The prettiest thing in the world.

Manga is an art that have become an icon of japanese culture. It has symbolic and polysemic stories full  of emotions, moral teachings and it is a clear reflection of social pressures and hypocrisy.

I haven't learn more about manga because since I was little I know it, and when you know something since you were little is simply a review of that topic. Meanwhile time was passing, I began a really close relationship with manga, because I felt they gave me different ways to see life, or to know how to be polite, and to fight for my ideals and my principles. The first manga that showed me all this stuff is Sailor Moon; this manga teaches you about self confidence and bravery when you face troubles that you think they're bigger than your capability. Other manga that really left me a learning is Digimon. Digimon is the series that nowadays kids must watch, because it has so many beautiful meanings and symbols of universal values; nevertheless, the most meaningful thing Digimon taught me is "never stop dreaming". Even if there are some genres in manga and anime that mainly don’t give a “good image” to humankind, all the genres are little stages of Japan’s progress in the second half of Twentieth Century.

Manga represents the senses of nationalism in genres such as kodomo and mecha, but also in the majority of them criticize social moral and the excessive discipline in labor and academic terms. And with this, you can have other perspective about the complex japanese culture that is full of purity , but also full of the generalized depression since the atomic bombs; nevertheless, manga i the clear example of the initiative of progress and economic independence of japanese population.

comic books in real life

Since the end of Nineteenth Century, comic books began to reflect the deficiencies about the society, but also were strong resources for propaganda and patriotism in the World Wars. In cases like Captain America, Superman and Batman, who were the symbols for the defense of americans principles. With this new way for justifying wars and crimes in them.

Comic books have become  in most of the cases an attempt to society in terms of human rights, and then, in nearer years, the eternal search of post-modern art, the true realista, and the emergent current of existentialism, where the question of the meaning of living was an imperative. I think that comic books grow with society as a reminder of  the deficiencies of it. However, the Western world prefers to see these characters that represents the archetypes of their societies, because humankind is a specie that needs a model for follow the moral and ethical rules imposed by themselves.

Nowadays, comic books are seen as an artistic expression, trying to corrupt the first function given by the first comic works, a propaganda for the super world powers  or even to criticize an ideology, such  as some Disney’s animations, that satirize the nazi education and social darwinism.  I consider that the meaning of comic books have changed among the time, because of the individualism and the political issues are seen in a different perspective, an artistic perspective that promotes the corruption of the stories, imposing the inking, graphics and editions, but also it made a new subculture that overvalue and defends the revolution of comic books.

 

Polysemy in kids movies and series

After seeing the seminary of Colin Stokes, I began to analyze many series and movies I watched in my childhood. Even though most of kids series and movies are focused on the cultural identities,  that is joined to the ethical and moral rules, Colin Stokes got a point by stating the gender position and the meaning of certain actions; for example, the Hero's Journey in boys' movies. The Hero's Journey is always accomplished by the main character, just like in Pokemon, where Ash always achieves every single medal in each stadium he visits; of course, not in all the cases, but he persists and obtains his goal with the advices of his friends, that are like their mentor. 

In the case of girls' series is pretty different, because in some cases like Old Disney's Princesses, submission is the great symbol for them, they just look for the "blue prince" mounted in a white steed. But, if we see japanese and european series and movies, we find the other way around. These series show an unusual  "girl power" able to save the world, just like Sakura Card Captor, Saber Marionette J and Pretty Cure which are japanese, Aifric which is irish, The Worst Witch which comes from England, and many more series that demonstrates the capability of girls as the saviors of the world, fighting against monsters and situations that symbolizes the obstacles passed by women to achieve success. These topics are related to other seminary gave by Chimamanda Ngozi, We should all be Feminist. Just by trying to change women social position in male chauvinist societies as a reveal of the women's labor and social value in decisions and battles.

There is a huge segregation between the series and even in the symbolic games presented there; nevertheless, series like Slam Dunk, Hungry Heart and Digimon shows the pluralism in some games and sports where women got importance, but they're still marginalized for practicing it. Even though in many cases society accepts or denies certain series and movies in terms of pluralism and aims of gender defenses, this media provides new meanings and roles for both boys and girls, there are a lot of frictions in social thinking and the fast changes in the world.

Finally, the gender unification in all the areas is occurring, maybe it is slow, but it will completely change the roles and even the sanctions of gender discrimination, balancing the ideals of male chauvinism and feminism.