Project: Online Anime Fan Community Research: Summary of Projects 1, 2, and 3

The online anime fan community provides a social network and creative outlet for many devote fans. In the preliminary research for my project, I found that few resources existed that either accurately reflected the current status of the community or provided a comprehensive framework for its analysis. Therefore, with my three projects this semester I have attempted to create a methodology for analyzing the online anime fan community. The first two projects took the form of an extended paper that applied numerous theories to the fan communities, while the final project was a survey of three forums in the online fan community and two physical fan groups. I have summarized here the theories in which the projects cumulated.

Why produce fan works? What does their production signify? Why are people involved in the online community?

Benefits of Fandom-Project One

-Lines of commodity exchange, such as card games, can be lines of socialization as well: participants can extend or restrict social involvement

-Brand-like qualities, Familiarity but variation: Franchises are akin to economic capital but are also a psychological force. Fandom gives comfort and a sense of own power in an exclusive world

-Characters almost like friends, family.

-Community formed around product can also be like family.

-Fandom provides access to information

-Tendency to try to fully understand story, fill in missing scenes and interactions- media as community resource

Fandom and Textuality-Project Two

What about a franchise or series makes fandom appealing?

- Following up on fandom as community resource: endlessly deferred narrative, Grand non-narrative ending, hyperdiegesis- all promote fan involvement in fleshing out universe

- creator-auteur

- Dressing up allows individual to inhabit the world

- Characters can directly reference real life audience

- Japaneseness could be considered text as well, is incorporated into fan works almost as character flaw, setting quality

Project Three: Survey

-The survey indicated that the sense of community and connections between individuals are a critical part of the fan community.

-The survey also indicated the greater importance of expanding upon characters or the universe over a sense of connection to the characters. These results might have been skewed, however, because the survey was not oriented towards a group devoted solely to fanfiction.

-The survey also indicated the importance of physical interactions with other members of the fan community. Interestingly, it rebutted one of my assumptions, which was that significant friendships were frequently made and sustained in online fan communities. Instead, this seems to require personal connection.

What role does Japaneseness have and why do Japanese motifs circulate in the anime fan community?

History of Japanese media in US- Project One

-America was once dominated by Disney style animation and narratives

-Pokemon was the first brand to really crash into the American media market, owners refused to compromise its aesthetics

-Over time, Consumers have become familiar with the items that were once airbrushed out, like rice balls, and the Japanese aspects of the narrative are altered less frequently

-American fascination with Japan, Japanese items have become fetishized

Fandom and Japanese Culture Education 2006- Project Two

- Majority of Japanese students interested due to anime

-76% of anime fans have some interest in learning Japanese

- The Japanese origin of something indicates that it is somehow inherently Japanese and can provide a window onto Japanese culture

- Authenticity is a central concern- dubbing/subbing. Direct translations and items directly from Japan are considered more authentic

- Fan communities as much a celebration of Japan and Japaneseness as Franchises.

Project Three: Survey

-The survey strongly rebutted my assumption that Japaneseness was highly fetishized in America, thus drawing viewers. Instead, the primary way that fans seem to have gotten involved in anime was through series that were on TV. Despite this, it was important to many fans that the original Japanese qualities of a work be preserved.

-The survey indicated that many fans value the Japanese narrative style for its greater complexity and attention to characters than Western media. It also indicated the importance subtitles have for many fans in retaining authenticity. Numerous fans mentioned that the Japanese qualities of an anime are important to their enjoyment of the series.

-The survey thoroughly rebutted the idea that anime fans first become interested in anime because they see it as educational, offering insight into Japanese culture. Instead, this often works in the exact opposite direction; fans become interested in Japanese culture and the Japanese language because of their involvement with anime.

Structure of the fan community:

The Fan Network- Project One

- The online anime community can be defined as a network, with the correspondingly relatively unlinked minor websites, some connected communities, and hubs, which have many sites linked to them. Most websites are linked to the hubs, which ultimately organize the network.

