Are Japanese TV shows considered literature? I believe that they may have a greater claim to that title than most other genres of TV shows, especially because many anime series are born from light novels.
The answer to this question depends substantially on your definition of literature. The word literature literally means 'things made from letters', but according to freedictionary.com, the first definition of literature is "Written material such as poetry, novels, essays, etc., esp works of imagination characterized by excellence of style and expression and by themes of general or enduring interest."
I think that literature can take other forms besides written on paper. If someone was to read a literary work out loud or even make a TV show out of it, the 'elements' of literature shouldn't disappear from the work. This is why I believe that Japanese TV shows could definitely be considered literature, since many are based off written stories, and almost all anime series have a main dominating theme of "general or enduring interest." You can usually tell pretty quickly if a show is going to be interesting, or if it is just missing the crucial parts that make it worth watching, similar to how you can tell if a piece of writing is good enough to be considered literature, or if it's garbage.
For example, the anime series Sword Art Online was based off of the Sword Art Online light novel series, and they both share identical universal themes of the power of friendship and the power of love (and also to be wary of new technology in case your mind becomes trapped in a virtual fantasy fighting game for two years.) It should be considered literature because it tells a story that has excellent style and expression, and we as watchers (or readers) can relate to its themes, characters, and conflicts.
Personally, I think that as we use technology more and more to tell stories that would previously have been written, we need to redefine what literature actually is. Is it really important for it to be actually written? If what's important is there, then shouldn't things like TV shows and even other unorthodox forms of storytelling be considered literature?
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| Sword Art Online Volume 1 Cover (Light Novel) http://baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?title=Sword_Art_Online |
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| Sword Art Online Anime Series (DVD Cover) http://bushiroad.fm/post/en/2369/Sword+Art+Online+English+Release.html |
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| http://www.wallsave.com/wallpaper/1920x1080/sword-art-online-anime-x-id-915752.html |
Does this mean that any tv show or movie based on a written text is "literature"?
ReplyDeleteYour focus in this post is divided; you argue that literature can include anime, and you acknowledge that they can derive from commercial literature, i.e. light novels. However, you don't particularly elaborate on the aspects of the show that could define it as 'literature' that is unique to anime itself rather than the text based story it is based off of, which makes it seem that you aren't really making much of a point.
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