Animation, archives, libraries, history, rotten ancestors, and beyond
This newsletter will focus on my recent pop culture reviews, along with articles about archives, library, genealogy, history, LGBTQ topics, animation, and much more!
Hello all! I’ve been very prolific since my last newsletter on May 13. For The Geekiary, I’ve reviewed anime like Birdie Wing: A Golf Girls Story, The Executioner and Her Way of Life, and The Demon Girl Next Door. I also wrote a post about the go-to archivist depiction, the fictional librarian of the month being Gabrielle in I Lost My Body, examined socially awkward anime characters, and wrote about how Valerie the Librarian smashes stereotypes as a Black female librarian, which is sadly still rare in fiction. To top all of that, on May 26 I published my second briefing paper/book for work entitled "Climate Change and the Military: Examining the Pentagon’s Integration of National Security Interests and Environmental Goals under Clinton," which is scholarly and builds on my previous briefing paper. Then, on May 27, a steering share for my role in the SAA’s Issues & Advocacy section, focused on the FamilySearch inmate indexing program, which I hope to expand later on. Finally, yesterday I penned another article for The Geekiary focusing on queer characters with trauma. With that, let me move forward with this newsletter.
Let me begin by talking about archives. Jacqualine Price Osafo wrote about advocating for government records, counting archivists, and touring archives, while the National Coalition of History outlined qualifications for the next archivist, Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero reflects on his tenure upon retirement, a library’s mysterious trove of wax cylinders will soon break its century-long silence, a center dedicated to Bob Dylan preparing to open in Oklahoma, and how quarantine archives supported documentation of pandemic in Belgium. Additionally, I’m glad to report that the climate change set I worked on is now live!
NARA’s Piece of History blog noted that about the appointment of the first archivist of the United States by FDR, Robert Diggs Wimberly Connor, after urging from James Franklin Jameson and the American Historical Association, in October 1934. Archives AWARE! interviewed Julie Rockwell, Lone Arranger at East Broad Top Railroad. The same site focused on the impact of federal funding and interviewed Bryan Giemza and Meredith Torre. The American Archivist Reviews Portal focused on an institutional repository, Preservica, and UK National Theatre’s Black Plays Archive.
Apart from Learn from History, which is a “broad-based coalition of organizations of parents, students, teachers, school system leaders, community leaders, and other concerned Americans,” others focused on repatriating a Polish art collection, Committee on Research, Data and Assessment (CORDA), and outlined the best practices for processing video records, reminding me about a guide that me and fellow students wrote during grad school on conducting and recording digital oral histories. There were also articles about why archivists should collect metrics, a budget-friendly way to “make weights using fabric you have at home and BB pellets or lead shot”, university archivists and legal issues, bit preservation, moving archival practices upstream, appraising records of U.S immigration detention, and cultural humility as a framework for anti-oppressive archival description.
With that, I come to libraries. There were stories about Texas librarians facing harassment as they navigate book bans, what libraries need to know about e-book laws, the far-away nature of some library jobs, and conservative parents taking aim at library apps meant to expand access to books. Others focused on Texas A&M weighing sweeping changes to library, antiracist and antifascist library work, librarians pushing back against book-banning, questions asked of interviewees for library jobs before an interview, personal standards for how applicants should be treated, reflection and rest as a necessary part of learning, library wardrobe in 2022, and how J. Edgar Hoover used the power of libraries for evil. The latter article will undoubtedly be part of a future post on my Pop Culture Library Review blog.
There were further articles about teaching yourself to shelve, final thoughts on a MLIS journey, history of bookmobiles, where to start with Haruki Murakami from NYPL staff, questions about whether a library degree is affordable or not, corporate publishing trying to turn all readers into renters, RDA’s cataloging evolution over the years, and the high cost of professional development for academic librarians.
On Twitter, people talked about how credit internships (and practicums) were more exploitative toward grad students than unpaid internships, toxic dynamics between librarians and non-LIS professionals, argued that library workers aren’t going to LibGuide or booklist “our way out of fascism and racism,” lack of acknowledgement that “levels of exclusion & agency dynamics” can different for diversity constituency and each ethnic group, and a resolution written in order to force the ALA to confront its supposed “neutrality”. Related to that is an op-ed in Truthout by Jamie Taylor arguing that attacks on libraries are attacks on labor.
With that, I move onto a different, but related, topic: history. History News Network had articles on the Gwangju Uprising in South Korea, how California isn’t a “liberal sanctuary” when it comes to people of Asian descent, telling the ongoing story of Title IX, the sidelining of Black educators as a result of White backlash to school desegregation, church-state collusion in U.S. Native residential schools, and complicated history of abortion and abortion law in the United States.
