Anime Mythology Presentations
Performances that Reveal the Meaning Behind Storytelling
One of my favorite things to do is to perform one of my Anime Mythology Panels. These are elaborate and humorous PowerPoint-style presentations with slides and video that explore the differences in animated and video game storytelling in Japanese and American cultures. They are fun and fascinating explorations into why we love these stories so much!
To sign up for my Mailing List, please send an e-mail to: classes@crispinfreeman.com
For All Booking Arrangements for Universities or other Academic Events, please contact my agent, Arlene Thornton.
Anime Mythology Academy
A Weekend Comprehensive Featuring All 5 Seminars: Date To Be Determined.
I now offer all 5 of my Anime Mythology Lectures over the course of a weekend. Once the dates are determined, this is how the schedule is organized:
Saturday:
10am-Noon Giant Robots & Superheroes
1pm-3pm Knights & Dragons
3pm-5pm Mystics, Priestesses & Warrior Women
Sunday:
1pm-3pm Sentai Teams: Elements & Alchemy
3pm-5pm Evangelion: The Artist's Psyche as Myth
Take a journey with me to explore the mechanics of storytelling and the meaning behind the symbols in your favorite animation using slides, video and a lot of humor.
After giving each of my 80 minute performances, I open it up to questions and discussion in the second half of class.
Price: $25 per class
To sign up, please contact the JVTA:
contact@jvta-la.com
310-316-3121
3510 Torrance Blvd. Suite 219
Torrance, CA 90503
For more information about the content of the seminar, please read the descriptions below or e-mail: classes@crispinfreeman.com!
Check out my Anime Mythology Trailer below or on YouTube:
Repertoire of Presentations:
1. Giant Robots & Superheroes
In Giant Robots and Superheroes I explore why Americans tend to write about Superheroes while the Japanese tend to write about Giant Robots. By looking at the mythological roots of these two archetypal heroes, I explain how the religious traditions of each culture percolate up into their animated storytelling and create different heroes East and West. I also catalogue the spiritual evolution of the Giant Robot from his manifestation in anime in the 60's up until the present.
2. Knights & Dragons
Knights and Dragons looks at the differences between Asian and European Dragons and how the Knight's journey
changes because of those differences. I also explore the psychological implications of Dragon and Knight imagery and how this seemingly external battle is actually occurring inside each one of us. The end of the presentation focuses on how these different archetypes manifest and are subverted in the anime, "The Vision of Escaflowne".
3. Mystics, Priestesses & Warrior Women
Mystics, Priestesses and Warrior Women is about the hero journey from a woman's perspective. Specifically, it looks at the different types of female hero journeys in American and Japanese animation and how there are avenues for exploring the female hero journey in the East that are unavailable in the West. These different types of female hero journeys have their basis in the different mystical religious traditions of each country. These different concepts of mysticism East and West give rise either to Magical Girl or the Princess archetypes in animation. To wrap it all up, I explore how these different archetypes manifest and are subverted in the anime, "Revolutionary Girl Utena".
4. Sentai Teams: Elements & Alchemy
The Sentai Team presentation focuses on the different superhero
team structures in America and Japan, and shows how they have their roots in the different elemental systems East and West. Through exploring the notion of the elements, and applying concepts from alchemy, we discover what makes a combining robot so powerful. I conclude the presentation with a look at one of the most mythologically sophisticated sentai anime shows of all time, "Wolf's Rain".
5. Evangelion: The Artist's Psyche as Myth
My Evangelion presentation establishes a useful and coherent conceptual framework to help explain the meaning behind one of the most complicated and controversial giant robot anime shows of the late 20th Century. Overflowing with Jewish and Christian religious symbology, Neon Genesis Evangelion combines the psychological journey of its protagonist with the apocalyptic imagery of Biblical traditions. If approached from a strictly theological point of view, Evangelion's symbolism is at best misleading and at worst nonsensical. However, by viewing it through both psychological and metaphysical lenses simultaneously, I explain how the director, Hideaki Anno, used his artistry to fuse Judeo-Christian religious imagery with his experience of clinical depression in order to create his own personal mythology.
Testimonials from Previous Anime Mythology Panels:
My desire to create these panels grew out of my own interest in mythological storytelling and how it manifests
itself in some of my favorite anime. What I find most compelling in anime are the mythological heroes, religious
cosmologies and metaphysical storytelling. While chock full of information and interesting facts,
my panels are more like stand up comedy routines than tiresome lectures. But don't take my word for it. Hear what the fans have to say!
Hundreds of people attended the "fan" event,
and Crispin's original presentation, "Anime Mythology," was
sold-out to an audience ranging in age from grade school students
to adults. The cross-generational audience was testament to
the appeal of anime and to Crispin's personal appeal.