-What are the hubs of the fan community? Largely sites where numerous fans contribute their work, such Fanfiction.net, Deviantart.com, and EvaGeeks.org

-Webrings have a horizontal arrangement, as they connect to equivalently little-linked sites.

-Links to reality: business cards handed out at conventions contain hyperlinks to the individuals’ work, and personal relationships form at conventions that continue to exist online. Thus, anime fan communities in real life are linked to the online network.

Problems- Although smaller scale organizations exist, they do not uniformly link to higher levels; thus, some hubs cater to a specific audience instead of simply expanding. Hubs often do not link to homepages immediately but display works connected to information about the author, thus, authors seem to constitute the links. Authors contribute works to sites, no matter the prominence of their own website as a hub. This does not correspond to Barabasi’s system, where representation is dependent on the number of links to the website.

Fan communities as assemblage- Project Two

-Smaller units of organization relate to form a larger structure: webpage to website to webring to hub to network.

- Behavior promotes homogeneity. Webites in the same subunit address the same series and have similar products and intentions.

-Connection with the network theory: smaller parts of a larger system are vital for the functioning of the entire system. Thus, the horizontal organization may take the form of a series of forums, where information is released by the highest, corporate level to maintain fan interest. This is known as “just-in-time fandom” (Hills).

-Thus, DeLanda’s theory works well with Barabasi’s. Websites can be defined as functioning subsets of a larger organization. This allows for the interactions of a governing structure with sites to be considered links. Thus, a governing or organizing website, such as Fanfiction. Net, can be considered both a part of the assemblage and a hub.

Problems- The online community does not neatly fit into the class or hierarchy categories afforded by DeLanda. Additionally, there is no consistent mechanism at different levels of the online anime network, so the ability to reduce it is limited. Additionally, despite DeLanda’s claim, online communication does not destabilize, but leads to the creation of virtual space as compensation and maintains the identity and activities of the fan network.

Project Three: Survey

-The survey largely confirmed these theories about the online community. The majority of websites people mentioned had been accessed through google, a major hub of the internet. One of these websites, the animenation forum, was shown to have numerous links to other websites; thus, it also constitutes a hub. Not all of the forums I surveyed could be considered hubs in the strictest sense.

-The survey confirms the proposition that people could be considered links. Many of the respondents indicated that they accessed certain websites through profile links or word-of-mouth, thus not relying on internet hubs.

-This result also links the online anime community to physical social structures. Friends met in person will recommend sites, indicating that connection between different section of the online community is due to social interaction. This introduced the idea of physical hubs.

-The enumerate responses indicating torrent sites used to download anime confirm Marion’s argument that a major part of the online anime community is structured around downloading material illegally.

-If the survey were expanded to a larger pool of respondents on online hubs, questions five and six could be used to create a map of the online anime community. This map would organize links between sites based on method of access and purpose for use. I would then like to distribute the map to the online anime community, as a way of encouraging a community identity, and preserve the map as a representation of the community’s current form.

Project: Online Survey

For my third project, I wanted to evaluate the anime fan community directly to complement my previous theorizing. I decided on using a six-question survey with written, rather than multiple choice, responses. The intent of this was to encourage people to respond due to its short length, and to enable the individuals to give personal and specific responses. Additionally, I designed some of the questions so that they visibly reflected the central theses of my paper; additionally, I informed the respondents of the three major topics of my paper. The purpose of this was to cause the respondents to reply in such a way immediately useful for my thesis, but also to encourage them to voice their opinions about the relationship of such theses to their perceptions of the online anime fan community and their own interests. I posted this survey on three anime-related forums on Animenation.net, EvaGeeks.org, and Shoujo-ai.com, and sent it out to two listservs: my fraternity’s, Psi Upsilon, which has a large number of people interested in Japanese culture and anime, and Duke’s anime club’s. I chose these five groups because I am members of all of them and am thus able to ask for people’s assistance, and because I anticipated that my activity on the sites and with groups has led to a familiarity with the slang, activities and websites that would emerge in the responses. The survey was largely successful and resulted in little confusion and 31 detailed responses. Although the methods I used did not render responses in concrete majorities, the results indicate trends in the online anime community. The responses both complement and contradict the theories used in my first two projects.

