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The Displaced self in 'Elfen Lied'

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.14/113942

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Title: The Displaced self in 'Elfen Lied'
Related: International journal of the humanities, Vol. 6, Issue 11 (2009), p.1-8
Publisher: Common Ground Publishing
Date: 2009
FoR/RFCD Code(s): 200518 Literature in Japanese 200205 Culture, Gender, Sexuality 200526 Stylistics and Textual Analysis
Author/Creator: Barber, Christie Lee
Description: The self that is the sum of two or more identities, which are often incongruous, appears regularly across various genres in Japanese manga (comics) and anime (animation). Through such characters - from cross-dressing princesses to cyborg assassins - manga and anime challenge the boundaries of gender, humanness, sexuality and class; and in so doing, explore notions of the self and other. In a traditionally conformist, group-oriented society like Japan, manga and anime create space for displacement and discovery outside of rigid social pressures. To examine the fragmented self in detail, this paper will analyse "Elfen Lied", a manga and anime series for young adult males. The female protagonist of this often gory narrative, about a race of violent mutant humans subjected to experimentation and abuse, is severely fragmented, and this paper will place particular focus on the way in which "Elfen Lied" displaces the self through this multifaceted character. This paper will show that "Elfen Lied" incorporates a range of affective elements, which appeal to the desires and fantasies of male readers, and simultaneously creates various positions from which readers may explore concerns about their sense of self and their place in society.
Description: 8 page(s)
Subject Keyword: 200518 Literature in Japanese
Subject Keyword: 200205 Culture, Gender, Sexuality
Subject Keyword: 200526 Stylistics and Textual Analysis
Subject Keyword: Japanese Manga
Subject Keyword: Japanese Anime
Subject Keyword: self
Subject Keyword: gender
Resource Type: journal article
Organisation: Macquarie University. Dept. of International Studies

Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.14/113942
Identifier: ISSN:1447-9508
Identifier: mq-rm-2009000871
Language: eng
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