An Ancient History of British Weebery - Minamicon 26

Minamicon 26 took place this past weekend, and as ever I hosted a panel that explored a facet of my research. This time I thought it would be fun to look back at the ways British people responded to Japanese art and culture from the mid-1800s, following the end of Japan's isolation from the rest of the world, and consider whether the people we call "weebs" today are really all that new a phenomenon.

I had a smaller room this year but it didn't seem to discourage anyone - the room was packed once again and all the feedback so far has been good! It was quite a fun topic both for me to present and for people to listen to, though advance warning on the video below: there are quite a few bits that are quite cringey.

Unfortunately our camera's memory ran out before the end so I don't have the full Q&A, but the rest of the material works well by itself!

Slides are available here if anyone wants them!

With special thanks to Alistair Jacklin for providing me with extra information about early cinema screenings that filled in some more of the UK anime fandom timeline.

Check out Carlo Bernhardi's Anime Nostalgia Facility UK here.

Back to the Future Part III © Robert Zemeckis/Amblin Entertainment/Universal Pictures, 1990
Topsy-Turvy © Mike Leigh/Thin Man Films, 1999
Clips used under fair dealing for the purpose of non-commercial research or study.

Fandom, Memes and Free Cake* - Amechibi 2015

It's been a good few years, but since the last time I posted a link to something fan studies-related I had done, I've run a few more talks and panels, so I figured I should update with those!

First is "Fandom, Memes and Free Cake*", a not-really-related-to-my-study panel I ran at Amechibi in April 2015. I find meme culture terribly interesting and thought this would be a fun topic to cover in a con setting, combining some actual academic discussion with the kind of irreverence that is entirely appropriate for meme culture.

The room was packed, which was a great result, though I did slightly worry that there might not be enough cake to go around... yes, despite the meme that says the cake is always a lie, I double-bluffed everyone and provided cake at the end! Well, it was my birthday after all...

Many thanks to Tom at Team Neko for filming the panel and putting it up online.

Once I finish my MPhil I'm toying with the idea of revisiting this at a future con, and possibly writing a book. We shall see...!