Survey Results

1) What do you find most rewarding about participating in fan projects or being active on fan websites? Why do you choose to participate?

Interest in others’ opinions- 5

Meeting people/friends- 5

Promote understanding of anime- 4

Communication with other fans- 11 (two of these directly referenced the importance of the community. One referred to this as a replacement of physical interaction)

As a hobby/ to relax- 5

Helping out with various projects and websites online 2

Analyzing an anime 2

2) Are you regularly in contact with other members of the anime fan community?

Communicate in unspecified way- 7

Online, not in person- 5, (1 referenced a virtual “family”)

In person, not online 7

Anime clubs- 4

18 respondents are active on a message board, although they did not report it

Games and polls- 1

Conventions- 2

No- 2

3) Is the Japanese origin or quality of a series important to your interest in it? What is its most attractive quality?

Attraction to different kinds of stories: character development, plot quality- 12 (one remarked on specifically Japanese style of storytelling)

Attraction to visual style/artwork- 9

Japanese style is different somehow, has an extra flair or otherworldliness- 6

Overall quality- 3

More intellectual- 4

4) Did you become involved in anime due to an interest in Japanese culture or language?

Introduction through franchises aired on TV- 14 (including Sailor Moon, Naruto Trigun, Dragon Ball Z)

Anime caused interest in Japanese culture- 7

Subtitles, not dubs- 4

Interest in language, but not driving force- 3

No-3

Yes-2

5) How have you participated in or contributed to the anime fan community? (ie posting fanfiction on Fanfiction.net, creating a website, etc.)

Fanfiction: Posted on Fanfiction.net- 4, unspecified/unpublished- 8

Helping with websites- 5 forum moderators, 2 website assistants, 1 artist

Posting on forums-5

Making own website-4

Costumes-3

Online projects- wiki-writing- 1, re-dubbing- 2

Fan art-2

Making anime- inspired comic book-2

Blogging-2

Making Amvs-2

Reviewing Anime -2

Attending conventions-2

Reading manga- 2

Translating- 2

6) What websites are you most active on, and how did you first acess them?

(The images accompanying this entry indicate the most frequently reported connections between websites.)

Sample Responses:

1) What do you find most rewarding about participating in fan projects or being active on fan websites? Why do you choose to participate?

I choose to participate because I enjoy interacting with people from all over the world, even though I live in the States. I think the most rewarding thing about anime fandom is just meeting all sorts of people and discussing various issues, even if it’s not anime.

Personally, I love reading the opinions of others. I like to post my own thoughts on a blog, and then I can read what other people think about the same thing. It is pretty interesting actually. People suggest or say many things that I never thought of or also noticed something that I never did before!

There’s often little to doing something enjoyable unless you can enjoy it with other people. It’s a way to make something that used to be considered solitary (i.e. watching anime) into a social activity. I find social contact with other like-minded individuals rewarding, where you can often discuss things that you can’t talk about in normal everyday conversation.

2) Are you regularly in contact with other members of the anime fan community?

I attended my college anime club in my senior year, originally searching for someone with superior drawing skills to collaborate with. I ended up going to social outings with the club, such as movies and sushi dinners. And I’m currently working with someone with superior drawing skills that I met at the anime club. I provide the story and script, he supplies manga-style artwork.

Yes, at conventions and I have a number among my friends.

Answer: Not often. I recognize some peoples screen-names but I don’t write
with them regularly though I wished I had some sort of contact. Where I live,
no one likes fanfiction.

3) Is the Japanese origin or quality of a series important to your interest in it? What is its most attractive quality?

