Some months ago The New York Times published an article that I found quite intriguing and surprisingly applicable to anime fandom despite being seemingly unrelated to it. It’s called “The Death of Adulthood in American Culture” and it involves a film critic for The Times discussing how American society has changed over the decades in terms of what it means to be an adult; he cites popular TV shows, movies, and books that reflect how the old view of adulthood – being part of an authority-following, gender role-centered society – has been losing popularity in favor of a freer and more rebellious idea of adulthood, most notably one that embraces childhood and supposedly childish things rather than cast them off…that sounds like anime fandom to me!…
The majority of the article talks about American TV shows, celebrities, books, etc., that I’m not too familiar with, but the basic idea of this “death of adulthood” is something that extends to all branches of pop culture and fandoms of the past 20 years. A perfect example is an incident the author of the article, A.O. Scott, mentions about how a journalist named Rush Graham published an essay on the topic of how adults between the ages of 30-44 should feel ashamed for buying young adult literature (for themselves of course, not for their kids). Readers of her essay were furious of course, and Scott described their sentiment as “‘Don’t tell me what to do!’ as if Graham were a bossy, uncomprehending parent warning the kids away from sugary snacks toward more nutritious, chewier stuff.” He goes on to say that “It was not an argument she was in a position to win, however persuasive her points. To oppose the juvenile pleasures of empowered cultural consumers is to assume, wittingly or not, the role of scold, snob or curmudgeon.”
This certainly applies to our fandom because, hey, manga is considered “young adult fiction,” at least here in America. And if manga is considered to be for young adults (older kids/younger teenagers), then anime is too…and most video games, and so-called children’s literature like Harry Potter, and certainly My Little Pony, and any work of fiction that doesn’t scream “For adults only!” So for those of us who are a part of these fandoms and others, should we feel embarrassed? I’m sure most of you will say “no,” which is great, and it definitely shows how times have changed.
To illustrate further, I know I’ve said many times on the blog that my mom doesn’t have a problem with my anime and related hobbies. But it does puzzle her at times and I can understand why. After all, during her time in the 1950s-1970s, what it meant to be an adult was simpler, but also limited: men and women would get married and have kids, with the men having full-time jobs and supporting the family while the women would take care of the home and the kids. In addition to these societal roles, there were also personality expectations: men are supposed to be masculine and authoritative, and like manly things like sports and cars, while women are supposed to be motherly and into womanly things like fashion and romance. Men and women who indulged in childish things like collecting toys and reading comic books were basically unheard of, or if they did exist, they kept themselves hidden. So you can imagine how someone from those times must feel when they see grown men make a fuss over the cute little Pokemon plushie they just bought, or women who spend their free time playing PS4 games together over Skype instead of raising a family.
Going back to the article, Scott continues on this topic by saying that “In my main line of work as a film critic, I have watched over the past 15 years as the studios committed their vast financial and imaginative resources to the cultivation of franchises (some of them based on those same Young Adult novels) that advance an essentially juvenile vision of the world. Comic-book movies, family-friendly animated adventures, tales of adolescent heroism and comedies of arrested development do not only make up the commercial center of 21st-century Hollywood. They are its artistic heart.” I certainly agree with this as all one has to do is look at the most popular movies of the past two decades to see that they’re not the standard adult fare of Hollywood romances and dramas from yesteryear, but the very kinds of “juvenile” stories that Scott described: they’re the animated adventures from Disney and Dreamworks, the comic book sagas like Iron Man and The Avengers, and the fantasy epics like Harry Potter and Pirates of the Caribbean…the young adult stories that are marketed for kids yet keep garnering a noticeable adult demographic. And there’s no denying that the main consumers of anime products, video games, and comic books are adults. I would even claim that the majority of Pokemon fans nowadays are adults rather than kids, evidence being that every Pokemon tournament I’ve been to in the past few years has had more adult participants than kids.
