The scene does not require your input. Please be quiet or GTFO kthxbai.
As we all know, anime and manga are very Serious Business and a great way to start a shitstorm or two online. However Finland, the biggest wannabe-community on the planet, has once again gone and taken this to a whole new level.
Underground nerd subcultures are like close families where everything is nice, dandy and friendly out in the open while shit flies like a flock of sparrows behind the scenes. But that’s okay – as long as things stay as they are. The problems start to escalate when the scene experiences sudden exponentional growth in popularity and starts to rise up from the mud league of hobbyist circles. Suddenly the old long-term farts of the scene adapt a whole bunch of new attitudes to cope with the situation. Some get pissed, some overjoyed and some simply don’t give a shit – eventually those who do take the action and start developing the scene in a way they see fit.
Usually this leads to two types of problems; one select individual emerges as the lead character of the entire scene or multiple persons attain this position. How is this a problem? Is it not good if the long-term experienced fans gain the leading positions in the now expanded scene they’ve been sticking to back in the hard old days? This depends on a lot of things, but I would say that generally speaking no, it isn’t a good thing.
Why do you, dear reader, think companies nowadays rather hire people from outside directly to leading positions instead of simply promoting the long term workers? Why do you think politicians are allowed to sit in their position for only a limited time? To be unfair to old people? No. The old folks are indeed experienced and have very valuable information, but their experience is also a burden. Inability and unwillingness to adapt to new situations and times come out as top reasons why these people can be problematic. After being an anime fan since the time of red barns and potato fields one tends to lose the understanding on the changes their beloved scene is undergoing and inevitably affected by. It’s easy to lock up in the good ol’ ivory tower reaching high up into the clouds and dwell in the own wisdom while looking down on the puny beings below.
Nerd scenes tend to have a long and proud tradition to which old timers stick to like glue. Newcomers are better know their place and not try to mess with the old elites – just stfu or gtfo. It’s not like people are forgetting about their roots – in fact the phenomenon I’m trying to describe to the best of my ability here is exactly the opposite of this. People stick to their roots and refuse to move along with the rest to the greener pastures.
Another common phenomenon within a nerd scene is the untouchability of some tradition, subject or person. For example, anime cons in an emerging scene tend to enjoy almost religious position of untouchability and immunity to criticism. Because something is done “for the fans, by the fans“, this something somehow automatically gains complete immunity and breaking the criticizing taboo will cause a horde of angry fantards and a few godlike old elites to descend upon you like a horde of rabid dogs. Same applies to an organization for the scene that has finally been established successfully and ran by a group of old timers – even a slight bit of criticism can be met with a banhammer within minutes, with such reasoning as “that was trolling” and “trying to break apart the community by flaming“.
A good example of this is the recent shitstorm within the Finnish anime community. With all fine, nice and dandy in the surface, a fellow anime blogger Tsubasa actually went and pulled away the curtains to reveal the nasty taboos to the filthy public. Why is fansubbing being labeled as absolute taboo and top secret topic in the Finnish anime scene which, unlike its American counterpart, is pretty much entirely born and based on digitally fansubbed and distributed anime? It’s an undeniable fact the Finland does not have any notable distribution channel of anime aside from the internet. This fact is well known and understood by even the most stubborn old timers and corporate officials with something to do anime in the country. And that’s also what makes it so painful topic to address, because unlike in the US where DVD-distribution of anime is commonplace and the stuff is aired on national TV-channels, in Finland slamming fansubs as purely negative thing that hurts sales just isn’t possible. The little anime DVD publishing there is in the region is also far from credible – with the price level on par or well over the American distribution products and the quality on the level of Malaysian bootlegs or even worse, it hardly is a surprise the sales aren’t going too well.
Considering this the easiest option for the scene to address fansubbing issue is obvious; simply close all hatches and pretend the whole issue does not exist. Establish a Fire Department like directly from Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 and burn everything that might give people difficult thoughts. I guess the official Finnish policy regarding fansubbing is to sit in the corner, stuff your ears and repeat “I AM NOT LISTENING TO YOU LALALALAALAAALAAA!” What Tsubasa did was merely give a push and take the first heat – and criticise the local anime con culture too while he was at it, and for obviously good reasons too. This whole thing has provided lots of interesting discussion and mud slinging; to the extend that I find it to be a pity that it isn’t in English for the international audience to enjoy.
It is notable that many of the emerging nerd scenes are lead by teenagers or young adults, who are yet unexperienced enough in leading, management and life in general to be able to take criticism and process it with a mature attitude. This means not to immediately engage the defenses and UNLEASHING THE FUCKING FURY when somebody does not agree with you. Also, when the scene gains more popularity and grows, the ego of the ones in charge who once were down in the mud league with three people and a dog in their anime club grows along with it and easily produces something called unwarranted self-importance. It is extremely hard for an old elite to retire from the leading position and let the new people take over.
Personally I think that whatever policy is the correct one regarding fansubbing, crappy and obsolete scene organization and the position of old stubborn elites, these issues need to be exposed and discussed. Hiding the difficult matters with the excuse of “protecting the community” is no different from sweeping the dirt under the carpet and pretend it doesn’t exist – and hope that nobody happens to kick it out for everyone to see. I wish best of luck to Tsubasa and would also let the community bigwits know, that perhaps you should let the fresh cold air blow in for a change and take a look at what it looks outside the ivory tower.