Week Links 05-2013 – The Animation Anomaly

Due to school, other commitments and a general lack of time, this week was light on regular posts, but that did not preclude some interesting articles being published elsewhere.

I’m a Black Female Cosplayer And Some People Hate It

Chaka Cumberbatch is an anime fan and cosplayer who happens to be black. Unfortunately, she discovered that racism pervades even the nicest fandoms. In this post over on XOJane, she outlines some of the crap she’s had to put up with while outlining why those who argue that only those of the same race as the character are ‘allowed’ to cosplay as them are, quite rightly, idiots.

The Many Motivations Of Movie Piracy (Notably Absent: ‘I Want Everything For Free’)

Techdirt has a great article that includes the chart above. Notice something that’s missing? Yes, people demanding stuff for free. Such data is proof that even though we are moving towards new business models. there is little reason to assume that people will stop paying creators for content.

The Epilogue By Don Rosa

Don Rosa is the very popular and respected comic artist of many Uncle Scrooge comics. In recent times, a substantial collection of his work has been released for collectors. The final volume of which was meant to contain a letter explaining Rosa’s many reasons for stepping down from the job.

The letter is actually a fascinating read and is extremely honest in tone, but one can’t help but feel incredibly saddened when they read stuff like this:

I couldn’t help but realize that I had provided these people with 20 years’ worth of work that they would reprint and rerereprint for the next century without ever offering me a cent in royalties. It was an insidious worm that worked its way into my soul. It killed my enthusiasm. And my enthusiasm for the fans who loved these Barks characters as much as I did was all that had kept me going.

Jonathan Coulton Vs. FOX

You may or may not be aware of a recent situation where artist Jonathon Coulton got upset that inexplicably popular FOX show Glee used a version of Sir Mix-A-Lot’s ‘Baby Got Back’ that was seemingly a copy of one that he had created. There was a lot of back and forth about it, but Simpsons music editor Chris Ledesma cuts through the nonsense with his simple and neutral explanation of things.

Music and the rights that go along with it often play an important role in animation. They’re the reason the Daria boxset was delayed as long as it was, and even then the original music was substituted. All very good to keep in mind.

I’m a Brony, and… I’m Sorry

In this essay, brony ‘Headless Horse’ professes an uncomfortableness with how My Little Pony as a show has been overridden by the fandom surrounding it and how the resultant media attention has diminished the focus on the show an its characters. A worthy, if long, read on the topic of genderisation and fandom.