So, should we mourn this death of adulthood? I’m biased of course, but I’m definitely happy to embrace a more free and open-minded idea of adulthood than we had before. To me, being an adult simply means being responsible, thoughtful, intelligent, and self sufficient (if one is able to be in these tough times of course). It should have nothing to do with how one chooses to live their life or the kinds of things they’re interested in. I’m glad that in every college class I’ve taken and every job I’ve had in recent years, there’s always been at least a few people (adults mind you) who like anime, video games, or other of these so-called childish hobbies. And at the recent anime conventions I’ve been to, I’ve been seeing more and more couples with children attending, obviously because the parents like this stuff and not just their kids. So they can now pass on this idea to the next generation that it’s perfectly fine for adults to indulge in cartoons and games as well. As Scott says near the end of his article, “It is now possible to conceive of adulthood as the state of being forever young. Childhood, once a condition of limited autonomy and deferred pleasure (“wait until you’re older”), is now a zone of perpetual freedom and delight. Grown people feel no compulsion to put away childish things: We can live with our parents, go to summer camp, play dodge ball, collect dolls and action figures and watch cartoons to our hearts’ content. These symptoms of arrested development will also be signs that we are freer, more honest and happier than the uptight fools who let go of such pastimes.”
It’s a very, very different world than it was 50 years ago, or even 20 years ago. A lot of things have changed for the worse unfortunately, but what I’ve discussed here is something that I feel has changed for the better. So to wrap up this post, I’ll give you one last quote from Scott’s article that sums up our fandom-consuming, Internet-inspired generation very well: “A crisis of authority is not for the faint of heart. It can be scary and weird and ambiguous. But it can be a lot of fun, too. The best and most authentic cultural products of our time manage to be all of those things. They imagine a world where no one is in charge and no one necessarily knows what’s going on, where identities are in perpetual flux. Mothers and fathers act like teenagers; little children are wise beyond their years. Girls light out for the territory and boys cloister themselves in secret gardens. We have more stories, pictures and arguments than we know what to do with, and each one of them presses on our attention with a claim of uniqueness, a demand to be recognized as special. The world is our playground, without a dad or a mom in sight.”
Coincidentally, this is a topic that has been on my mind for some time. I’m a bit torn on this topic – on the one hand, I have no qualms with adults who love video games or any other medium commonly viewed as children’s fare by older generations and generally welcome their perspectives, but this emerging idea of adulthood the article describes also serves to illustrate a kind of gap I have with my generation’s collective zeitgeist.
As a kid, I was not exposed to much of my generation’s childhood culture with the odd noteworthy exception such as Pokemon (and anime in general, but my status as a fan of the medium didn’t come about until I was a teenager). I also have little nostalgia tied to my childhood due largely to the difficulties my parents and I had at the time – the few tidbits of nostalgia I have are well-removed from the children’s pop culture of the 1990’s and 2000’s decades such as listening to Motown on the way to school or watching motorsports programs on the SPEED channel. This is not to say that I had a bad childhood (I didn’t), just one that was more of an outlier in terms of cultural taste.
I can’t say to what degree, but I believe my relative lack of outward whimsy or craving for nostalgia has roots in my upbringing. I still have plenty of enthusiasm for what I love, to be sure, but I can’t say I embrace much of the more seemingly juvenile tastes in entertainment this article posits young adults today have.
Well, yeah, I don’t think the idea is that EVERYONE in this generation has the same passion for childhood pleasures in lieu of standard adult ideals. Just that it’s becoming more widespread and, hopefully, more accepted as time goes on. Likewise, not everyone from the 90s is nostalgic for the same things…for example, I was never into the music of my generation (besides Disney songs) and took a liking to the oldies my mom listened to (I liked some Motown too XD) So while someone else my age might be nostalgic for the Spice Girls or Backstreet Boys, I’m not. I also watched a lot of her favorite old sitcoms like I Love Lucy instead of other live-action shows kids my age watched. So it just depends on the person. But again, the idea is that it’s an acceptable way of life to still be passionate about so-called childish things even if you’re an adult.
