Move Over Fidelity, Reception is Here!
Any artist, from the fiction writer to the chamber music composer, from the Hollywood filmmaker to the manga-ka shut up in his/her cramped workspace, may ask him/herself why it is he/she persists in the continuation of their art. Makers of literary and historical adaptations most likely face a similar question in asking themselves why they should want to take the work of someone else and in some way reproduce, re-represent, or re-create it in some shape or another. Certainly, many people attempt to do so out of motives for commercial gain. Others may attempt to do so out of creative or intellectual homage. Perhaps, as Robert Stam posits, there is no original that is being reproduced, re-represented, or re-created, but simply the "[cannibalizing of] antecedent genres and media" (Stam, Robert. 6). However, a growing number of theorists have attempted to describe not just the issue of fidelity in the mechanisms of transformation in moving a source text to a target medium (thus the issue of fidelity that was addressed in the last instance), but to describe the effects of transformation and mechanisms of these effects on an audience/reader. Thus reception becomes the answer to the imagined questionings of hundreds of artists, in the dazzle, delight, and genuine bewilderment that readers and audience members experience when they witness a beloved classic in a wholly new and different form. In this paper, the theories of play, wandering viewpoint, re-enactment, and allusive space will be used to discuss reception of the migration of the East Asian classic Journey to the West to the anime Saiyuki, and the ways in which the historical past of the Meiji era in Japan crystallize in the popular anime series Rurouni Kenshin.
The theories of play, wandering viewpoint, re-enactment, and allusive space all relate to one another in their shared reliance on reception of a particular medium. Gadamer sees play as a natural existence of being, but one that is not validated except by the presence of a spectator. He describes the relationship between player and spectator writing:
the presentation of a god in a religious rite, the presentation of a myth in a play, are not only in the sense that the participating players are wholly absorbed in the presentational play and find in it their heightened representation, but also in that the players represent a meaningful whole for an audience. Thus it is not really the absence of a fourth wall that turns the play into a show. Rather, openness toward the spectator is part of the closedness of the play. The audience only completes what the play as such is. (Gadamer, Hans-Georg. 109).
Play is not possible without the necessary inclusion of the spectator, as well as the player, so that the audience becomes a crucial component of free play. Wolfgang Iser picks up on Gadamer's emphasis on the importance of the audience member, or in his case, the reader, in his theory of the wandering viewpoint in which the activation of sentences, of background and foreground, are done so by the reader and no one else. Iser claims that "[semantic] fulfillment, however, takes place not in the text, but in the reader, who must 'activate' the interplay of the correlates prestructured by the sequence of events" (Iser, Wolfgang. 110). The twists and turns of the text, or the wandering viewpoint, colored by expectations based on past sections of the text, serve as background to future text, so that the moments of dissonance, in which the reader must adjust past conceptions, and in which past conceptions also modify new text, produces the specific position of the reader. Iser describes "[t]he new moment is not isolated, but stands out against the old, and so the past will remain as background to the present. This two-way influence is a basic structure in the time-flow of the reading process, for this is what brings about the reader's position within the text" (Iser, 114). Only then, according to Iser, does "what may at first sight have seemed like a disadvantage, in comparison with our normal modes of perception, may now be seen to offer distinct advantages, in so far as it permits a process through which the aesthetic object is constantly being structured and restructured" (Iser, 112). The reader is absolutely necessary to this process, for without the discerning consciousness of the reader to produce the dissonance of conflicting expectations and text the aesthetic mode of the text itself cannot be achieved.
Joseph Pucci takes the dissonant space of Iser's conflicting background and foreground in text to develop his allusive space which is:
a unique space in literary reading because it exists apart from the referential and significative control of the language that gives rise to it. So, too, are the meanings that arise in it are unique, because they result in an interpretive free-play on the part of the reader, as the dissonances of two discrete works are mediated in the give and take of a mental, interpretive dialogue. (Pucci, Joseph. 43).
According to Pucci, the allusive space is important in that the very differences between two texts (or in this case, text-anime, history-anime) is significant in that it produces meaning through the dissonance of two works that share the same referential framework. Where Iser saw the continual restructuring of the aesthetic object, Pucci saw a hermeutical restructuring in which the reader comes to a unique and meaningful resolution between two conflicting elements. Returning to Gadamer's concept of play, for Pucci play is what allows the reader to derive significance within this allusive space so that the meaningfulness of the whole can be obtained. As Pucci states, "[p]lay is an old idea, an antique habitat of human activity, but it is of the moment for allusion, for it represents the essential activity pursued by the full-knowing reader" (Pucci, 46). Thus, all three theorists not only factor in the audience in a very important way, something which is only touched upon by Erica Sheen in her notion of fidelity being regulated by audience reception, but see reception as absolutely critical to the formation and understanding of a given piece of art.
