Expansion of the First Sound of the Future Everyone loves music! Except deaf people. Though if a loyal fan were to hear a confession from their favorite artist that they are in fact, not human but instead, synthesizer paired with a hologram, then how will he react? Will he still listen to the artist’s music, or feel betrayed? Is anything wrong at all? An example of this is Miku Hatsune: a Japanese teal-haired, slender 16-year-old girl designed by artist KEI who sings her fans’ songs in a high-pitched
time and has amassed a gigantic fan base. Anime at its core is animation done in a more (for lack of a term) emotional style. But, what history does it have to tell and how has it become so popular? Anime’s use of its rich history, the size of the “Otaku” fan base, and it’s unfortunate overuse of fan service has led to a massive fan base over the years that stretches to the four corners of the world. Anime’s history reaches from as far back as the 18th century, to the Second World War, to present day
Bronies occupy a space easily misunderstood by individuals not familiar with the fandom as effeminate men relishing in a fantasy world of ponies. As Henry Jenkins suggests, most fandoms have negative connotations surrounding them because of their seemingly obsessive practices and rituals in relation to the media text. Discovering young adult men enjoying a show targeted toward little girls is potentially unsettling to people looking at the fandom from the outside because they cannot fathom what
Most nerds and geeks have struggled socially since elementary school, feeling like outcasts and losers. In the literary piece “America Needs Its Nerds” the author, Leonid Fridman, conveys the message that nerds and geeks have a positive impact on society and therefore should be viewed as extraordinary and as valuable as athletes. She believes that nerds are “ostracized”, “social outcasts”, but are also needed for “America to remain a world class powerhouse”. In the school setting, many people that
Research on what it means for people to be a sports fan; what do sports mean in ones life, I believe is one vital role in American society. Sports are all around, all year long, 24/7. We, as American citizens, choose what we want for entertainment, and by simply looking around you; sports are the entertainment of American society. What is the role of sports in one’s life? What teams they support and why? Or, why they choose not to cheer for a team. How do they show their support, such as clothing
This is a direct quote by - Leonor ("Cosplay means means to be able to disappear from the world and its problems for some moments. It means to imagine, create, and be with your friends." http://www.otakuaniverse.com/index.php/feature-articles/85-featurearticles/191-cosplay-quotes) Everyone wants to be something that they are not. Creating a world that expresses who you want to be, when others are afraid too. I believe in the world of Cosplay is gaining popularity because it allows others to escape
Introduction What is it about sports that make people so emotionally charged? If it is “only a game”, why does fan behavior sometimes border onto fanaticism? These are some questions that have been asked time and time again while researching fan behavior. The reasons for such loyalist, crazy fan mentality can be attributed to several psychological, biological and social reasons. The thrill of competition and result based format of sporting events creates an atmosphere charged with emotion that
Everyone has their own different interests and hobbies. That is what makes us who we are. Certain hobbies or interests that you have are things that we know just about everything about. You know them so well that you might even consider yourself an expert. Would you classify yourself if as a nerd for that interest or hobby? Wait, before you answer that question, what does is a “nerd” anyways? Nerd is a slang term that is most commonly recognized as, “someone who is considered to be socially awkward
For centuries those who have revolutionized the world, have been in the category of — what is colloquially known as — nerds and geeks. Recently, the world lost one of the greatest nerds, Stephen Hawking, even though he is greatly respected, there is still a negative stigma surrounding the intellectual community. In Leonid Fridman’s passage, he asserts that the derogatory branding towards the “nerdy” community needs to end. He supports hhis claim by first describing the negative implications the
Cosplay, the subculture that I have chosen to study, is when a person achieves identification by wearing costumes. This involves dressing up as characters from but not limited to works of fiction such as anime. Taken from the Japanese culture, the word “cosplaying” combines “costume” and “play.” Most people who are involved in cosplaying are interested in comics, anime, or video games. I got the chance to interview Becky, family friend, who identifies herself as a cosplayer. We sat down and talked
