Why 'Supervan' helps me understand the Anime culture...
Watching Supervan the other night got me thinking: The seventies were freakin' weird. I mean, this was a time when full grown men and women were willing to build their entire lives around something so stupid. There was, indeed, an entire segment of the population whose lives were totally immersed in this van culture, a world characterized by total dorkdom.
Now, I am one of these people who abides by the old saying: "Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it." So, naturally, I spent the next few hours furiously thinking about how we could avoid another "van culture" incident, and what the modern cultural equivalent would be if it were to occur again.
Then I had a horrible epiphany: It's already here. Van culture has returned, and this time it's back with force.
"I don't see any gigantic GM vans with buff-@ss-naked-viking-chicks airbrushed on the sides," you note. No, that much is true. The outlet for dorkdom isn't so obvious nowadays. Dorks are becoming too sophisticated to be detected by the naked eye. Nowadays they hide behind their computer screens and furry conventions, blending in with the rest of society seamlessly.
Anime nerds.
That's right. Watching Supervan made me realize: The modern equivalent of the "Vanner" is the "Anime Nerd."
A bold claim, I know, but let's look at the similarities.
-=SIMILARITY ONE: CHRONOLOGY=-
For argument's sake, let's say the culmination of the sixties (the civil rights movement, feminism, free love, acid, etc.) peaked in 1969. Van culture peaked in 1977 (if the several van-themed movies made in 1977 are any indication), eight years later.
The Van Culture was a reaction by the younger brothers and sisters who weren't old enough to participate in the awesomeness of the sixties, but still wanted something that carried a similar spirit. Thus, vanculture emerged.
Flash forward.
1992- The year "grunge" smashed its way into pop culture. A reaction against the yuppie-infested eighties, the grunge movement could be considered the cynical cousin to the sixties. It was a cool time. Music was good, attitudes were sour, and clothing was shredded.
Flash forward.
2000- The year of the Anime Nerd. All through the mid-ninties, this horrible, ugly, pimply faced thing was building on internet message boards and chat rooms. It wasn't until 2000, though, that it really exploded, becoming something that was recognizeable by everyone.
2000 - 1992 = 8 years. 8 years later. Coincidence? I think not.
-=SIMILARITY TWO: PERSONALITY TYPES=-
Have you ever met an anime nerd? They are self-righteous. They will defend anime at any cost. They are totally immersed in their little world. If you are an anime nerd and you are reading this (though I have no idea what an anime nerd would be doing at the "Supervan" page) the first thing out of your keyboard won't be: "No, that's not true" or "I think you are mistaken, we just enjoy anime." No. It will be: "So what?" And therein lies the similarity. Anime Nerds love anime with an almost fetishlike fervor, secretly believing that they have somehow tapped into some kind of "cool" that the rest of society is too ignorant to recognize.
This mindset HAD to be the same as the Vanners. I mean, you don't spend thousands of dollars to airbrush stupid crap on the side of your car that everyone can see if you don't honestly believe it's the coolest God-damned-thing on the whole planet.
Same people. If you had a time machine that could only transport Vanners into the future, they would surely embrace anime.
-=SIMILARITY THREE: COMRADERY=-
So we all can admit that we know (or maybe even are friends with) an anime nerd. Have you ever seen it when two of them get together? It doesn't matter if they've never met before in their whole life, you would swear they had known each other since birth. They make friends easier than rabbits make babies. The reason for ths can be attributed to the previous similarity.
Vanners. Vanners are willing to break each other out of jail.
Point taken?
-=SIMILARITY FOUR: COMPLETE AND UTTER DORKDOM=-
Anime Nerds are the epitomy of dorkiness, ranking just under the nearly extinct Dungeons and Dragons crowd (which, coincidentally, ARE the Vanners).
Watch Supervan. Watch it and tell me that the Vanners aren't some of the ugliest, silliest, and downright dorkiest people on this entire planet. Go ask your mom. Go ask your dad. Go ask your uncles and aunts. "Who was dorkier than the Vanners, pop?" "Nobody, son. Nobody."
Case in point.
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Now, obviously this is not a comprehensive list of the many similarities between Van Culture and Anime Nerds. These are just a few that I noted right off the bat.
Thank you Supervan. You helped me understand my world a little better, and that is what cinema is all about.
-Fritz the Cat
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