Anime Society Hosts Discussion Forum

Anime, the increasingly popular form of entertainment among college students and younger Americans, was discussed yesterday by the Harvard Anime Society at a forum in Memorial Hall sponsored by the Asian American Association (AAA).

"Through this evening's discussion I hope we can lend some respectability to anime as an art form," said Michael K. Tan '01, a member of AAA and moderator for the evening's discussion. Tan said he wanted to make Anime less of a cultish phenomenon.

Tan also characterized the presentation of the Harvard Anime Society as "a good way to show the skill involved in these creations." The Harvard Anime Society had peppered campus with a smattering of yellow posters and eye-catching graphics displays in order to drum up support for the organization.

About 20 people attended the meeting.

A major topic of discussion was conceptions of sexuality in Anime. Most Anime consists of a distinctly male- and female-oriented presentation, especially those Anime films that become popular in the United States.

"Conflicts often arise in American perceptions of Anime because the art form, when it appears here in the United States, is removed from the world in which it was created," said Benjamin P. Liu '98.

Michael G. Giovinco '98, an officer of the Harvard Anime Society added, "For those growing up on Anime, it is not an exotic form of entertainment. It isn't even a genre of film. It is entirely natural--more of a media than anything else."

Liu likened some of the icons in anime to the white hatted cowboy in the American Western or to shadows of light in French films.

"Anime is simply a form. I think the only reason it isn't so popular here in the United States is because, outside of the 5 to 20 year-old range, cartoons really have no following.

"I mean, name five adults you know who watch cartoons," Liu said.

Barriers to widespread acceptance notwithstanding, the Harvard Anime Society hopes to gain a larger following for Anime.

"We have meetings every Saturday evening in Loker Commons beginning at 7 p.m. All are welcome, and anyone interested in learning about Anime is more than invited to attend," said Jason S. Morrow '01.