Young Japanese Comic Books: Modern vs Postmodern Desires - Essay Sample

Brent Wilson says that young people have also participated in making publications of comic books. The young Japanese make many publications, which increases the supply of comic books in the market. The author tells us that authors of the comic books produce books that make people want to read more about the manga.

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In your own words, explain what the author meant when he said, “As a researcher, however, I find myself torn between modern and postmodern desires.”

Brent Wilson does not know whether to look at the modern influence of comic models or to look at their past significance. The industry grew significantly in the postmodern period. The author has options to either describe the manga's present classification or to read the graphic narrative that describes the children’s art (Wilson, 2003).

Describe the type of assignment that the student participants in Brent Wilson’s research were given.

Wilson says that the students were supposed to draw illustrations of a story in graphic form. The instructor required the students to make an illustrated story that would show what happened next and what followed. Most of the students wrote a representation of manga cartoons.

What were the author's reasons for the classification of children's graphic narratives, after collecting samples of Japanese children's drawings?

The author says that the children drew illustrations of manga and anima. According to the author, graphic pictures that the students drew differed in terms of the types of manga characters. The classification was easy since the author was able to the sources of the characters in the drawings. He only needed to observe the shape and configurations of the body parts of the pictures. The author says that the types of manga differed in appearance and arrangements for bodies, heads, eyes, hair, limbs, etc.

Describe the meaning of specific types of manga characters illustrated in Fig. 1. – “Doll Types,” Animals and Cyborgs. What kind of messages did each type in Fig 1 convey to children who used those characters in their drawings?

There are different types of manga characters that the author described. One of the types of manga characters that the children drew was doll-like ones. The doll-like characters have a heart-like face or a flat chin represent the shape of the Japanese. The female doll-like manga has blonde hair representing the Caucasian shape. The other type of manga cartoon represents non-Japanese people. A different class of manga illustration that the children drew was animals and birds. The most common type of anime is rabbits and monkeys. The monkeys represent the playful human beings. Cyborgs and superheroes are other types of manga that the children brought. Cyborgs are of different types and describe extra-humane capabilities within humankind (Lent, 2010).

What three (3) possible general explanations relating to the child, to child art, and society and culture, can you provide for Japanese children's narrative drawings?

Children learn the art from the photograph that they see daily. Most of the learners drew illustrations with manga characters because they often read manga books. The Japanese culture of reading manga books, greatly influence the child art. Children can also learn the craft from what they see in their environment. For example, students in japan drew non-manga characters in their illustrations because they had learned how to draw from the environment. Children can also learn the art on their own without the influence of media and the environment. The author says that some children draw illustrations without any manga character. Possibly the students who did not use manga characters had taught themselves how to draw.

Describe what non-manga drawing classifications typically include.

The children who chose to draw non-manga illustrations drew things like sports representations. Other students who drew non-manga comics brought automobile features. The automobiles include ships that were visible alongside the manga comics. Ships and architectural elements are not part of the manga.

Why did the author decide to classify them as non-manga types?

The author described the features as non-manga because the elements the features contain just standard features. The non-manga comic characters just look ordinary, have ordinary powers, and do just regular things. Features like ships and vehicles, for instance, do not create as much fun as the manga. The features do not show any human action, feeling and emotion like the manga

Give two (2) reasons why the author claimed that, “The influence of manga is probably even bigger than the data reveal."

The author believes that manga has a higher than what the media thinks is that in Japan, every child reads manga books. As a result of reading manga books, a Japanese child always feels like reading more of manga books. Once someone starts reading manga books, he never stops learning. He also claims that manga readers include both children and adults. The author says that the comic book makes over forty percent of all books sold in the country.

Table 1 shows how you interpret the data under Mixed Types in terms of their connection with manga features and types?

According to the table, the mixture of Manga and non-manga books that the students read is significant. Young children in kindergarten and lower classes produced illustrations with mixed mangas and non-manga characters. The young children also produced drawings of animal books. Most children may read diverse types of manga that contain non-manga and animal figures. Those children in grade six mostly drew non manga and mixed characters. The grade six children also drew illustrations of doll-like manga characters meaning they mostly read non manga and doll-like comic books.

Which category of Manga and Non-manga Types from Table 1 has the lowest percentage of usage and the highest percentage of usage by Japanese children in their narrative drawings? What reasons can you provide to explain the low and high percentage usage?

The monster and comic manga had the lowest percentage of use. The students did not like using those manga cartoons. For monster ones, students could have been scared of them. Some people associate the monster manga with evil and may not be willing to read them.

What is your understanding of the term semiotic? Why does the author argue that Japanese children's drawings are easy to understand in the context of semiotic analysis of multiple signs?

The term semiotic analysis means interpretation and analysis of signs. The drawings of the children contain a lot of symptoms that need an explanation to understand. Wilson says that to understand the meaning of comic art, we need to look at ourselves and the environment before looking at it. According to Wilson, there is the main symbol with small symbols in every manga drawing. The author argues that there is a need to understand the first symbol to get the meaning of every little code in the pictures.

Describe the connections between pre-texts, texts, and post-texts in the process of interpreting Japanese children’s narrative drawing. Why do we need to look at antecedents when studying children’s art?

Pre-text refer to whereby the reader of a text might fail to get the real meaning of the written text. On the other hand, post text is the hidden message in an abbreviation or a simple. In every drawing that the children draw, there is a description of some activity or event. The illustrations represent what the child is trying to communicate. Failing to interpret the message in the children's message well might make the reader miss the meaning of the diagrams. However, when one understands the pictures, they bring a clear message that the children try to pass through the art. There should be a connection between what the interpreter sees and what the children indented to say.

In what ways do the actions of Japanese children and youths drive and sustain the industry of manga.

Children in Japan read a lot of manga books, and this makes the manga industry to keep growing. According to Wilson, a Japanese teenager learns a new album every week. Manga makers, therefore, have to produce the comic papers every week. The manga industry thus grows significantly due to the significant volume of sales they make. The increased use of manga comic books has made the comic industry in Japan to sell about forty percent of all books sold in the country.

How do Japanese children create conditions that fuel the adult manga industry? Provide two (2) examples to support your answer?

Japanese children motivate the adult manga industry significantly. The children come up with their comic books, therefore, making the publishers of adult books get ideas that they can use. Another way in which children influence the adult manga industry is by creating the standards that the adult industry should follow by producing several publications. Wilson says that many booths sell child books, which empowered the development of adult books. In 1999 there were over 22000 children's books in the Jap...