Al Kahn, CEO of 4Kids Entertainment (no relation) drew a hostile reaction at the ICv2 Graphic Novel Conference yesterday when he announced that American kids don’t read. PW Comics Weekly has the scoop:
But the show stopper on the panel was Kahn, who grabbed everyone’s attention when he announced that manga is more of a content problem than a content solution because the U.S. is not a reading culture and American children aren’t readers. And in case anyone missed it, he repeated it several times: “U.S. kids don’t read!”
That seemed to really tick off the audience, particularly the librarians—there was even some hissing. After the provocative statements, Kahn’s point was that entertainment firms need to think beyond print to digitizing content for a generation that will get most of its content electronically. “The content is disposable,” Kahn said. “More and more of it is available for free.” He noted that many people in the U.S. walk around with MP3 players or other electronic devices, whereas in Japan, everyone on the subway seems to have a “3,000-page manga.”
Mr. Kahn is, of course, all wet. American kids read a lot, for school and for pleasure. In fact, as manga like Naruto dominate the graphic novel charts they would seem to be squeezing out books for older readers, suggesting that the kids are reading more than ever—now they have something they like.
Liza Coppola, vice president of Viz Media, came to the kids’ defense:
Liza Coppola quickly responded by pointing out Viz Media’s partnership with the Read for America literacy campaign. “Manga is a great medium to bring kids back to reading,” she asserted. She also noted the positive response from librarians to manga.
The flaw in that defense, of course, is that reading manga is reading.
The discussion ranged on to the possibility of backlash against yaoi, which given the current political climate seems a distinct possibility. The fact that it’s out of the mainstream seems to give some protection, and Blu (Tokyopop) and Be Beautiful (CPM) shrink-wrap their manga and clearly mark them as “mature.”
Both publishers joked that mainstream confusion over exactly what yaoi actually is might obscure and forestall any controversy. But there’s one problem. CPM also bragged that they’ve found the perfect way to describe easily and quickly just what the genre is—CPM is sponsoring a panel at Comic-con called “Brokeback Manga.”
The graphic novel conference is one of the events leading up to the New York Comic-Con.
The medium of manga have stories that are just as moving and meaningful as so many youth literature. I find it sad that people still confuse comics with fluff when time and time again wonderful stories are published that really give both children and adults characters and situations that they can relate to.
I think that best thing about reading as a child is that you find that connection with characters. Discovering that you are not alone and that there are others that are like you is liberating.
It’s so ignorant to say that children do not read. With the upsurge of Harry Potter, the A Series of Unfortunate Events books, classic youth novels, and manga, one could argue that reading is rising. And in a world of videogames, 500 channel TV, and 24 hour internet access, that can only be a good thing.