Manga and the Power of the Classical Object: The Merging of Eastern and Western Traditions
-
Amanda Potter
Abstract
In its native Japan, manga is a well-respected, popular art form, but since the 1980s its appeal has also grown abroad, particularly in the US and Europe, where it found fertile ground among local traditions of producing comics. To date, there has been limited critical attention paid to manga by classicists. This chapter seeks to address this gap via the study of four manga texts which blend European and Asian traditions. Their classical connections are primarily linked to specific ancient objects which are integral to the story, influence the characters and drive the plot. Through the art of manga these objects can gain new audiences, widening their global impact. These receptions also pose difficult questions, reminding us that the objects in our museums are the spoils of the colonial past, but they do point to a way forward that makes it possible for antiquity to belong to all of us.
Abstract
In its native Japan, manga is a well-respected, popular art form, but since the 1980s its appeal has also grown abroad, particularly in the US and Europe, where it found fertile ground among local traditions of producing comics. To date, there has been limited critical attention paid to manga by classicists. This chapter seeks to address this gap via the study of four manga texts which blend European and Asian traditions. Their classical connections are primarily linked to specific ancient objects which are integral to the story, influence the characters and drive the plot. Through the art of manga these objects can gain new audiences, widening their global impact. These receptions also pose difficult questions, reminding us that the objects in our museums are the spoils of the colonial past, but they do point to a way forward that makes it possible for antiquity to belong to all of us.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Acknowledgments VII
- Contents IX
- List of Figures XIII
- Introduction: Classical Reception in the Early 2020s, Critical Times and Where to Next? 1
-
Part I: Concepts, Methods, and Intersections in Classical Reception
-
Section 1: Re-Thinking Classical Reception
- The Master’s Tools?: Towards a Politics of Reception 23
- Classics on the Surface: Classical Reception as an Emergent Process 41
- Masked Celluloid Classics? Shadows of Clytemnestra in Film Noir 61
-
Section 2: Working with Archives
- The “Advent of the New Rule”: An Oresteia (1947) in Prague and the Epistemological Limits of Archivalia 87
- Karolos Koun’s Art Theatre, the Greek Dictatorship, and the Ford Foundation: From Handout to Handshake 119
- Narcissus, Adonis, and Medusa: Troubled Beauty in Classical Receptions of Film Stardom 139
-
Section 3: Cultural Intersections
- Mocking the Hollywood Epic Canon: Parodies of the Classical World from Latin American Cinema’s Studio Era 169
- Suspended Temporalities and Classical Reception: Cassandra in Anne Carson’s Agamemnon 193
- Manga and the Power of the Classical Object: The Merging of Eastern and Western Traditions 215
-
Part II: Classical Receptions in Response to Societal Challenges
-
Section 4: Forming and Re-Negotiating Identities
- Cripping Venus: Intersections of Classics and Disability Studies in Contemporary Receptions of the Venus de Milo 239
- Social Justice-Engaged Reception Pedagogy at Wake Forest University 265
- Classics on the Italian Stage: Old Habits and ‘New Deals’ 279
-
Section 5: Greek Tragedy in a Time of Pandemic
- Tragedy as an Open Network: Antigone in Ferguson (2016–) and The Nurse Antigone (2022–2023) 307
- “Where’s the Body?”: Performing Iphigenia at Aulis in New Zealand during the Pandemic (2020) 329
-
Section 6: Engaging with Technology and the Wider Public
- Escaping Hades: Playing with Classical Reception 357
- Classical Reception Meets Pedagogy: The Creation and Uses of the Panoply Vase Animation Project's Our Mythical Childhood and Locus Ludi Animations 383
- List of Contributors 409
- Index 415
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Acknowledgments VII
- Contents IX
- List of Figures XIII
- Introduction: Classical Reception in the Early 2020s, Critical Times and Where to Next? 1
-
Part I: Concepts, Methods, and Intersections in Classical Reception
-
Section 1: Re-Thinking Classical Reception
- The Master’s Tools?: Towards a Politics of Reception 23
- Classics on the Surface: Classical Reception as an Emergent Process 41
- Masked Celluloid Classics? Shadows of Clytemnestra in Film Noir 61
-
Section 2: Working with Archives
- The “Advent of the New Rule”: An Oresteia (1947) in Prague and the Epistemological Limits of Archivalia 87
- Karolos Koun’s Art Theatre, the Greek Dictatorship, and the Ford Foundation: From Handout to Handshake 119
- Narcissus, Adonis, and Medusa: Troubled Beauty in Classical Receptions of Film Stardom 139
-
Section 3: Cultural Intersections
- Mocking the Hollywood Epic Canon: Parodies of the Classical World from Latin American Cinema’s Studio Era 169
- Suspended Temporalities and Classical Reception: Cassandra in Anne Carson’s Agamemnon 193
- Manga and the Power of the Classical Object: The Merging of Eastern and Western Traditions 215
-
Part II: Classical Receptions in Response to Societal Challenges
-
Section 4: Forming and Re-Negotiating Identities
- Cripping Venus: Intersections of Classics and Disability Studies in Contemporary Receptions of the Venus de Milo 239
- Social Justice-Engaged Reception Pedagogy at Wake Forest University 265
- Classics on the Italian Stage: Old Habits and ‘New Deals’ 279
-
Section 5: Greek Tragedy in a Time of Pandemic
- Tragedy as an Open Network: Antigone in Ferguson (2016–) and The Nurse Antigone (2022–2023) 307
- “Where’s the Body?”: Performing Iphigenia at Aulis in New Zealand during the Pandemic (2020) 329
-
Section 6: Engaging with Technology and the Wider Public
- Escaping Hades: Playing with Classical Reception 357
- Classical Reception Meets Pedagogy: The Creation and Uses of the Panoply Vase Animation Project's Our Mythical Childhood and Locus Ludi Animations 383
- List of Contributors 409
- Index 415
