It turns out Anime might be another community in which there are dozens of sub-communities are competing for a sense of belonging and hierarchy. In that much the American anime community is no different than the American comic book community with the caveat that I’ve forgotten far more about comic books than I will ever know about anime. One thing I do recognize is my own bias and hubris in all of this. The majority of people I encounter in the world are in fact consumers and not creators (or even creatives). They live in a reality subsisting of talking about the work of others and deciding what is good and bad and, for the most part, being very judgemental about such things. I find this to be true of creators as well, but I suppose I give more creators a pass because they are also putting themselves out there. I don’t know why that makes it better or even if it does, but I know I feel that way sometimes.
What does all of this have to do with an Anime convention? Not much really, I found my self thinking about these things in the aftermath of taiyou con and thinking about how that gathering of people–fans and creatives–really gave me a glimpse into a very small segment of the community and got me thinking about what that community is and who comprises that community… that’s all.
Some Thoughts:
- Looking for significance in the number 737 beyond it being a plane model designation…. nope. Nada.