Sort of. It’s not really so much that it’s Japanese, but that it that it’s animation done the right way. There are some good western animations, but few. After watching anime for a few years, however, I have come to like the “Japanese” aspects, most of all the language.

The origin doesn’t matter, but I do prefer the different storytelling, settings, and such that separate anime from other mediums.

The origin doesn’t matter. Anime has given me interest in Japan, yes. However, the Japanese origin is not the source of my interest. I watch anime because there are lots of wonderful stories out there to be seen.

4) Did you become involved in anime due to an interest in Japanese culture or language?

I actually became interested in anime first, and from anime, I became interested in Japanese culture and language. I watch some Gundam Wing and Sailor Moon episodes, and next thing I knew, I was in love with everything Japanese!

No, I began watching anime because of an interest in the (terrible) North American dub of Sailor Moon.

I began watching anime due to some of the Americanized versions from my childhood and seeing a few animes caused me to be nostalgic for that. Also, the presence of a high school anime club gave me a social outlet and is probably where I really became interested in it.

5) What how have you participated in or contributed to the anime fan community? (ie posting fanfiction on Fanfiction.net, creating a website, etc.)

Writing fanfiction, Role-playing on the forums, translating a few things here and there (for example: doujinshi (fan comics), or pictures/text), the voice of Asuka in Zeak’s Re-Take fanimation, and helping out with the Evageeks wiki as well as being one of the staff members here.

I’ll admit that I’ve written fanfiction. There’s probaly still some stories of mine on fanfiction.net. Sometimes it’s kind of fun to challenge yourself and from a writer point of view, it’s kind of a fun challenge to write something with characters that are already someone else’s.

Answer: I post fanfics on http://www.Fanfiction.net, let people have a
different view of an anime or maybe a different ending or different action at
a certain place. Other than that, not much. I’m not much for looking around at
forums, as I don’t generally get the idea^^;

6) What fan websites do you find yourself visiting most often? How did you first come across these websites?

Baka-updates and AnimeTake (to download the anime), ANN (anime news network) to rate and read things about the series, Animepaper (to get some awesome wallpapers) and Random Curiosity (the blog I post to that does episode recaps for many different anime series airing).

- Animenation.com . Honestly not sure how I first heard of it.
- Anime News Network. Saw it as the source of news for Ask John.
- Spinoff creation sites, such as AnimeMusicVideos.org or Cosplaylab.com
- Anime convention sites, such as Metroconventions.com

Animesuki.com, dattebayo.com, Crunchyroll/Hulu/Viz.com now that Naruto is released there instead. I came across these sites from Torrent aggregators (and came to enjoy their work/aggregation skills.

Community Garden Workday

The Garden workday is from 1-3pm on Sunday. Wear clothes you can work in and don’t mind getting dirty.

The Community Garden is a student-led project that is attempting to increase the amount of organic produce that students consume on campus. We are currently building the garden; it’s located on a small patch of land behind the Freeman center. It’s not finished yet, but we’re trying to get plants in the ground quickly. We’re currently finishing some raised beds, digging a terrace, and erecting a fence; that’s probably what we’ll work on tomorrow.

To reach the Smart Home from East campus, drive down Campus Drive for about two minutes and take a right on Swift Avenue. Take another right on Faber Street.

To reach the Smart Home from Broad Street, Drive to the South end where it becomes Swift Avenue. Then take a left on Faber street.

Day of Silence

Hi folks, today’s the day of silence. It’s a day when participants are silent “in recognition of those who are forced to be silent due to anti-LGBT bullying and violence.” You can choose what media you choose to be silent in and how long you choose to be silent. If you’d like to participate in the protest, just pick up a button from the BC Plaza so people will know what you’re doing. Otherwise, just pick a length of time and see what social effects emerge from your being silent.

Proposal: Relay for Life

Relay for Life runs until midnight on West today.