The increased focus on individuals and their preferences/wants weakens family as a basic building block of society… but honestly, is it any wonder our generation balks at being constantly considered a “building block of society”? To this day, marriage and religion are often things you do to “fit in”. Where I live, there is lots of negative pressure surrounding those things, but a lot of that is an extension of a generational conflict between two sets of values.
In an artistic sense, the return to childlike heroes and settings does not mean reverting to childish ideas. Movies like the Dark Knight series ask serious questions by exploring once cartoonish characters and concepts. Titles like Frozen challenge the status quo, and do it in good taste, not with grumping and demands. If we took a step back, we did it to gain perspective, and I think we’re still more than ready to move forward.
Good thoughts as always. I know some people who I think married or partake in religious events just to “fit in,” even though that way of life is very obviously stressing them out. I feel like they only did it because “that’s how it is” – that’s what their parents did, and their grandparents did, so that’s what’s expected of them to do, and any other option would be looked down upon. But I wonder, in these times where more and more people can live freely for their own pleasure (not necessarily in a selfish way), if some of these people could choose that way of life instead, would they?
And yes, liking so-called childish things doesn’t mean one is childish, especially when the themes of movies like Dark Knight and Frozen are anything but childish. It means that one is open-minded and doesn’t give in to the labels of “this is for kids” and “this is for adults.” After all, adults are the ones who made all the many great animated movies/TV series and comics, and it’s hard to believe they did it only to market their work to kids instead of the sake of expressing their artistic passions to other adults as well.
Wow, Cytrus. I agree with your views completely.
Aware that from some perspectives I’m “starting to creak” so far as anime fans go (I was part of the “Robotech generation,” and I’ll admit that when I first started hearing about Pokemon I was in university or even just out of it), I took some interest in this post. I don’t think I worry quite as much about “growing out of anime” as I used to, and for that matter there are times when I’ve told myself “so what if there are loads of teen protagonists in anime and manga? I know people older than me who take strong interest in ‘young adult’ fiction.” Perhaps, though, the fact that I sorted out in high school there was “more animation like Robotech” but didn’t have the nerve then to start watching any of it (these were the days when it was on videotape; I did see a tape or two in local rental stores, but otherwise I’d have had to order it through comic book shops) until I went to university and joined the anime club there meant I never thought I’d have to put something from my “teen years” behind me.
If there’s one other thought I have about all of this, however, it’s that there does seem some small danger in people starting to complain about how things “aren’t what they used to be” and souring experiences for everyone else. I might be lucky there, though: while I’ve enjoyed watching “old shows” (and some of them are even a little older than even me), I can find enjoyment in new series every three months too.
Yeah, another reason this so-called new age of adulthood has been taking off in recent years is because stuff like anime and other cartoons, video games, comics, etc., are so much more easier to access now than they were, as you said, back in the VHS days when the only way you could get them was to physically search around at your local video store or through a limited selection of online stores. And not only was it harder back then to find these things, but finding like-minded people who also liked them was rare. But now with the Internet, we can build whole communities of fans that would have never found each other otherwise.
I too can enjoy anime and other forms of media such as books, movies, and video games from both the old days and the current times. I would lament that things “aren’t what they used to be” in regards to some things, but not my particular hobbies. Sure, some great anime and games from the old days could never be made today, but at the same time there’s been some great recent works that wouldn’t have been possible back in the day.
I think much of what has always passed for “respectable adulthood” was actually a control on society imposed by the hidebound traditions of generations past, and the government, who want us all to behave and pay taxes. ;-) Not to mention how male/white-centric the power structure has always been, patriarchal and limiting for women and minorities, which unfortunately is still very much reflected in American mainstream entertainment.
