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Anime is a form of animation originated by Japan in which it’s hand written or computer animated. It’s essence can be tracked back all the way to the early 1900s. Much of the origins regarding anime is tricky because there are no records regarding what anime existed up until a certain time. With that being said, here is a quick timeline of vital moments in Anime History. In 1914, those who specialized in cartoons were the first to venture off into animated motion pictures in Japan. Kitayama Seitaro became the first known in the manga industry throughout Japan by creating Momotaro and Chika To Onna No Yononoka before WWII. Post WWII, someone known as Osamu Tezuka created Tetsuwan Atom which is known as Astro Boy in America. Osamu Tezuka progressed on to be a pioneer in anime and manga as he founded Osamu Tezuka Production Animation Department(later known as Mushi Productions). This company along with Toei Animation(created by Hiroshi Okawa) were most influential in the mid 1960s. The 1970s was the decade to introduce anime with giant robots, also known as the “mecha” anime. Dragon Ball, Akira, Sailor Moon, Pokemon furthered the anime culture ending the 1900s. Now fastforwarding to the present day, anime has gained much attention in the world from 2000 up until now. Can you believe there are conventions that are dedicated to anime and manga series. People from various cultures all come together to celebrate their favorite anime movies/shows while also wearing the costumes of the characters. These festivals show how passionate and dedicated they are to anime. The way cartoonists portray the characters as having their own identities and appearances really influence culture as well too. They open the door for people from different cultures to be more confident with their own appearances even if they aren’t accepted in today’s world. For example, characters in anime sometimes display what society would call “bizarre” hairstyles, tattoos, clothing, piercings, etc. I would not be surprised if people become inspired by some of the characters. Also, the anime shows and movies inspire people to learn a little about the Japanese language. Having the option to watch the shows in Japanese is a blessing because it throws you right inside the Japanese culture. Even if you need the English subtitles. The journeys the characters go through in the anime is also inspirational. Through the use of Japanese culture, it teaches cultures to face its fears and never have a give up mentality.

References:

novaonline.nvcc.edu/eli/evans/his135/events/anime62.html

jpninfo.com/31964

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Post #3- Bruce Lee’s Influence

When we speak about the Chinese martial art culture, it's difficult to overlook the one and only Bruce Lee. His impact on the action film industry was monumental. Being from Hong Kong and the United States, many doors were open to Bruce Lee because of how well he communicated with two very different cultures. Connecting the East and the West through action film is not an easy task, but of course the great Bruce Lee was ready for any challenge.

Arguably one of the most notable martial art films of all time is called Enter The Dragon starring Bruce Lee. Bruce Lee also had the opportunity to produce the movie which ultimately came out in 1973. This movie began to shift the culture of early 1970s American culture by accomplishing two things. First, the movie challenged another ethnic subgenre that had grown a lot of popularity doing the time. This subgenre is titled Blaxploitation under Exploitation films, which consisted of mostly African-Americans as the lead roles. Even though it was a positive for the African-America culture to experience lead roles for once, this subgenre came with a negative connotation Majority of the characters were depicted as criminals and other negative stereotypical things society has created for African-American people. Enter The Dragon was one of the first films to include a African-American actor playing the role of the hero, breaking the barrier Blaxploitation placed on black culture. Instead of poisoning black culture by shedding light on what society thinks of them, Bruce Lee decided to show the world that African Americans can be heroic and the center of a story line. Secondly, the movie was able to shift the early 1970s American culture by displaying visuals of post-colonial Asian people and culture. This was accomplished as parts of the film were shot in Asia, therefore viewers got an understanding on how things worked there and what everyday life consisted of.

Enter The Dragon was the first film that was co-produced in both Hong Kong and Hollywood. This gave Asian landscapes and characters that ability to be natural as they were not under much American control. This sense of natural acting gave the film an authentic look because the action did not look forced due to American influence. Also, the Asian culture had some control over how they looked on the screen as opposed to earlier films that did not take this into consideration. Lastly, another culture shifting aspect of the movie was expressing the fact that you do not need guns or weapons to defeat the enemy. Bruce Lee taught cultures that all the weapons you need are already within your body. This concept potentially could have touched many cultures as it teaches people to leave weapons alone, which can help to save lives.

