The lecturer observed that the modern Western experience of myth (fiction, fantasy) is distinct from that of other cultures, including Asians, and she theorized that it’s because of our culture’s assimilation of the literary and (as it were) psychological assumptions of Greek and Roman myth, which until recently had a very large role in our literary and cultural dialogue: everyone knew the stories, and everyone used them to discuss and illustrate how we see the world and how it could be.
She mentioned science fiction specifically, as opposed to fantasy, among other reasons because the projection of our fears and imaginations “out there” beyond the currently-reached physical boundaries is a characteristic of classical myth.
That sounds very interesting. But some great SciFi has come out of the asian countries (Gundum (1970 till now in various forms) and Astro Boy (1950 in comic form on in various forms) being the biggest, Cowboy Bebop being my favorite, there are many, many more) However, I went to a lecture by some of the creators of Astro Boy, and they were discussing how Astro Boy (arguably the begining of Anime) came around due to America’s influence on Japan... However, it seemed to imply it was more animation of Disney than culture (and maybe the technology the west brought). They still seemed to have many parts that were uniquely Japanese. And if you look at Koren anime, and all have their own taste, but it’s still SciFi.
They didn’t have the Roman Panthoen background, however, they had just lost many of their myths in the last hundred years, including the modernization of their culture destroying most of the myths. Like in Korea with the Korean war, and Japan, where the samurai were wiped out by technological advanced troops (and subsequent merging into each other with WWII) and then the subsquent destruction of the Empeuor and deity ordained rule after the end of WWII. (Not that he isn’t still part of the goverment, just he used to be it... and now... The goverment that was set up by the Americans is what has the power)
People still needed a way to explain the world, especially when it’s been stir, shaken, and beaten to a bloody pulp like Japan was after the war, and with it’s last ties to the old world shown to be false or unreliable. I wonder if you couldn’t augment that argument to follow the idea of the loss of ability to express oneself through myths in the modern world full of scienctific fact? I mean it would explain the disparity between Japan Scifiction and American. I’m sure that the introduction of American culture did push it along that direction, however, without having that mythos destroyed, I don’t see the Japanese falling into the SciFi/fantasy known as Anime :D.
Sorry it’s a little unclear, but I have class :D.