Others were about history of the so-called “great replacement” theory, French politician Eric Zemmour acquitted of Holocaust denial after crediting Nazi collaborator with saving Jews, how the U.S. government aided and abetted the theft of Black-owned farmland, the Nursing Clio Project which is connecting health, gender and history (I’ve cited it before in this newsletter), how Evangelical movement embraced the abortion issue, and a review of a book on British conquest of Nigeria. Additional articles were about how protesting at judges’ homes is deeply rooted in U.S. history, radical immigrant farmers who helped defeat the robber barons, the tragic story behind peanuts, and how Holocaust survivors found refuge in Shanghai.
With that, I come to genealogy. What stuck out for me this week was what Matt Hanson wrote about in The Baffler. He talked about coming to terms with “rotten ancestors,” writing that there is an “inherent risk in putting too much emotional stock in one’s ancestry…the more you uncover them, the harder it is to celebrate” in a review of Maud Newton’s new book, Ancestor Trouble: A Reckoning and a Reconciliation. The book criticizes, among other things, “the issue of DNA inheritance” with people putting too much faith in DNA results. The article ends with a call for people to tell their family histories honestly even if it leads you into “dark or uncomfortable territory”. On the same topic is a 60 Minutes story about ancestors reclaiming a former plantation as their own, another review of Newton’s Ancestor Trouble in The New Yorker, a post on Black family history, the Negro Bar Burial Ground Project in California, and examining those with Scottish ancestors. There were additional articles in Genealogy journal about Māori approaches to genealogy and family involvement in contemporary Japanese naming practices.
On a totally different topic but still relevant to this newsletter, is LGBTQ topics. Since this month is Pride Month, there have been a flurry of posts, either on the best LGBTQ shows to watch, best LGBTQ shows of 2022, best LGBTQ shows on HBO Max, manga and light novels which have queer women, queer manga releases this month, Janelle Monae discussing her sexuality and importance of LGBTQ representation, licensing of more girl’s love and boy’s love manga, and how the renewal of Heartstoppers is a victory for queer storytelling. In the process, a number of shows I’ve watched were recommended, like Adventure Time: Distant Lands, Harley Quinn, and Steven Universe, which are on HBO Max, The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder on Disney+, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (on Hulu), while Revolutionary Girl Utena, Adachi and Shimamura, Bloom Into You are on Crunchyroll.
Others wrote about an animated series which they claimed has an animated queer non-binary couple “we’ve been waiting for”, anti-LGBTQ legislation troubling queer, trans Angelenos, remembering a pioneer of gay film, the terrible LGBTQ representation of Dragon Ball, a teacher fired in Florida for discussing sexual orientation, and Archie Comics introducing a biracial and pansexual character named Eliza Han. There were further articles about the breezy bisexuality of Anaïs in Love, trans men who get abortions, non-monogamous relationships in books, defining pansexuality, commitment ceremonies for polyamorous relationships, Marvel unveiling a new transgender superhero named Escapade, how youth-oriented comics with LGBTQ-positive characters are busting binaries, and what to read/watch for those who loved Heartstopper. In the latter case, Molly Ostertag’s The Girl From The Sea, Casey McQuiston’s One Last Stop, ND Stevenson’s She-Ra and The Princesses of Power, ND Stevenson’s Nimona, and many others are mentioned.
It was interesting to read the TV Tropes pages for LGBT fanbase, with an anime and manga subpage, and another for Western animation. There were some series I knew (Adventure Time, Cleopatra in Space, The Owl House, Samurai Jack, Steven Universe, Tangled: The Series, Azumanga Daioh, Bloom Into You, Izetta: The Last Witch, Kashimashi: Girl Meets Girl, Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid, Maria Watches Over Us, Noir, No. 6, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Sailor Moon, Stars Align, Sweet Blue Flowers, Venus Versus Virus, and Sound! Euphonium) and others I didn’t (Jem, Bokura no Hentai, and Re:Zero).
That directly connects to the next part of this newsletter about animation. Some have written extensively about great representations of LGBTQ couples in Western animation, while others have focused on The Owl House (also see here and here), Star Wars Pride cover art, or announced new series. This includes the upcoming premiere of part 2 of Inside Job likely sometime this year, and the release, on June 16, of the presumed first season of DeadEndia. There were also articles noting new shows added to HBO Max this month, including Season 3B of Victor and Valentino, and season 2 of Birdgirl. Others focused on two African animated series in production, Kizazi Moto and Iwaju, which will one day be available on Disney+, a cartoon short about drag queens, listed the best Cartoon Network characters including some of my favorites (Jake, BMO, Samurai Jack, Marceline, and Finn), the disturbing cancellation of M.O.D.O.K. which leaves very few non-MCU/non-DC superhero shows out there, and an interview with Diamond White who will voice Moon Girl / Lunella Lafayette in the upcoming Marvel's Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur a.k.a. Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur.