Not only is reception critical to the theories of play, allusive space, and wandering viewpoint that have been raised in the previous paragraph, but the notion of reenactment is also crucial to reception. Jenny Thompson describes in her essay War Games the ways in which authenticity is often based on reception of others, primarily reception based on sight. Thompson, quoting another soldier reenactor, says "[t]he best description I've ever heard of reenactment…it's like you can't see yourself. So basically what you strive for is to make yourself look good, because when you look out into a crowd…somebody who's just atrociously a farb…just kills the whole thing" (Thompson, Jenny. 206). Thompson also mentions that in the ferociously debated issue of authenticity, even proximity becomes a site of conflict. As one unit leader stated of his unit's minimum requirement for authenticity, "At a close up and personal distance, the reenactor should not be distinguishable from a World War II soldier" (Thompson, 209). Others disagree, advocating "'the ten foot rule' (meaning an impression looks authentic from ten feet away)" (Thompson, 213), indicating that the degree of reception is also critical to giving meaning to the whole activity of reenacting. As the previous quote stated, "it just kills the whole thing", when reception of a reenactor's appearance is unfavorable, whether it be due to age, obesity, ethnicity, or historical inaccuracy in costume. Thus the significance of a World War II reenactment is based, not on actual fidelity to the event, meaning no actual deaths, no actual battle, and sometimes not even actual replication of historical events, but on the way that the reenactors themselves perceive his/her own, and others, authenticity.
Thus, taking these various theories based on reception, one can apply these to the literary classic Journey to the West and its anime form Saiyuki. The literary text Journey to the West presents a certain plot, character, time, and setting framework in which the anime Saiyuki takes in a different direction. Using Gadamer and Iser's theories on play and wandering viewpoint, we can see how Saiyuki plays with the characterization and plot structures, so that the deviations from the original are considerable. The somewhat cowardly and pacifist Tripitaka becomes a rather different Genzo, who is not only a cool, hardened character, but one that is certainly not afraid to kill others. For example, in the original text, after Monkey kills several bandits that waylay Tripitaka, the monk exclaims "You've done a terrible thing…[h]owever wicked those men might be, they never would have been sentenced to death in a court of law. You should have chased them away, not killed them. How can you think of yourself as a monk when you take another's life, and in this case not one, but six lives. You haven't a trace of mercy in you" (Editor: Kherdian, David. 114). Yet how different is this Tripitaka to the Genzo who calmly remarks to the little monk boy that if he loves Buddha so much, he should kill himself and be close to him. Two elements from different theorists play into this instance of dissonance: on one hand, the expectations that viewers have of certain characterizations of Tripitaka as a peaceful, gentle man who abhors bloodshed is overturned. Viewers must revise and readjust their conceptions of characterization in the manner Iser described, even to the point of reconsidering Tripitaka's stance against violence in the original. On the other hand, the second element of Pucci's allusive space comes into play, with both Tripitaka and Genzo occupying the same referential point in the narrative framework.
A possible way of reconciling these differences is for a potential reader to turn to Buddhism and consider that Tripitaka's non-violent stance is one aspect of Buddhism which originally came from China, while Genzo's stance is much closer to Zen Buddhism, practiced mostly in Japan, which advocates nothingness as the state closest to nirvana. Thus the reader can potentially assume that the movement of Buddhism from China to Japan, just as Journey to the West drifted from China to Japan , explains the two different monk figures in the literary text and in the anime. Thus the original literary text provides the referential framework which provides both expectations and comparative space, in which dissonance, difference, and incongruity offer moments of interpretation and signification on the part of the reader. Questions like, "Why was Genzo's character changed?" or "Why is the white horse a small white dragon-that-turns-into-a-car," and others of that kind become points of signification; the reader will often wonder and consider why these changes have occurred and come to a conclusion such as the one posited above regarding the changing nature of Buddhism from China to Japan. (Though quite possibly, no such intellectual understanding is available for the white dragon-that-turns-into-a-car.)
History, like literature, can often be read as a narrative and as such provides a similar referential framework to literature. Individuals who became prominent in their roles in the Meiji Restoration, such as Saito Hajime or Okubo Toshimichi, or even the legendary and somewhat mythical figure of the hitokiri battousai become the characters of historical narrative. The overthrow of the bakufu government and the re-establishment of imperial authority under Western influences becomes the romantic setting of a nation caught between two eras. Finally, the problems of dealing with relics of a previous governmental system, the daimyo and the samurai, become tragic conflicts of old values pitted against the winds of change. In short, history becomes something like Rurouni Kenshin.
