Some thoughts on censorship (intentional or otherwise)

So this is a pretty big topic to start out with, especially since I've been away for a while and am just starting up again. It's spurred by a little discussion we had in class just before exams. We talked about a problem that has been forefront in librarianship almost from the very beginning and you guessed it the topic was censorship.

Here's something I didn't know about censorship. More often then not the problem isn't the teachers and principals in schools. It isn't angry parents or religious leaders (although they make the most noise). The ones doing the most to censor school and public libraries? Usually the librarians. And this makes sense if you think about it, librarians do the choosing, and the buying and shelving, of anything that comes into the library. And these librarians know their customer base, they know they could get in trouble and lose their jobs over certain books. They know that some people will get very loud, and pull in the media, over a perfectly harmless book with a questionable title. This happened about a book called "The Earth, my Butt and Other Big, Round Things" which I've read, and in my opinion is perfectly appropriate to the age it's written for. So a librarian picks her battles and keeps the books she knows will cause problems off the shelves and voila: no issues, no stress and no bad publicity.

I'm tempted at this point to make a stink about how a librarian is supposed to be a guardian against this kind of censorship, nay, all kinds! People should have the right to choose their own reading without some larger force playing a role. That's what democracy is all about. But realistically speaking I'm just entering the field, I don't really have the experience to talk about an issue this big, because I don't know how I'd react in a situation like that. So I'll stick to my main point, and ask any readers out their to make comments on their stance on self censorship. Maybe we can get a more balance view from many rather than my one.

Finally, this blog was not created as a tool of censorship. I grew up reading manga and it's something that I really love. I want other people to find and love it too, that's why I want to see it in any library that has children as patrons. I know that many librarians don't understand manga, or have had bad experiences picking up something that was meant only for adults. That's why I write this, I'm hoping a librarian will see this and find a series here that they might not have otherwise picked up. Something they know they can offer to their kids, and that parents and teachers won't freak out when they see it on the selves. Every library has different needs and different places they draw the line for what is acceptable to kids and teens. If I had my way, all of these books I talk about would find their way to every library. That's what I feel, I hope you write and tell me what you feel. Speak up, I want to hear you!

A very important qualifier

So I'm talking with my partner yesterday and he brought up this interesting point. He mentioned that according to my blog it sounds like too much effort for a person to go buying Manga, or like I didn't approve of it. That is so far from the case that you could only find it on Mars! I love Manga and Japanese culture, I'm just often bewildered by it. But isn't that usually the case when learning something that's so very new? I think that any medium that gets kids and teens reading is a valuable one, and should be used as a tool in getting more to do so. Having Manga and comic books in a library is great because even poor readers can follow a few sentences and a series of pictures. My only worry is that some parents or librarians might object to some aspects of the story lines and may wish to self sensor. I only wish to provide a guide so that the Manga buying experience can be a happy one and to prevent people from deciding that there is nothing worth while in the genre and giving it up entirely.

So here is a self history, I started watching Anime with Sailor Moon, and moved on to the more available and cheaper format of Manga that same year. My friends and I wrote our own stories and comics about the show, placing ourselves as heroines and friends of the characters. It was sappy, but we were twelve, and there were a lot worse things that we could have been doing. Since then my love of Japan has brought me to a once in a life time opportunity to travel to that country and live with two families there. It has brought me to many new and interesting people to be friends with, and it has taught me many new things. I've leaned about cooking from Kitchen Princess, about football from Eyesheild 21 and about Norse mythology from Ah My Goddess. Above all this I've learned social tolerance for same sex relationships and other cultures moral norms. I consider it a broadening experience, and I think everyone should get a chance at that. So happy shopping, and happy learning. Get out there and read.