- Diana Dretske,
Anime Exhibit and Programming Manager, Lake County Discovery Museum,
Wauconda, IL
I think that Crispin did a wonderful thing for those fans because he
pointed out that those amazing anime stories were part
of the long cultural tradition of the myth. ... All parents and teachers
who are with children and teens that are anime fans should hear what
Mr. Freeman has to say.
- Jane Halsall, Young Adult Librarian,
McHenry Public Library, McHenry, IL
Mr Freeman's grasp on the deeper meaning behind what we see on the screen
is something all anime and mythology enthusiasts should
hear (even if you do not like anime). Go and listen to what he has
to say, and you will truly understand that Anime is not just some
crazy cartoon your teenage kids watch but something truly deeper. It has
surely opened my eyes up and would definitely go and listen to him
again, no matter where or the cost.
- Jade Walsh, Sydney, Australia
Likewise, I attended the Mythological Anime panel at Sydney's Supanova and
was blown away by Crispin's presentation! I have been watching
Anime for about 25 years (from back in the days when we really
did call in JapAnimation!), and never before had I even considered
analyzing the genre in such a way. ... Crispin's panel was by far
the best thing at Supanova over the entire weekend.
- Travers Cleeman, Sydney, Australia
I found the presentation to be organized in such a fashion that it's
not just informative but also entertaining. My youth members
who normally could not stay put in one place stayed for the entire
time and all of us in my group who attended spent the couple of hours
after the presentation talking about what we heard. ... Crispin's presentation
became a catalyst for healthy, intellectual discussions. It also
became a great way to encourage the youth to read
more as well as to be more selective in what they see, read, and get
exposed to everyday.
- PJ Caronongan, Long Beach, CA
With this workshop, Mr. Freeman maps the cultural and mythological heritage
of anime in an entertaining way. More so, he not only shows the discoveries he has made
on the connections between anime and mythology, but actively encourages his audience
to make their own connections. In this way, the panel is not so much a lecture, but
an exciting and fun exchange of ideas, and concepts between teacher
and students.
- Sarah Hodge-Wetherbe, Youth Librarian, Springfield, MA
Link to Discussion Group (Myth Café):
I've set up a Yahoo! Group to talk about mythological storytelling in animation.
Come join the discussion at the Crispin Freeman Myth Café.
Bibliography
Invariably I reference many books on mythology and many anime shows that I think exemplify mythological story
telling. I thought I would make a sort of bibliography of the books and anime that have influenced me so that
others can do their own research and exploration (and maybe teach me a thing or two!) This list is by no means
complete or exhaustive, but should be a decent starting point for those who have seen my panel and want to delve
further or for those who find this sort of thing interesting and want to put me on the spot at a convention
with a really tough or sophisticated question! Enjoy!
Books:
My primary guide in researching comparative mythology has been Joseph Campbell. I find his works very accessible.
He is not only a wonderful scholar, he is also a fantastic storyteller and lecturer. I recommend any of his audio
or video lectures.
The Power of Myth (a conversation with Bill Moyers)
This is probably the most widely known of Campbell's teachings. It was
a 6 hour series on PBS. The video is wonderful. The book is the unabridged
transcript of the conversation between Campbell and Moyers. I recommend
both highly.
The Hero with a Thousand Faces
More scholarly than the Power of Myth, but more in depth as well.
The Masks of God
Myths to Live By
The World's Religions
A vital work exploring the core of the major world religions.
The Guttenberg Galaxy
Understanding Media
Understanding Comics
Reinventing Comics
The Day the Universe Changed
Connections
A Brief History of Time
The Universe in a Nutshell
Six Easy Pieces
Video:
The Power of Myth
Mythos
An abridged video presentation of Campbell's lectures hosted by Susan Sarandon
From Jesus to Christ
Audio:
Myths and Masks of God
Man and Myth
Western Quest
Mythology and the Individual
The Eastern Way
Inward Journey: East and West
The Western Way
The Wisdom of Joseph Campbell
The Way of Art
Mythological Anime
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
Laputa, Castle in the Sky
My Neighbor Totoro
Kiki's Delivery Service
On Your Mark
Princess Mononoke
Spirited Away
Macross
Macross Plus
The Vision of Escaflowne
Spring and Chaos (Kenji's Spring)
Arjuna
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Revolutionary Girl Utena
Night on the Galactic Railroad
Wolf's Rain
The Irresponsible Captain Tylor
Gasaraki
RG Veda
The Hobbit
The Last Unicorn
Flight of Dragons