Week 1 - Emails, Talks, Case Studies and Gnatt Chart

Emailed academics
I have been emailing Japanese academics to help narrowing down Japan's history on the most culturally significant points. So I have emailed 7 people I've received 2 responses so far. Although it seems like they're unable to help me. I'll give the rest of them until Tuesday next week to respond, then I will send them another email. I will also email new people too.

Talked with Ben
I talked with Ben; he suggested I make some research posters. So I'm going to make 3. One on general Japanese history up until the 20th century, One with more of a focus on the last 100 years of animation. the 3rd will be a triangulation poster based on my main 3 case studies.

Started case studies
I have also started doing my case studies this week. I decided to drop "Stiens;gate" as a case study because it is an incredibly difficult show to get into given the subject matter is time travel and it goes quite deep into the science fiction side of things. I couldn't find enough material to give a convincing argument so I couldn't back up any of my thoughts with quotes or evidence. It's just not an anime that is talked enough about either online or in academic texts and when it is talked about it's never about the main characters mental health.The focus is often shifted to the time travel aspect of the anime. But in my opinion the main character has schizophrenia or at the very least shows schizophrenic tendencies, also his friends are going through their own mental struggles and I feel like it is a show which definitely needs to be looked more into but it's so hard to get actually get into it

I made a Gnatt chart to keep myself on track. 

What went well this week?

• I feel a lot better after speaking to Ben. I have more of a clear idea of what i'm doing going forward
• Very productive week. 
• Felt like i was communicating well

What could've gone better?

• I didn't get everything done that I had planned, I will have to pick up the slack next week. 
• Time management continues to be an issue even into 3rd year, I accidentally missed a dyslexia support session.

Plan for next week

• Continue making research posters
• Continue writing case studies, looking into psychological character analysis using professionals in the field of oligarchy to back up arguments 
• Start practical.
• Have a rough draft of 3 chapters done. 

Black Swan: A Review

Black Swan is a film about the production of swan lake. The movie follows Nina a dancer at the New York Ballet City Company as she is cast in the titular role of the black swan in the company’s production of Swan Lake. I clocked what the plot was going to be pretty early on in the film. Not only as the audience do, we see the main character portray the swan queen in Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake buy the film itself plays out like the ballet. It documents her decent into a living hell as she is cast as in the main role of swan queen.

Her mother smothers her treating her like a child as well and holding her back developmentally and physically. She is living vicariously through her daughter, having had to give up her own career as a ballet dancer to raise her. When Nina gets the role of Swan Queen we see her grow up and break free from her mother but in doing so she loses her sanity. It touches briefly on eating disorders. But focuses mainly on the characters spiralling hallucinations. Mirrors are used as a storytelling device to represent how she sees herself as well as showing the white/black swan mirror image. 

I liked how they dealt with the hallucinations. They use a techniques that I've seen before mostly in horror films but it's used to make the audience feel as afraid as the main character is feeling because it's from their perspective so you don't know whether what you're seeing is real until the character realises that it's not real and so it's another way of putting the audience in the characters shoes and making them more relatable.

The film also looks briefly at harassment. The Nina’s boss Thomas Leroy or The Gentleman creates a power dynamic between the two. She feels grateful to him for giving her the role when he could've given it to someone else. He's made her feel dependent on him. This film came out in 2010. 9 years before the Me2 movement. Why did nobody question or challenge his actions then? Why is this still relevant 9 years later?

I have chosen to study mental health in ballet because on the surface I did ballet for 2 years when I was about 14. I stopped doing it I had a lot going on in school, but also, I found that the ballet school environment wasn't healthy for me especially at that time in my life. There was a lot of pressure to look and act a certain way which just wasn't me. I found that I was changing myself to fit what others wanted and expected. It was rough.

Animation and ballet have the same sort of troubles. In Ballet you only see the final performance but not the days, weeks and months of rehearsing. The years of ruthless training and rejection. Choreographing the dance, practising the dance practising the dance moves, strength training especially for boys. Boys in ballet have it especially rough because if the social stigma. Some people don't make the cut, they'll find the smallest most seemingly insignificant thing about your body and that'll be why you can't do it. Your too tall, too small, that slight curve in your spine, your left knee is slightly higher up than your right and on and on. In animation the audience only sees the final animation, but they don't see the hundreds of hours that have gone into making it. The years of practising drawing, studying acting, studying anatomy and learning cinematography then the stress of putting yourself through art school so that you can learn the skills needed to animate well. It takes it’s toll on you physically, eye strain, repetitive strain injury, carpal tunnel, bad back. The social isolation and long hours. Then the rejections and setbacks. Then some people assume that animation is for children and you are told that you should get a 'real job'. 

(initial) Proposal

How does mental and physical disability impact upon narrative in Japanese Anime and what are the wider implications on Japanese society?

In this extended essay, I will discuss how mental health and physical disabilities affect the narrative in Japanese animation, with a focus on how the characters’ mental and physical health drives the plot forward, impacts on their actions and how this affects their relationship with the other characters.  I will firstly make reference to the historical and cultural contexts of Japan, with a particular concentration on the last hundred years.

I will then go on to explore case studies, mainly Deathnote, Steinsgate and Silent Voice. I will focus on various characters who best depict their mental health or physical disability. For example, in the anime Deathnote, Light Yagame is a sociopathic character. Rintaro Okabe in the anime Steinsgate has schizophrenia; the film Silent Voice has a main character who has a hearing impairment and deals with suicide and depression, amongst other things. From here, the essay will explore possible theories regarding the reasons why the directors and writers in these amines chose to depict the characters in this way. Thought, opinions and ideas will be supported with evidence referenced in a Harvard style, with the integrity of my research being maintained via PROMPT analysis; presentation, reliability, objectivity, methodology, providence and timeliness.

 For the practical aspect of this research, I will create a 15 page zine or comic book in a Manga style that will focus on the subject of ballet dancing.  In ballet, only the final performance is seen but not the days, weeks and months of rehearsing, the years of ruthless training and rejection. Choreographing, practising the dance, and strength training is gruelling, especially for boys; who can also be subjected to social stigma. Some dancers do not meet pre-determined standards and will receive criticism from professionals who find the smallest, most seemingly insignificant ‘fault’ about a dancer’s body, thereby undermining confidence.

My work will concentrate on putting theory into practice. This will be informed by the interviews conducted in the primary research phase and the content will be discussed with an awareness of the need to be sensitive, yet true, to Japanese culture. My primary research will include interviews and surveys predominantly received from Japan and also from ballet dancers themselves. The zine or comic will also draw inspiration from another case study, the anime, My Hero Academia, which explores ideas on disability and body image and challenges stereotypes about what it means to be a hero. I will also discuss and criticize my attempt at establishing and executing a narrative.

The essay will then conclude by reflecting on its references to Japanese history and culture, illustrated through the case studies included in the body of the essay. This will answer how mental and physical disability impacts upon the narrative in Japanese Anime and what the wider implications are on Japanese society.