Reading Japan Cool: Patterns of Manga Literacy and Discourse by John E. Ingulsrud, ISBN-13: 978-0739127544
[PDF eBook eTextbook]
- Publisher: Lexington Books; 1st edition (February 3, 2010)
- Language: English
- 244 pages
- ISBN-10: 0739127543
- ISBN-13: 978-0739127544
Japanese animation, video games, and manga have attracted fans around the world. The characters, the stories, and the sensibilities that come out of these cultural products are together called Japan Cool. This is not a sudden fad, but is rooted in manga―Japanese comics―which since the mid-1940s have developed in an exponential way. In spite of a gradual decline in readership, manga still commands over a third of the publishing output. The volume of manga works that is being produced and has been through history is enormous. There are manga publications that attract readers of all ages and genders. The diversity in content attracts readers well into adulthood. Surveys on reading practices have found that almost all Japanese people read manga or have done so at some point in their lives. The skills of reading manga are learned by readers themselves, but learned in the context of other readers and in tandem with school learning. Manga reading practices are sustained by the practices of other readers, and manga content therefore serves as a topic of conversation for both families and friends. Moreover, manga is one of the largest sources of content for media production in film, television, and video games. Manga literacy, the practices of the readers, the diversity of titles, and the sheer number of works provide the basis for the movement recognized as Japan Cool. Reading Japan Cool is directed at an audience of students of Japanese studies, discourse analysts, educators, parents, and manga readers.
Reading Japan Cool offers a rich, yet accessible discussion of manga in their social, cultural, and intermedia context. Drawing on an innovative blend of textual analysis and literacy research, this book takes us from the origins and semiotics of manga to the literacy practices and reading strategies of its young and adult readers. Lucidly written and well documented, this is likely to become a standard reference in the new field of academic manga research. — Jannis Androutsopoulos, King’s College London
In North America, few people today remember, or know, how popular and influential comics once were. Nor are they aware how a once-thriving industry came to be stigmatized, marginalized, and nearly destroyed. To see what happens when comics become a truly mainstream media today, we have to look to Japan. In their new book, John Ingulsrud and Kate Allen meticulously and dispassionately analyze patterns of comics literacy in Japan. In the process they not only drive a few stakes in some old American myths about comics, but also shed light on an increasingly important aspect of modern Japanese society. Kudos to them for a very important and fascinating book! — Frederik L. Schodt, author of Manga! Manga!, Dreamland Japan, and The Astro Boy Essays
John E. Ingulsrud is professor in the Department of International Studies at Meisei University in Tokyo.
Kate Allen is professor in the School of Global Japanese Studies at Meiji University in Tokyo.
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