Writers have been the backbone of creators in the entertainment industry for generations. They spend every waking hour trying to devise a way to keep the reader actively engaged in the writer's work. Through their use of the pen, writers have created so many memorable characters and stories that are still known today. Many of the writers who were interviewed have over a decade of experience. Their knowledge can provide a clearer picture of the current state of the entertainment industry.
(Photo taken by Brian Mah. With the permission of the writer.)
Helen McCarthy is a writer, speaker, designer, and curator. She has written many books and articles on Japanese Animation. She is most known for writing "The Art of Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga" (2010 Harvey Award Winner) She is currently living in London.
(Photo taken by Brian Mah. With the permission of the writer.)
Fredrik Schodt has been a writer and a part of the anime industry since the 1970's. He first worked as a translator for the late Osamu Tezuka. He wrote many books on the Anime industry, such as "The Astro Boy Essays." He is a frequent guest at Anime conventions in the US and around the world.
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How long have you been a professional in your respected industry?
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Helen McCarthy: I've been writing about anime and manga since the early 1980s but I suppose I've been a professional since Anime UK magazine started up in 1991. My first book was published in 1993, but I didn't become a full-time writer until three years ago when I was made redundant from my day job.
Fredrik Schodt: I actually have three professions. I am a writer, a translator, and a professional interpreter, and I've been doing all of these things now for about thirty-four years.
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Who were your influences when you were growing as a professional?
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Helen McCarthy: Frederik L. Schodt's Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics was published in 1983 and I first saw a copy in 1984. It really inspired me because it showed that comics culture could be treated with the same levels of respect and seriousness as any culture, yet still be accessible and enjoyable. Apart from that, there are a number of critics and writers I admire, the film critic Pauline Kael and the art critic Brian Sewell among them. One doesn't try to imitate their style, but to emulate their high standards and respect for the material and the intelligence of the audience.
Fredrik Schodt: For writing, I was very influenced when working on my first book by Robert Whiting, who wrote The Chrysanthemum and the Bat. I was also deeply influenced by William Zinser, who wrote On Writing Well. I was also deeply encouraged by the editor of my books, Peter Goodman, who is now the head of
Stone Bridge Press.
For translation, I was deeply influenced at one point by Donald Philippi, who was both a technical and non-fiction translator. You can read about him on his website. I am also deeply indebted to Osamu Tezuka, the manga artist.
For interpreting, I am deeply indebted to my teacher, Mitsuko Saito, who was a professor of communications at International Christian University and a pioneer in the simultaneous interpreting business in Japan.
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Have you seen any changes (positive or negative) since you first started?
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Helen McCarthy: On the positive side, the Internet has made it possible for everyone to get access to material and information, and more people are becoming interested in cultures outside their own. There's less of that old-fashioned jingoistic thing about Caucasian culture being automatically superior to every other kind, I think - more acceptance that all culture is human culture, and therefore we can engage with it if we make an effort to see the world through other eyes. Unfortunately the unmediated nature of the Internet means that myth and misinformation flourishes too. Tezuka warned us about putting too much faith in technology! And of course it has facilitated piracy and the notion that content should be free on demand, which makes it difficult for professional writers and artists to make a living. Every time someone makes an illegal download they're taking money from the pockets of the people who created the material. That makes it harder for creators to survive, and I want creators to survive.
Fredrik Schodt: Everything has changed! I wrote my first book in long-hand, and then typed it up on paper, and then physically cut and pasted the paragraphs to edit it, then typed it all up again, corrected it, typed it up again, etc.
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Have you met anyone famous?
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Helen McCarthy: I've been very fortunate to meet a huge number of interesting people. Some of them are famous in their field and one or two are famous on wider fronts, but I don't think it makes a difference to how interesting they are!
Fredrik Schodt: I have been fortunate to meet many people in the manga and anime business that are now quite famous. Also, in working as an interpreter, I have met many famous people in industries such as film and entertainment, and high technology. They've all been very interesting. George Lucas wrote a blurb for one of my books, America and the Four Japans: Friend, Foe, and Model, Mirror (Berkeley, Stone Bridge Press, 1993).
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What kind of changes in technology have you seen over the years effect the way you did your work?