Like the movement from Journey to the West to Saiyuki, the transformation of the history of the Meiji Restoration can be described in the terms of play, wandering viewpoint, allusive space, and especially reenactment. In many ways, the anime is attempting to reproduce the authenticity of the Meiji period within its colored cells, but with a few discrepancies. Like the reenactors in War Games, Kenshin attempts to respect the basic tenets of claim to authenticity in representing and reenacting the Meiji period, in their efforts to respect appearance, limitations of the time period, and existing problems. To elaborate, regarding appearance (though Kenshin appears to be following what was termed the "ten foot rule" in War Games), most characters are not shown wearing modern clothing, though they occasionally display clothing that was probably not worn at all except in the fantasy of the author. As for limitations of the time period, cell phones, CD players, and computers are some of the anachronistic discrepancies that are barred from depiction. As for existing problems, Kenshin captures to some degree issues like the outmoded lifestyle of the samurai and the difficulties they had in adjusting to a new "peaceful" age in which swords were not allowed. Other issues, like the corrupt merchant class or the ever-present threat of rebellion of supporters of the shogunate also lurk in the background of Kenshin and sometimes manifest themselves in the plot. The anime even attempts to represent real historical figures, as shown in the presence of Saito Hajime turned into Fujita Goro, or Okubo Toshimichi, also a genuine historical figure. In many ways, Kenshinresembles reenactments of World War II in which participants attempt to reenact characters, figures, setting, costume, and various problems during the War, but choose to allow the elements to play out within the framework rather than following it. The audience then enjoys a fictionalized historical reenactment that can be said to be generally accurate, aside from some embellishment and deviation.
In focusing on the embellishment and deviations of Kenshin from historical reality, Gadamer, Iser, and Pucci's theories come more into play in understanding how differences become points of signification. One major example would be that Kenshin is a much more romanticized version of the Meiji Restoration. Characters like Okubo Toshimichi, who were ruthless proponents of the Go-Ishin are seen instead to be making poignant comments such as "It is much easier to tear down a nation than to build one". Many of the concerns at the bakumatsu, such as the stagnant shogunate government and increasingly repressive social legislation passed by the bakufu are entirely downplayed in the romanticization inKenshin of a noble old way of life struggling to accept a modern, progressive new era. More often than not, the reformers of the Meiji era (like Okubo) are shown to be noble men struggling towards progress, entirely forgetting many of the repressive political and ideological aspects of the Meiji period (See Carol Gluck's Japan's Modern Myths or Takashi Fujitani's Splendid Monarchy). Individuals familiar with Meiji history may very well expect a more critical depiction of the Meiji era, rather than a focus on corrupt individuals within the Meiji regime as is typical of Kenshin, so that again, a dissonance occurs between the original historical framework and the romanticized anime. Kenshin plays, in the Gadamer sense of the word, with themes like the passing of the samurai to produce entertainment in the form of a touching, dramatic narrative.
From the raw material of actual history the anime can assemble characters that can incur sympathy, a story that holds a great deal of entertainment value, and much less historical objectivity. The audience members enjoy Kenshinbecause of its historical value, or its authenticity, but at the same time may also compare animated history with actual history to reach their own conclusions. One conclusion that could be reached, especially regarding the romanticizing of the Meiji era's otherwise totalitarian and somewhat repressive regime, is to see Kenshin as a nationalistic bid on the part of the modern Japanese author and production company to portray the government in a positive light. Sheen's theory of adaptation enters slight here to account for the way in which a source text is altered to cater to a different audience, which in this case would be post-World War II Japan. In the allusive space located between actual historical Okubo Toshimichi and the anime Okubo Toshimichi, the reader can consider the different between the ruthless warlord and the world weary one. Perhaps the anime is attempting to say that even the greatest of men have a human side, thus influencing previously understood notions of historical Okubo in the two-way influence described by Iser. Ultimately, regardless of what kind of dissonances occur in Kenshin, with the historical framework of actual history the reader can act as he/she does with a literary text and attempt to reach a conciliatory interpretation of differences, recognizing that the anime Kenshin is a play that is predicated on the spectator recognizing it as such.
History provides a much broader framework than literature in many ways, allowing for greater "play" and in some cases, fabrication of details that may have happened but probably did not. Literature is often much more specific in terms of characters, storyline, setting, and so forth, while history can be an amorphous area in which the lack of the explicit permits much more freedom to manufacture such. For this reason, reenactment is often more useful than theories of wandering viewpoint and allusive space, though these two theories are still very much applicable. The idea of play is also important in dealing with historical narratives because, as stated before, a historical anime like Kenshin is playing with elements that existed, often creating ones that were possible (or impossible) but did not actually happen. However, in both instances of literary and historical transformations into anime, the issue of reception becomes important in understanding how an anime functions differently from its source text/history. Furthermore, analysis using theories of wandering viewpoint, play, allusive space, and reenactment are useful in understanding the total meaning of a transformation. That is to say, the meaning of an adaptation, which is a new depiction layered on a source text/history, is greater than its collective parts, as reception also factors in the importance of reader activation, comprehension, and interpretation. An example is an understanding of the evolution of Buddhism as it moved from China to Japan , as demonstrated by Genzo's much more Zen Buddhist attitude towards death. To simply recognize that Saiyuki is not faithful in its characterization of the Tripitaka figure is not enough; one must also understand in what way these differences register and how meaning can be derived from them.
