Festival explores Japanese anime and media culture

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The Soul of Anime: Collaborative Creativity and Japan’s Media Success Story was written by Japanese media-studies expert Ian Condry.

Most kids today are probably familiar with anime—the Japanese art form made popular by television shows such as Dragon Ball Z, Naruto and Yu-Gi-Oh. However, faculty members at Rochester Institute of Technology are hoping to enlighten the community about the rich history and influences of the art form, as well as its place in global culture.

“Re-Anime-Tors: Anime, Collaborative Networks and Creative Platforms,” runs March 9–12 at various locations on the RIT campus. The schedule of events includes:

• Summer Wars, anime screening—noon-2:30 p.m. Saturday, March 9, Golisano Hall auditorium
• Mind Game, anime screening—6-8:30 p.m. Monday, March 11, Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science auditorium
• Both films will be introduced by Elizabeth Goins, assistant professor of fine arts, Department of Performing Arts and Visual Culture, RIT.
• “The Soul of Anime: Collaborative Creativity and Japan’s Media Success Story,” lecture by Ian Condry, associate professor, Department of Comparative Media Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology—3:30-6 p.m. Tuesday, March 12, Golisano Hall auditorium. A discussion will be facilitated by Goins and Amit Ray, associate professor, Department of English.

Condry is a cultural anthropologist, specializing in media, globalization, social movements and cultural exchange between the United States and Japan. In his book Hip Hop Japan: Rap and the Paths of Cultural Globalization, Condry explores issues of race, gender, language, musical history and contemporary cultural politics, as they relate to the Japanese rap-music scene. His second book, The Soul of Anime: Collaborative Creativity and Japan’s Media Success Story, explores the emergence of anime, and Japanese animated film and television, as a global cultural phenomenon.

“Anime and media culture originated in Japan have influenced young people’s lives in many areas including fashion and entertainment, and even how they connect to peers,” says Hiroko Yamashita, professor of Japanese and chairperson of RIT’s Department of Modern Languages and Cultures. “We think this will be an exciting opportunity to showcase RIT, which offers courses on cultural studies, Japanese language and animation.”

All events are free and open to the public. Interpreters provided upon request, subject to availability. Re-Anime-Tors is sponsored by RIT’s College of Liberal Arts, Department of Modern Languages and Cultures, Department of English, and the Department of Performing Arts and Visual Culture.

For more information, contact Yamashita at 585-475-6074 or hxygsl@rit.edu.