It’s not a new trend to name your child after a favorite character from pop-culture but the last few years have lent themselves to trendy names from film making their way to the top of the list. For the last few years, Twilight’s Bella has been a popular name but this year it’s another young adult franchise that’s getting everyones’ attention - The Hunger Games. One of the characters took the number one spot on a preview list of what’s going to be hot this year, while a second name from the series also made it onto their radar. I think you’ll be surprised at the results.
This is a preview for a cool looking documentary about female super/action heroes in history and how they impact girls. Does it scare anyone else that in the montage starting at 0:19, none of the women are from the 2000s?
I’ve had a feeling for a while now that pop entertainment has actually gotten more sexist in the last ten years. It has to do with the almighty dollar, of course. The 90s showed that many female action stars can be profitable, but they were a young sub-genre of pop culture with only sparse previous examples (like Charlie’s Angels and Bionic Woman). As such, they are still perceived as “riskier” in an industry that no longer takes risks.
It is a much safer bet to aim media directly at teen boys and men, with male protagonists and the same old sexist tropes that dominated for years. See: DC’s New 52. The de-evolution of Lego from a gender-neutral toy to one marketed entirely at boys. The line-up of usual-suspect blockbuster movie sequels, remakes and adaptations, with a couple of notable exceptions. Not to mention the fact that Wonder Woman is the ONLY major iconic superhero that hasn’t had the movie treatment since the comic book movie wave started over ten years ago (and studio execs have specifically said it won’t happen because they won’t invest a blockbuster budget into a movie with a female protagonist).
I remember first seeing the Mr. Freeze episode when I was a teenager in the mid-90s, and I loved it so much I couldn’t wait until they played it again. I would check in every afternoon for months waiting to see the rerun. The creators of BTAS are basically responsible for re-creating this character from top to bottom.
“I failed you. I wish there were another way for me to say it. I cannot. I can only beg your forgiveness, and pray you hear me somehow, someplace… someplace where a warm hand waits for mine.”
This is possibly my favorite comic book cover of all time. HO HO HO!
The end of Bandai in North America represents another very big nail in the American anime market. Bandai used to be HUGE— it was responsible for bringing Gundam Wing to the US, which was basically the Backstreet Boys of anime. Otaku fangirls would choose which of the five pilots they liked best and proceed to squee fervently over them, eating up merchandise all the way. Gundam Wing was a cornerstone of Cartoon Network’s Toonami block in its heyday and was even aired “uncut” late at night.
Cowboy Bebop was another huge Bandai license. Bebop was one of those anime series that anime fans would show to the uninitiated, because it was a quality show that was less bizarre and more relatable to many US viewers. It also had the distinction of being the very first program to air on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim block.
Unfortunately, those series are many years old, and the anime industry is now a very different place. Like so many fads, it experienced a bubble and a burst. I’m not sure exactly when it hit its peak, but today anime has receded to a niche hobby once again; it no longer dominates kids’ cartoon blocks though it still has a presence there. Anime in the US has been a victim of oversaturation and copious online piracy, which made it increasingly difficult for companies to make a profit in an already small market.
I’m glad to say that I was an otaku in the glory days of the anime craze; it was a wild ride and I went to close to 20 anime conventions of a period of eight or so years. I served as secretary and webmaster at JMU’s anime club for several years, and as president in 2005 - 2006. Amazingly, the club does still exist today. Looking back at my experiences with anime, I see it as a path from being blown away by some revolutionary storytelling to realizing that, like every other medium, it’s 90% crap and maybe 10% gold.
Much good wishes to Steve “the Dude” Rude as this year draws to a close. I’ve featured many of Rude’s pieces of DC women this year and I thought it was time to show them again in one of my birthday salutes. Whether he is drawing women in heroic poses, everyday poses and even cheesecake poses,…