References:

https://www.proquest.com/blog/eosblog/2018/How-Bruce-Lee-Revolutionized-American-Culture.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enter_the_Dragon

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Post# 2-Women&Action Movies

As time progressed in the movie industry, action movies began to give women leading roles more and more frequently. Examples of this specific role include famous movies such as Mad Max: Fury Road, Wonder Women, Captain Marvel, Hunger Games, Charlie’s Angels, etc. The time period where women began receiving these types of opportunities initiated around the late 1900s. In 1979, Sigourney Weaver played a female protagonist in the action film named Alien. 

This movie was the spark that gave interest to the idea of females being heroes in action movies. An interesting fact about this movie is that it was originally made for a male protagonist, which could explain it’s risk in breaking gender stereotypes by having a woman play the role. Still, movies gave the actresses a platform to eliminate stereotypes that were placed on women by cultures. For example, the stereotype that women are usually more warm/soft compared to males who portray dominance and aggressiveness. Once women started to have a more prominent impact in action movies, a shift was made in their demeanor. Since the genre is action, the actresses demonstrate more aggressive behavior. Also, they seem to be less open and sometimes they show little to no emotion throughout the movies, which is a stereotypical notion placed on men in society.

 Allowing women to take on lead action roles has influenced culture to be more open to women who do not fit under society and certain cultures description of them. It forces people to not limit women and categorize them into things they believe are appropriate for women. Women may also feel a sense of empowerment throughout cultures if they see a woman as the hero. Especially because they may be able to relate to the character in some form which makes the hero even more influential. It promotes equality by demonstrating women can also “save the day” when the moment calls for it. It only makes sense as times are changing. Women are becoming less reliant on men for anything in society. Women in certain cultures may value men less as a priority than others. They may feel like they can do everything for themselves as the idea of men providing for women used to be common(could women leading action movies have something to do with this?). I don’t know if I would consider interest in action movies an etic, but I do know they are popular around a lot of places in the world. Not all of the movies are universal but ones like Avengers: Infinity War may be. 

References:

https://time.com/female-action-heroes/

https://www.buzzfeed.com/jennaguillaume/action-movies-with-female-leads

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Action Movies Post#1-PSYGE325

We have all come across action movies during our existence here on Earth. They serve as a treasured form of entertainment that I do not believe we could live without. This genre has the ability to draw the attention of the viewers like no other. Action movies are one of those genres that interact with a lot of other genres while primarily displaying action. For instance, the catalog of action movies include action adventure, action comedy, action crime, action drama, action thriller, and action horror. This goes to show how versatile the action genre truly can be. Sometimes following dialogue can become tiresome depending on who you are, especially for the entire movie. The action component of movies stimulates the viewer as they are usually watching the protagonist survive through a wild series of events. It’s interesting because the viewer is watching a variety of scenes that include situations the average person has never experienced in real life. Since this is true, we as viewers love to put ourselves in the shoes of the characters because it would make our lives much more exciting. 

The beginning of the action genre was processed in the early 1900s with the movement of the silent era. Before sound was introduced, Edwin S Porter produced the first action movie called The Great Train Robbery in 1903. Following this movie, the late 1900s(80s/90s) greatly evolved in comparison to Porter’s film as the plots included more intensity and incentives. This was accomplished by the enhancement of technological equipment over the time along with new and improved special effect systems. Also, due to the action movies usually involving a very expensive budget, it’s not hard to believe this genre mainly having a presence in Hollywood. In the industry, the males are more portrayed as the heroes while the women were seen as the trophy for the male protagonist in the films. Early on, this was seen as a gender issue but as time has progressed there has been numerous action movies with women claiming the main role. With that being said, some of the known male protagonists in America include Bruce Lee, Sylvester Stallone, Steven Seagal, Bruce Willis, Chuck Norris, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. 

In my upcoming post, I will be tying the action genre of movies to other cultures in order to draw similarities and differences from each culture. For example, the western culture of movies have been largely influenced by the Asian culture due to the martial arts/kung-fu present in many non-Asian films these days. This has changed the entire concept of fighting scenes in western culture and I believe our country has a lot of gratitude that needs to be shown to places like Hong Kong.

References:

https://www.filmsite.org/actionfilms.html

https://www.filmbug.com/dictionary/action-movies.php

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_film