Random Rant about Japan and Sex

What is it with Japanese comics and the casual use of sexual harassment as a plot point? I understand that culturally that kind of thing was seen as normal and expected, and that it’s only now starting to change. Still it can make a librarian’s job difficult if they don’t wish to acquire titles with sexual content. Sometimes they can have the oddest couples (like an adult and a small child, or a human and a robot) and the relationships will be really sweet and innocent. I was reading one comic (Skip Beat, I’ll blog about it later) where the protagonist hasn’t even realized that she likes someone. It’s twenty volumes in and no romance has happened but in one scene this guy chases her down, grabs her, opens the back of her dress and then threatens to either rape her or just tell everyone that he did and thus ruining her reputation. It came out of nowhere and was followed by a return to the starting style. It wasn`t even really mentioned again after that. So that is my argument for flipping through every volume before you buy it, or paying really close attention to the ratings and plastic wrappings on some volumes. Shop safe people, but don`t get discouraged because there is a lot of good stuff out there. It`s worth reading, and great for reluctant readers at every age level.

Hot Gimmick

Okay, first things first: I liked this series; I liked it the same way that I like pork rinds. I eat one and even though it tastes greasy and makes me feel a little sick to my stomach I find myself polishing off a whole bag. The soap opera drama gives me the same icky feeling but I find myself unable to stop reading.

Let me tell you a little about this guilty little pleasure. The main character is Hatsumi, a young teen aged girl who lives in company housing. Everyone in the apartment building works for the same company so there is a lot of adult drama and this usually impacts the relationships of the teens too. The only son of the company president, Ryoki, blackmails Hatsumi into becoming his slave. A childhood friend, Azusa, returns as a model to get revenge against her father. Hatsumi also learns that her older brother is not only adopted but has been madly in love with her for years. Sadly of the three he ends up being the best of the three love interests.

So yeah, the things that might put you off picking up the series are pretty obvious. The faux incest is a biggy, as is a scene of attempted gang rape. I can’t decide if the female protagonist is just super forgiving or if it’s not seen as a big deal because she seems to forget it so casually. There is lots of sex talk and attempted sex, boob grabs, etc... Another thing that put me off is the wimpyness of the main character. In the modern atmosphere of really strong girl protagonists it’s a real shock to find someone this passive. She seems to let everyone bully her and the few times she tries to stand up for herself she fails spectacularly and turns instantly back into a door mat.

Here are the good parts of the series. Hatsumi’s little sister starts out as a little brat who basically gets her sister into the mess she ends up trapped in. By the end she ends up in a sweet romance with the geeky boy next door and shows awesome maturity. Hatsumi’s brother is a genuinely nice guy, although obviously a little confused. Another thing I really liked was the art; it has clean lines and a nice feel to it. The drama is intense and will really pull you in and make you a part of things. I’m hoping that other works by this author, like Honey Hunt, will be more palatable.

Doubt!!

Doubt is a newish series I just picked up from my local public library. The series stars a young girl called Ai Maekawa as she starts out at a new high school. She has decided to re-vamp her whole life after learning that she is the type of girl that guys don’t notice. After spending the time between middle school and high school dolling herself up she becomes friends with the two hottest guys in school and learns that being pretty doesn’t make life easy.

The message may not seem like the best thing for young girls (Being pretty and perfect is all that matters) but reading deeper we find out that isn’t all there is to this series. We see that Ai’s transformation isn’t really what changes her life; instead her personality is what seems to grow and is the catalyst in her life. She has to fight for every inch she gains at her new school and for the affections of popular but aloof boy Sō. This manga made me chuckle to myself so much that I got weird looks on the bus. There is a lot of slapstick, some of which is cultural, and usually more serious chapters are balanced with funny ones. While it is a romance the main love interest is a real break from the usual “prince” stereotype. He’s defiantly not a perfectly attentive doormat Mary-sue like many guys in teen romances are. In fact he’s kind of a jerk sometimes because being attractive and popular gave him a bad personality. He’s a nice guy; he’s just kind of bent.

The premise is a young girl who doesn’t want to still be a virgin at thirty. There is a lot of talk about sex. The actual depiction of sexual acts stops at kissing but everyone seems to be sleeping around except for Ai and Sō. One young man wakes up in someone’s bed and has to deal with morning after fall out. Everyone teases Ai about her sexual innocence at the drop of a hat; it becomes a running joke throughout the series.

I think this series is appropriate for a high school library despite the massive amount of sexy talk. High school teens have to hear that kind of talk all the time and probably expect some level of sexual knowledge in someone their own age. The development of Ai is great and watching her go from meek to badass is loads of fun. The two hero’s make a cute couple without being that kind of overly cute couple that make you deal out the punches.