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Helen McCarthy: The spread of video technology has made my work possible. Before the invention of the VCR the only way to see foreign TV was to go there, and foreign film meant attending festivals or going to art cinemas. We're so much more aware of world culture and creativity now, because we can see it every day. People talk about the problems of dumbing down, of reducing everything to a monoculture, but there are a lot of intelligent people in the world who can now see each other's work and communicate more easily.
Also, increasing computer power has enabled those intelligent people to form communities independent of location, and has been a huge benefit to me personally. Research is faster, I can check multiple language sources much more easily, tracking down rare books and other source material has become easier, and buying things from anywhere in the world is now really simple. It's only just over a decade since buying from another country meant paying huge bank charges or sending cash in registered envelopes. Now I can go online and buy a rare book from Scandinavia or Japan or the USA with no problem.
Fredrik Schodt: Computers have changed everything fundamentally in writing and translation, since nearly everything is digital now. It's often no longer necessary to go to the library to do research, whereas before I used to spend hours, weeks, even months in libraries. In the field of interpreting, little has changed yet. It's still necessary to be physically present at a job.
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How has the invention of the Internet influenced the way you do business?
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Helen McCarthy: It's enabled me to make and maintain contacts far more easily and to improve my research. My Tezuka book had beta readers in the USA, Europe and Japan. Even ten years ago that would have involved sending packages of manuscript in the mail. Now I can just hit a button, and hundreds of pages arrive in inboxes all over the world in seconds. Instead of responses having to be packaged and posted, they come back to me the same way. I can check library catalogues online before I visit. I can have a conference with people on another continent - or two or three at once. Apart from saving me time, it's so much better for the environment to cut back on mail and travel.
Fredrik Schodt: It's changed everything. Nearly all my business correspondence is now via the Internet. I collect more and more information via the Internet. I communicate via Skype on the Internet. I almost never use letters and faxes anymore. In fact, I need to get rid of one of my phone lines, which has been dedicated to fax, to save money.
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What kind of challenges has been the greatest impact on your industry?
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Helen McCarthy: Piracy and the growth of demand for free content. We're still struggling to find an effective model to pay artists and creators for their work in the digital age. Sometimes it seems like anyone can make money packaging and providing someone else's work, but the original creators get left out of the equation. That's not fair.
Fredrik Schodt: The publishing industry is undergoing great convulsions now, and that has affected me greatly. Also, it seems harder to make a living at translation and writing than it did before. Interpreting is more cushioned from changes in technology, but it is very influenced by changes in the economy in general.
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Have the younger artists inspired you to strive to do better?
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Helen McCarthy: People whose work I admire inspire me regardless of their age, but I don't see myself in competition with them. I compete with myself. I want to do a better job today than I did yesterday.
Fredrik Schodt: Of course. But I am also a realist, and have always believed that there are many people who are better than I am at what I do. It keeps me humble, and working hard.
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What kind of observations have you made with the current programs (TV, film, net, etc.) airing today?
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Helen McCarthy: Some of them are great, some of them are awful, most of them are somewhere in between. In any era, in any nation, most of what is produced by any industry - art, housing, entertainment, politics - is cheap disposable filler, designed to keep the masses quiet and content for the moment. Most politicians of all parties would rather you spent your time obsessing over American Idol than holding them to account over climate change or where all the money for reconstruction in Iraq has gone.
Fredrik Schodt: I don't watch a great deal of TV, except for news and occasional documentaries. With HDTV, the pictures have gotten a lot better, that's for sure. I'm often astounded at the quality of the images. I like commercials, but there aren't enough good ones. I hate the ads run by pharmaceutical companies for all sorts of medications, and truly wish they would ban them from TV.
I watch a lot of movies, and love the good ones. Recently, I have been quite in awe of Man on Wire, The Hurt Locker, and even Avatar. I think Hollywood produces a lot of wonderful films; more than it used to.
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What advice would you give to someone who wants to go into your respected industries?
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Helen McCarthy: I'd advise anyone to get the best general education they can afford, and then to carry on reading and learning forever. Make the best work you can and always be true to your own values. For anyone wanting to work in a multilingual medium, learn at least one foreign language. That may sound pretty basic, but you'd be surprised at the number of people who want to work in an anime studio in Japan, but don't expect to have to learn the local language.
Fredrik Schodt: I was lucky, in terms of timing. I think it is much more difficult to make a living at the things I do now. So it might be better to try something different, something new.
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The artists get their turn next month. Stay tuned.
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