I'm American and watch about 2/3 American-produced shows with the occasional British sit-com and mostly anime making up the rest.
Before I figured these things out, as a kid I thought most of what I watched originated in the good 'ol U.S., but then I learned that a lot of the shows I watched were just edited and dubbed Japanese cartoons or done by Japanese studios. I loved Robotech and Silverhawks, for example. First it was the art--WAY better than American-made cartoons--and then the type of stories that drew me in and seemed to be lacking at the time in other shows.
I got out of those when I got older and really only watched sci-fi on TV and the occasional anime movie, which I loved because they were like adult versions of the cartoons I'd watched when I was young. Then when anime hit the internet I got into it more--until recently it was just too difficult to find.
I watch a few anime shows now and prefer subtitles so that I hear the original voices and inflection (and have picked up on swear words and when they've changed/censored the dialogue). I was having a conversation with a 13 year-old camper the other day who watches a TON of anime but only ones that are English dubbed. She doesn't like subtitles as much, yet was way ahead of me on pronouncing the characters' names correctly and how the vowels and consonants should sound (though she hadn't picked up any vocabulary). I like the teamy adventure stuff; she is into the soap-opera type stories with complicated romances.
I wouldn't say that I particularly seek out ANYthing Japanese, because a lot of it can be really creepy or just bizarre. As for British stuff, I don't think of the origins of books much unless there's a lot of hoopla about it (like Harry Potter) so I can't say that I seek out that, either, though I do love a good Neil Gaiman. Though...I would say I do seek out Australian authors because finding them in a bookstore is rare so I'll tend to buy one when I see it if I notice it in the author blurb and not worry about the plot summary. Morris Gleitzman and John Marsden, notably!
I only run into a few references or jokes that I don't get (and picked up on a few running gags that are obviously very funny if you grew up with them). But then in the comments to one video, someone explained that a character looked happy at the end because a single cherry petal fell in his tea and that's a sign of good luck, and I realized I'm probably missing quite a few references like that.
Are there any particular tropes/stereotypes/character traits/plot devices you particularly associate with a certain culture’s material? In anime I've noticed there are a lot of orphans with great destinies. Also that bad guys turn out to be good guys a lot. Way more than good guys turn out to be bad guys, which tends to happen in Western stories.
Fandom I think about half the people I know in fandom are from the U.S. and about half are British, but I do know a few are from other European countries (non-English-speaking) and post in both English and their native language.
Do you think this changes depending on what fandom you’re in? I think most of the anime fans I've seen online are from the U.S. but I don't know as many of them.
Do your expectations for the fandom and its fanwork change depending on the source culture? Heck, yes. Both seem to be into slash but the anime crowd seems to be younger...I browse art at deviantArt as well, and there's definitely a growing crowd of beginners putting up a lot of fanart in the various animes I watch. Maybe because it's a cartoon to begin with, there seems to be much more in drawn fan work in anime and somewhat less in fanfiction and the reverse is true for Stargate and Sanctuary, Glee &etc.
Nationality: United States Native language(s): English Language(s) you most often fan in (e.g. write/read/discuss in): English Is it all right for me to reference you directly in the final paper: Sure If yes, how would you prefer to be called (e.g. LJ handle/name/nickname/anonymously, etc): Doesn't matter... Janet is fine If needed, would it be alright for me to contact you for more questions/details via email/skype, etc.? Sure...buffalogirl @gmail.com
no subject
I'm American and watch about 2/3 American-produced shows with the occasional British sit-com and mostly anime making up the rest.
Before I figured these things out, as a kid I thought most of what I watched originated in the good 'ol U.S., but then I learned that a lot of the shows I watched were just edited and dubbed Japanese cartoons or done by Japanese studios. I loved Robotech and Silverhawks, for example. First it was the art--WAY better than American-made cartoons--and then the type of stories that drew me in and seemed to be lacking at the time in other shows.
I got out of those when I got older and really only watched sci-fi on TV and the occasional anime movie, which I loved because they were like adult versions of the cartoons I'd watched when I was young. Then when anime hit the internet I got into it more--until recently it was just too difficult to find.
I watch a few anime shows now and prefer subtitles so that I hear the original voices and inflection (and have picked up on swear words and when they've changed/censored the dialogue). I was having a conversation with a 13 year-old camper the other day who watches a TON of anime but only ones that are English dubbed. She doesn't like subtitles as much, yet was way ahead of me on pronouncing the characters' names correctly and how the vowels and consonants should sound (though she hadn't picked up any vocabulary). I like the teamy adventure stuff; she is into the soap-opera type stories with complicated romances.
I wouldn't say that I particularly seek out ANYthing Japanese, because a lot of it can be really creepy or just bizarre. As for British stuff, I don't think of the origins of books much unless there's a lot of hoopla about it (like Harry Potter) so I can't say that I seek out that, either, though I do love a good Neil Gaiman. Though...I would say I do seek out Australian authors because finding them in a bookstore is rare so I'll tend to buy one when I see it if I notice it in the author blurb and not worry about the plot summary. Morris Gleitzman and John Marsden, notably!
I only run into a few references or jokes that I don't get (and picked up on a few running gags that are obviously very funny if you grew up with them). But then in the comments to one video, someone explained that a character looked happy at the end because a single cherry petal fell in his tea and that's a sign of good luck, and I realized I'm probably missing quite a few references like that.
Are there any particular tropes/stereotypes/character traits/plot devices you particularly associate with a certain culture’s material?
In anime I've noticed there are a lot of orphans with great destinies. Also that bad guys turn out to be good guys a lot. Way more than good guys turn out to be bad guys, which tends to happen in Western stories.
Fandom
I think about half the people I know in fandom are from the U.S. and about half are British, but I do know a few are from other European countries (non-English-speaking) and post in both English and their native language.
Do you think this changes depending on what fandom you’re in? I think most of the anime fans I've seen online are from the U.S. but I don't know as many of them.
Do your expectations for the fandom and its fanwork change depending on the source culture? Heck, yes. Both seem to be into slash but the anime crowd seems to be younger...I browse art at deviantArt as well, and there's definitely a growing crowd of beginners putting up a lot of fanart in the various animes I watch. Maybe because it's a cartoon to begin with, there seems to be much more in drawn fan work in anime and somewhat less in fanfiction and the reverse is true for Stargate and Sanctuary, Glee &etc.
Nationality: United States
Native language(s): English
Language(s) you most often fan in (e.g. write/read/discuss in): English
Is it all right for me to reference you directly in the final paper: Sure
If yes, how would you prefer to be called (e.g. LJ handle/name/nickname/anonymously, etc): Doesn't matter... Janet is fine
If needed, would it be alright for me to contact you for more questions/details via email/skype, etc.? Sure...buffalogirl @gmail.com