A select few individuals in society are abnormally intelligent, making them to be frequently outcasted and rarely recognized for their true importance to the world. In an article from The New York Times entitled, “America Needs its Nerds”, by Leonid Fridman, the author delves deep into the ideas of the constant cruelty displayed towards nerds and geeks. Throughout the article, Fridman utilizes rhetorical questions, colloquialisms and even anecdotes in order to directly respond to the fact that nerds
Fandoms The first use of the term ‘fandom’ was in 1893! Fans of the detective Sherlock Holmes are widely considered to have comprised the first modern fandom, holding public demonstrations of mourning after Holmes was killed off in 1893. A fandom is the fans of a particular person, team, fictional series, etc., . Another way to describe it as a community of people who bond over a common interest. That interest can be a movie, game, character, band, anything. You name it, and there is probably an
Watching television is one of America’s favorite pastimes, especially watching reality television. According to the Oxford dictionary reality television are “television programs in which real people are continuously filmed, designed to be entertaining rather than informative” (Oxford dictionary). Beauty and the Geek pairs together "Geeks" (socially inelegant nerd breeds) and "Beauties" (beautiful women handpicked for portraying bimbos), who then take on challenges to win $250,000 in prizes. Along
I am a nerd. Usually people think that means “bookish”, “antisocial”, or “know-it-all”, preferring to label a fact-wielding teenager rather than understand the person beneath the stereotype. My version of a “nerd” is someone who has a true love for learning, who tries to understand everything around her, from Higgs-Boson particles to the Marvel Universe, from oligopolistic game theory to complicated board games. Thus, it should go without saying that the place where I am most content is somewhere
In the United States, “nerds are ostracized while athletes are idolized.” To provide an example: the intellectually gifted are called derogatory names by society, yet fans would not be able to watch their favorite athletes if it wasn’t for the invention of the television by a “nerd.” As the author establishes, “enough is enough.” Writer, Leonid Fridman, in his argumentative essay, “America Needs Its Nerds,” asserts that Americans must eliminate the anti-intellectual values in order to prosper as
Furry Fandom: What leads to their negative stigmatization? By Bryon McRae University of Alaska Southeast Abstract In this study I would be researching public perception of the subculture group known as the Furry Fandom. This will be measured by using three different scales. One being a feeling thermometer scale, then a scale to measure acceptability to discriminate and finally a sexual deviance scale. Participants will rate their feelings towards the Furry Fandom, Comic-Con goers, mascots, zoophiles
My commentary will be on fandoms, which, according to Webster’s online dictionary is the state or condition of being a fan of someone or something. I will be focusing on the extreme aspect of one fandom in particular, Star Wars. It is easy to see how someone would enjoy this series. I would consider myself somewhat of a die-hard Star Wars fan, maybe even a Star Wars nerd, but even with following the series as closely as I do. I cannot seem to comprehend how someone could dedicate their life to
Lolita events while most of the time they would engage with taking photos and socializing within the Otaku societies. Other than performing inside Japan, cosplay has also expanded its culture into the West and South East Asia such as Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea, the societies would put on cosplay events every year and create internet platforms, for people around the world who are interested in cosplay culture could communicate in a more convenience way, on the other hand Lolita has focused more in
asked him whether he just liked anime if he was an otaku (nerd), he clearly said he used to be an otaku. That was why I interviewed him because I wondered whether there are any connections between anime and kendo. As I analyzed his interview, I found three interesting connections between anime and kendo. They are cool image of Japanese culture based on anime, unconscious practice of cosplay through kendo and dynamic identity change from being an otaku into a sportsman. According to M-kun, he started
Some of his work deals with the lifestyle of an otaku. Otaku is a term to describe a person who is obsess with manga and anime. In this case, Murakami refers himself as an otaku, “I became an otaku when I was in high school and absorbed many different things from anime, like its erotic and fantasy elements… that very process resulted in that work” (Widewalls). Takashi Murakami definitely shows how his otaku-ness influences his art work. For example, Murakami created, “My Lonesome