Anime Pulse has a podcast, and a transcription for those who prefer reading to hearing, of last month’s symposium at MIT titled “Violence and Desire in Japanese Popular Culture.”
The people and topics covered:
Professor Anne Allison (Duke University) on Pokemon capitalism and desire
John O’Donnell (founder, Central Park Media) on Otaku entrepreneurs and anime distribution in the US
Professor Ian Condry (MIT) on fansubs, piracy and global media
Not that surprising… I believe MIT has a pretty sizeable anime club… and being a producer of top nerds in this country…
Yes, as a matter of fact I’m one of them—I did my first year of a PhD in atmospheric science there before dropping out to take care of my kids.
MIT’s also got a thriving “fan-culture” studies group, too.