| FanimeCon - Day One - Gilles Poitras |
 This could
be the most influential anime fan in the U.S., because he reaches people
who make a living out of literacy. Gilles Poitras, who was born in French-speaking
Quebec, grew up on a California farm and makes his living as a librarian
in San Francisco at Golden Gate University. For years, he's been advising
other librarians on how to use anime and manga to attract young people
to books in an era where youth are said to be watchers, not readers. "Librarians
know the value of popular literature," Poitras said at Fanime Con on Thursday
night. "Librarians are interested in what appeals to kids. Young adult
librarians are very flexible in what they're buying...you have to find
something that interests kids and shoot for that." |
 California
may be different from the rest of North America, but Poitras has found
that many youth are asking for anime and manga in libraries - especially
in Oakland and across the bay in San Francisco. Librarians have to be careful
of the titles they make available, he admits. "If there's sex or violence
in the show, they have to be careful, but if librarians choose the tamest
stuff in the world, someone's going to get upset." He recalled a story,
told by another librarian, about how one parent questioned the risque humor
in an episode of Ranma 1/2, until that librarian explained what was going
on (there's a tradition of mixed-sex bathing in Japan). |
 Poitras has
taken his love of anime to Internet newsgroups and the World-Wide Web.
He regularly posts a list of available titles and maintains a web site
that recommends what shows libraries should stock. Poitras' next step is
to create a web site certification program, to identify pages with the
best information on anime and manga series. Since he's a fan, Poitras has
decided to call the program the "Onsen Mark," after the high school teacher
in the Urusei Yatsura series. Poitras planned to start the program in April,
with the best sites eventually being identified on the Anime Web Turnpike. |
 Poitras has
spoken to overflow crowds of librarians, readers and anime fans about the
special Japanese art form. People at FanimeCon also followed the path of
the anime Pied Piper on the convention's first night. When a (false) fire
alarm sounded in the middle of Poitras' panel discussion, people had to
evacuate the hotel. Most of the people who had been listening to Poitras
followed him outside, into the cold and rain. Like the ancient Greek philosophers
who taught on a hillside, the discussion continued on the covered walkway
outside of the hotel, despite the uncomfortable weather. |
 Day One |
 Day Two |
 Day Four |
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