Presentation: Milgram Experiments

The Milgram experiments were designed by Stanley Milgram and began in 1961. They intended to answer the question as to whether it was possible that Nazi subordinates who killed and tortured were simply following orders. Thus, the experiment examines the effects of an authority figure giving instructions that conflict with individual consciences. The experiment was designed so that there was a teacher, learner and experimenter. The learner and experiment were separated by a wall and unable to see each other. The teacher was to attempt to teach word-pairs to the learner. He would read a list of word-pairs, then state the first word of a pair and give the learner four options. If the learner guessed wrong, the teacher was instructed to electrocute the learner with a shock, which he had sampled earlier. The teacher would hear screams from the learner, who supposedly had a heart condition. In reality, there were no shocks, the screams were pre-recorded, and the learner was always the same person. The voltage level would gradually increase, and the learner would bang on the wall and complain about his heart condition. Eventually, all responses form the learner stopped.

If the teacher ever wanted to stop the experiment, the experimenter would give four verbal prods:
1. Please continue.
2. The experiment requires that you continue.
3. It is absolutely essential that you continue.
4. You have no other choice, you must go on.

If he continued to try to quit after the fourth prompt, he would be allowed to go. Otherwise, the experiment would only end after three maximum-voltage (450 volts) shocks had been administered. 65% of the teachers reached this point. Locations were varied, but the rate of completion remained from 61-66%. Completion was maximized when the experimenter was there in person but not touching the teacher. This experiment raised considerable concerns about experimental ethics, given the undue stress placed on the teachers, but also revealed the ability of a human to inflict pain without consideration, given only an order.
Several theories used to explain the results are:
• The theory of conformism, based on Solomon Asch’s work, describing the fundamental relationship between the group of reference and the individual person. A subject who has neither ability nor expertise to make decisions, especially in a crisis, will leave decision making to the group and its hierarchy. The group is the person’s behavioral model.
• The agentic state theory, wherein, per Milgram, the essence of obedience consists in the fact that a person comes to view himself as the instrument for carrying out another person’s wishes, and he therefore no longer sees himself as responsible for his actions. Once this critical shift of viewpoint has occurred in the person, all of the essential features of obedience follow.

Proposal: Giving/Recieving/Exchanging

I heard about a group of guys who stood out on busy street on some college campus and yelled complements at people passing by. We should do the same.

Presentation: Stanford prison experiment

The Stanford prison experiment was a small-scale simulation of a prison environment, where 24 college males were selected to play either the role of a prison guard or an inmate. Philip Zimbardo organized the experiment with the hope of proving that sadistic tendencies in prison could be traced back to personality traits. After a relatively tame first day, a riot broke out on the second day, after which the actors of either role began to deeply absorb their new identities. Prisoners, when given the opportunity to leave, would remain in the mock jail. Guards became increasingly sadistic and worked together to humiliate the prisoners. For example, the guards simulated homosexual sex with some of the prisoners, forced some to sleep on the concrete floor, forced others to give up their mattresses to free an inmate in solitary confinement, and removed the waste buckets from some of the cells, causing conditions to rapidly deteriorate. After a visiting graduate student called attention to the poor conditions of the experiment, it was shut down after only 6 days instead of the original intended 14.

The experiment has been criticized on a number of grounds, particularly the deterministic nature of the roles. Individuals tended to conform to roles based on hat was expected of them; for example, one of the guards imitated the warden from Cool Hand Luke. Also, language used to describe the experiment may have primed the behavior of the participants, as the setting of the prison likely did as well. Criticisms published in several leading psychology journals challenged the experiment’s conclusions that people slip mindlessly into roles and points out the importance of a leader, in this case, Zimbardo, in the development of tyranny, thus suggesting that Zimbardo’s briefing of the guards also primed them for sadistic action.

Proposal/Playing online co-op game

We should play an online co-op game.

Proposal/Playing mafia in class.

We ought to play mafia in class.