, and then doubled, is probably right.
Book #15: Otaku Spaces
Author: Patrick Galbraith, photographs by Androniki Christodoulou
Provenance: Received from Librarything Early Reviewers
First, a caveat: I read an unfinished advance review copy that was missing a whole bunch of photographs and some of the interviews, so the finished product may well differ (in probably positive ways) from what I got to read.
The sense that I've gotten over the past few years is that the word "otaku" has been undergoing some semantic drift, at least within North America. In the past, I'd have thought it odd to find someone to use the term for someone who wasn't into anime / manga / Japanese video games, but there's definitely been some broadening out of the term into other areas, to just mean a more generic obsessive fan of something. I've heard people refer to themselves as train otaku, or baking otaku. It's interesting, I think, to see a term of identification spread out like this, from a linguistics perspective. And of course, the sense of hyperspecialization, of really delving deeply into something, even as a hobby, fits the current culture, as well.
Perhaps this is a good time, then, to take a closer look at otaku lives and lifestyles in the land from which the term came. This is the point of Galbraith's book, I think - to look at what drives these people, to get a sense of their lives, and how they view being an otaku, what the meaning of it is to them. It's a pretty solid piece of ethnography, with good introductory essays talking about the context in which the word first came about in Japan and its initially more negative connotations (being associated in the mainstream consciousness largely through association to a serial-killing child molester will do that), along with interviews with a couple of Japanese academics who work on otaku subculture, and a list of common otaku hangouts in Japan and timelines of their evolution.
The heart of the book, though, is the interviews; while the finished copy will probably have more interviews, and more pictures of the spaces in which these otaku are living, the version I read still gives you a good sense of the similarities and differences between them. The focus is largely on those who are into anime, manga and games, particularly dating games or the like, with interviews both with those whose connection is largely through consumption (only reading, playing the games, buying figurines, etc.) and those who also create their own stuff (anime car designs, complex art designs, doujinshi, etc.). There's a pretty decent balance between male and female otaku, as well, and the ordering seems to provide counterpoints for some of the stories - the boy who's really into dating sims (but is kinda too shy to talk about it much), the girl who's into BL, etc.
But the interviews are really linked most by the obsession to collect and possess, to be surrounded and immersed in the things one enjoys. Otherwise, it's hard to link in the stories of, say, the Russian SF and old calculator otaku, or the occult and subculture otaku collecting motorcycle gang and cult memorabilia with the rest of the people in the book. There isn't really a clear set of definitions, either - some of the people interviewed view collectors and otaku as being the same, and others don't; some say you have to be into anime, and other don't. However, the attention to detail, the underlying desires, and the amount of money and time spent all seem to link up for most of the people involved; thus, you can see what really is the same, and what's different.
This book is probably more enjoyable in the full form, with all the photos and interviews, but it's an intriguing, if not mind-blowing, piece of anthropological work as is. At the least, you get a sense of the breadth of the types of people involved, as the term and the type of person spreads.
Next up: Chronologically Brideshead Revisited, but I'll probably review the Ask and the Answer first.
Book #15: Otaku Spaces
Author: Patrick Galbraith, photographs by Androniki Christodoulou
Provenance: Received from Librarything Early Reviewers
First, a caveat: I read an unfinished advance review copy that was missing a whole bunch of photographs and some of the interviews, so the finished product may well differ (in probably positive ways) from what I got to read.
The sense that I've gotten over the past few years is that the word "otaku" has been undergoing some semantic drift, at least within North America. In the past, I'd have thought it odd to find someone to use the term for someone who wasn't into anime / manga / Japanese video games, but there's definitely been some broadening out of the term into other areas, to just mean a more generic obsessive fan of something. I've heard people refer to themselves as train otaku, or baking otaku. It's interesting, I think, to see a term of identification spread out like this, from a linguistics perspective. And of course, the sense of hyperspecialization, of really delving deeply into something, even as a hobby, fits the current culture, as well.
Perhaps this is a good time, then, to take a closer look at otaku lives and lifestyles in the land from which the term came. This is the point of Galbraith's book, I think - to look at what drives these people, to get a sense of their lives, and how they view being an otaku, what the meaning of it is to them. It's a pretty solid piece of ethnography, with good introductory essays talking about the context in which the word first came about in Japan and its initially more negative connotations (being associated in the mainstream consciousness largely through association to a serial-killing child molester will do that), along with interviews with a couple of Japanese academics who work on otaku subculture, and a list of common otaku hangouts in Japan and timelines of their evolution.
The heart of the book, though, is the interviews; while the finished copy will probably have more interviews, and more pictures of the spaces in which these otaku are living, the version I read still gives you a good sense of the similarities and differences between them. The focus is largely on those who are into anime, manga and games, particularly dating games or the like, with interviews both with those whose connection is largely through consumption (only reading, playing the games, buying figurines, etc.) and those who also create their own stuff (anime car designs, complex art designs, doujinshi, etc.). There's a pretty decent balance between male and female otaku, as well, and the ordering seems to provide counterpoints for some of the stories - the boy who's really into dating sims (but is kinda too shy to talk about it much), the girl who's into BL, etc.
But the interviews are really linked most by the obsession to collect and possess, to be surrounded and immersed in the things one enjoys. Otherwise, it's hard to link in the stories of, say, the Russian SF and old calculator otaku, or the occult and subculture otaku collecting motorcycle gang and cult memorabilia with the rest of the people in the book. There isn't really a clear set of definitions, either - some of the people interviewed view collectors and otaku as being the same, and others don't; some say you have to be into anime, and other don't. However, the attention to detail, the underlying desires, and the amount of money and time spent all seem to link up for most of the people involved; thus, you can see what really is the same, and what's different.
This book is probably more enjoyable in the full form, with all the photos and interviews, but it's an intriguing, if not mind-blowing, piece of anthropological work as is. At the least, you get a sense of the breadth of the types of people involved, as the term and the type of person spreads.
Next up: Chronologically Brideshead Revisited, but I'll probably review the Ask and the Answer first.
