While I was going around the web for some manga news, I found an interesting post about the New York Times Best Sellers List regarding manga in their “Graphic Books” section. The post is an open letter to the New York Times asking them to find someone who can clearly present an unbiased view on the summary of their best selling manga.
You may be thinking “it’s just a summary, who cares?” I would have thought the same thing, but being an English major it really gets to me when biased views are clearly present in term papers. So I had to check it out, and sure enough it got to me. Original posting by Erica Friedman at Okazu.
I am writing because I am increasingly concerned about the obvious bias against manga in your bestseller lists. I have no idea who writes the synopses, but it is apparent to all of us in the manga world that that person *does not like manga.*
For instance… here are two synopses from this week’s list.
This first one is for an American GN:
WALKING DEAD, VOL. 1, by Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore. (Image Comics, $14.99.) The gripping story of the human survivors in a world overrun by zombies continues.
This one is for a manga:
YOTSUBA&!, VOL. 6, by Kiyohiko Azuma. (Yen Press, $10.99.) This series follows Yotsuba, a young girl learning about the world. In this chapter, she recycles, gets a bike and discovers sticky notes. Really.
Yotsuba&! has won awards around the world, and is a truly delightful book about a quirky kid and her worldview. Walking Dead is the millionth book about zombies. Really.
Once again, I *implore* you to get someone who understands and cares about Graphic Novels and Manga to write these lists. At least ask someone who cares about Manga to write the synopses. This damning with faint praise is really annoying to those of us who work so very hard to create and promote this genre. I can recommend several names and I would be more than willing to do it myself.
If you saw the New York Times List, you would know that isn’t the only thing the writer needs to work on. But that is another post for another time.
The point is, there is a biased view shown on the Times column. I agree there should be another writer who actually reads both American comics and manga and presents them unbiasedly, but I think there is more to it than that.
The problem brings a question to my mind: Are comic readers biased to certain comic mediums? Or a simpler question, do American comic readers pre-judge manga without needing to pick up a volume? Based on the Times [writer's] view, he/she does. What do you think? Comments on the questions or the open letter are welcomed.
September 28th, 2009 - 3:30 PM
That kind of bias irks me too. Since anime and manga are still niche genres in America, usually the people who write about them in big media companies like The Times don’t have a clue about them. So their reports are usually full of misinformation or unjustifiably biased in this case. You shouldn’t write about or criticize something you’re ignorant about, but unfortunately it happens all the time.
September 28th, 2009 - 4:46 PM
Ah, but the thing is newspaper writers aren’t supposed to show their biased side at all. The only time a writer can show any biased views at all is if they are critiquing or reviewing something. Even though it was something I learned in Journalism, that rule still holds up in today’s newspapers. That is what surprises me the most about the Times writer for the manga summary.
September 28th, 2009 - 5:15 PM
Maybe this is why newspapers are dying? That they’re years behind the trends, lack people who can write about such upcoming topics, and come off in ways that show how hilariously misinformed they are?
Well, OK, that was a bit harsh since I do respect the times for most other things than their graphic novels bestsellers lists. My guess is that such a section isn’t really important enough for them to want to find someone who’s more knowledgeable, and if that is their rationale, I can sorta sympathize with it since there are more important topics to cover other than manga.
September 28th, 2009 - 5:50 PM
Murder and torture are so much more respectable than romance and deep humor. Really. The Times is a great newspaper, but clearly has some staffing problems. However, it’s not easy: getting a shounen fan to review shoujo manga could be just as problematic.
September 28th, 2009 - 6:23 PM
You mean murder and torture are more important than romance and humor. That I agree, unless you were referring to Walking Dead then nevermind, but still their cred goes down slightly for such a little flaw that should have been learned in Journalism school.
September 28th, 2009 - 6:50 PM
That kind of grinds my gears. That initial review was terribly bias (I would admit so even if I did not read manga), and that note that you wrote to them was perfect. Hopefully the Times makes a few changes.
September 28th, 2009 - 6:55 PM
Just to play devil’s advocate, I can imagine a reviewer who isn’t already a big manga fan becoming jaded over the medium after the 20th high school based harem comedy that they had to review -_-;
September 28th, 2009 - 8:25 PM
@Glo
Actually, I didn’t write the open letter to the Times. Erica Friedman did.