Ask John: Will the Video Filtering Debate Affect Anime?

Question:
I saw a program on TV about censorship going on with American movies and how the Director’s Guild of America is fighting back against companies who are editing movies without the director’s consent. While watching this I was reminded about the Yu-Gi-Oh! “uncut” DVDs (actually more like a “dubcut” with Japanese audio and close captions of the dub) and I had to ask you if you thought this case could end up affecting the anime/manga market to present customers with more authentic DVD releases. Do you think the case “DGA vs Cleanflicks” will have a positive affect on the authenticity of future anime/manga releases in the States?

Answer:
Regrettably, I don’t foresee the battle between Hollywood and movie filtering companies having any noticeable effect on America’s anime industry for two reasons. First, unlike Hollywood, anime doesn’t have personally motivated defenders in America. Second, animation in America is not respected the way live action film is.

The Director’s Guild of America is vehemently protesting unauthorized alteration of cinematic art because the directors that created the films being edited take personal offense to their works being sanitized for increased commercial viability. The same basic thing happens to a lot of anime brought to America, especially anime tailored for American television broadcast. Shows like Yu-Gi-Oh, Rockman.exe, Detective Conan and many others are altered for American release in order to increase their American commercial viability. But while Hollywood films have American directors that will publicly denounce the artistic corruption of their films, anime doesn’t have creators in America that can defend the sanctity of their works. In most cases of anime being edited for American release, the original artists that may be offended by such editing are in Japan and may not even know what’s being done to their creations here in America. American films have defenders here in America who have personal reasons to urge for the preservation of artistic quality. Japanese films don’t have powerful, influential advocates in America.

But regrettably, even if Japanese animation was to have the direct support of its creators in America, American mainstream culture doesn’t particularly believe that animation deserves the same respect or protection that live action film does. America will agree that live action film is a type of art, but American mainstream culture generally considers animation a second class type of film that’s only valuable as children’s entertainment or a cheap substitute for live action. Mainstream American consumers don’t understand anime and therefore don’t think of anime as cinematic art worthy of preservation and protection.

Attitudes toward live action film and animation are totally different in America. Live action is grudgingly accepted as “art,” but animation in America is only considered “cartoons,” not “art.” So, regrettably, my suspicion is that regardless of the way the Hollywood versus moral relativity debate concludes, the results aren’t likely to be considered applicable to animation by mainstream America.