You know how old I am – and I’ve written my anime blog for almost six years now, and I bought my first gaming console last week. I prefer living in a society where people feel free to pursue their likes and interests without worrying about whether they look like sober adults to others. XD
Agree – it does all tie back to societal norms that have been engraved in our culture for centuries and that are, thankfully in recent years, being challenged. As long as we can control our pursuit of our hobbies – as in, it doesn’t make us selfish and irresponsible to everything else – I’m all for a world where people can do what makes them happy without worrying about what others think =)
I’m just glad I live in this age, and not 50 years ago… I’m also of the mind that people can enjoy whatever they want, as long as they are not hurting anyone. And enjoying anime, Disney movies, collectable toys, cards, etc, does not hurt anyone. So I’m all for breaking the mold that is called society!! I’m sure it will still not be widely accepted, and we won’t see a president with an anime phone strap or something like that… Yet…
I agree with your interpretation. Being an adult, is being a responsible human being. One who can live well in the society, and with others. As long as that is covered, I do not mind about their hobbies. Good write up, and I’m all for the “death of adulthood” in that sense, and more freedom.
Good thoughts. I actually don’t think it’s impossible that we’ll ever see a president with some nerdy hobbies in the future. Maybe not anytime soon, but I think it’s possible if things keep going this way ;)
But yeah, I’ve always believed that people should be free to do what makes them happy, as long as whatever that is isn’t harming others. If something harmless like collecting cards or watching anime makes you happy, you should be able to partake in those things without shame and it shouldn’t reflect on anything about your status as a responsible adult.
I’m definitely all for a free society where people can pursue what they want without worrying how they look. Unfortunately, in my place here, while improved, it’s still a bit of a difficult endeavor. There seems to be some sort of societal expectation as to just what sort of media male and female should consume here. Female would like cute things while male would like mecha, gundam and the likes (stark contrast to me, since I prefer figures). Most of my male friends would play games like Metal Gear Solid and GTA and as far as they are concerned, seem to socially acceptable. I noticed that while female has no problem decorating their phone with cute case and cute wallpapers, some other male friend I know decorate his phone with a picture of a skull >_> When they are talking about anime, I also noticed the shows they talked about rarely steps out of this norm, and got to the point when I was talking about anime with them, the only one I managed to fit into the discussion was Attack on Titan. I’m not sure if there is a societal pressure, maybe there is, but I think we are just too used with our “roles” atm to really feel comfortable stepping outside of our territory. At least that’s what it’s like for me.
Also, while most of my male friends were spending their hard-earned money upgrading their cars, I’m spending mine buying figures…
Yeah, overall men are still going to prefer “manly” things while women like cute things, even among nerd culture. So you can have both men and women who like anime and video games, but there are better chances that the men will like games like GTA and anime like Attack on Titan. From my personal experiences however, pretty much all of my male friends like things from both sides: they like the “masculine” video games and anime as well as the cute ones – they play GTA but also Pokemon and Hatsune Miku, and they like Attack on Titan but also Lucky Star, and they collect anime figures. Actually, my female friends are more into manly video games and anime XD (or a mix of both) So where I am, at least among the fellow fans I know, anything goes as far as what they like, regardless of gender…which is a good thing ;)
I like the article you wrote Yumeka! Wonderful. And this is very thought provoking. I am glad that this should be the case since I would think if people who are adults try to suppress their desires to hobbies with an attachment to youth then that would be like lying to one’s self.
I would rather live happy and true to my self than not especially in this world. And what your parent’s ideal you brought up is kind of frustrating to me. When views of the older generation say that women such as myself have to preferably get married and be a keeper of the home. I am sorry but traditional values to me seem vastly impossible and elusive. I would always be rebellious to those expectations.
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it =) I agree that people shouldn’t try to suppress what they like. I’ve heard of people who stopped partaking in a favorite hobby because their significant other didn’t agree with it, and I can’t understand that – if I’m gonna be with someone, they’d have to be okay with who I am and what I like (they don’t have to like it themselves of course, but I shouldn’t have to feel ashamed about it in front of them).