Others wrote about how The Owl House deserves more time to tell its story, U.S. Senators complaining that cartoons like The Owl House, Dead End: Paranormal Park, and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power are “hypersexualized”, which could be nothing further than the truth, asking whether there will ever be any closure for Bravest Warriors, new designs for Angel Dust and Vaggie in the upcoming Hazbin Hotel which springs from the very popular pilot, how The Owl House is proving itself to be too good for Disney, why you should be watching the latter series, noting shows like Maya and the Three, including some of my favorites, such as Elena of Avalor, Carmen Sandiego, Kim Possible, Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, and Hilda. There was additional reporting about a series executive produced by Lawrence Fishburne which will adapt an upcoming novel by Shawn Amos named Cookies & Milk, which follows the adventures of a young Black boy who helps his father “open the world’s first cookie shop in 1970s Hollywood, California.”
There were further articles on Netflix picking up the LGBTQ animated film Nimona which Disney dropped, an opinion piece on the laughable idea that cartoon characters turn someone LGBTQ as it implies that straight characters would do the same thing, how 2021 was “punctuated with…western cartoons with wonderfully queer characters,” k-pop stars which cameoed in episodes on The Owl House, a 2018 review of the oft-forgotten cartoon, Mysticons, and a listing of the best mature animated series on Netflix. The latter includes ones I’ve watched, like Inside Job and Arcane, and others I haven’t, like Tuca & Bertie, The Midnight Gospel, and Tear Along the Dotted Line.
Related to this are stories about anime. Some reviewed the best yuri anime series, the best anime couples, the best written anime protagonists, the best LGBTQ anime series, and the best anime to watch to celebrate Pride Month. This included some I’ve watched in the past, such as Paradise Kiss, Bloom Into You, Maria Watches Over Us, Sakura Trick, Simoun, Whispered Words, Sweet Blue Flowers, Mai-Hime (this one is a bit weird), Wandering Son, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai, and Adachi and Shimamura. There were also some I’ll have to give a try in the future, like Princess Jellyfish, Given, Banana Fish, Shōjo Sect: Innocent Lovers, Love Live! School Idol Project, No.6, NTR: Netsuzou Trap, Magical Girl Ore, Ouran High School Host Club, Yuri on Ice, Spice & Wolf, Clannad, Toradora, Tsuki ga Kirei. Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions, Your Name, Aggretsuko, Snow White With The Red Hair, and Sasaki and Miyano.
There were further articles about release of a yaoi anime in DVD form, the best isekai manga, the first 100 years of yuri anime and manga, the compatibility between protagonists of The Executioner and Her Way of Life, reactions to the new series, Spy x Family, ranking of josei anime, the manga Yuri is My Job! is getting an anime (I have mixed feelings about this anime), possible subtext of yuri stories in Vampire in the Garden, reviewing the Kase-San series, possible yuri undertones in Revue Starlight, reviewing Yuri Kuma Arashi which is by the same person who directed Revolutionary Girl Utena, and the staying power of Dear Brother. There were other writers who described anime series better than Disney, anime better than Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, anime openings better than the show, all the boy’s life anime on Crunchyroll, the best yuri anime films, the best lesbian anime, the wild nature of Birdie Wing: Golf Girls Story, and stating that I’m in Love With Villainess deserving an anime.
There are other topics which deserve to be mentioned, but don’t neatly fit into other parts of this newsletter. This includes about how liberal cities aren’t immune to mounting attacks on abortion rights, anthropocene landscapes in the Gulf South, mining companies strike gold by destroying public lands, and analyzing how the U.S. would split apart if there were six political parties, dividing into “New Era Enterprisers,” the “Populist Right,” and “Faith and Flag Conservatives” among Republicans, and “Acela,” “Green,” and “Labor” parties among Democrats.
Others examined the America’s first modern mass shooting never really ended, asked why the police are so bad at their jobs and noting it goes beyond the response in Uvalde, the network of concerned historians, an abortion doula in the South, and asked how we stop White supremacists from killing people of color. Additional articles answered why birth control hasn’t made aborton obsolete, arguing that it is time to end the West’s xenophobic double standard on refugees, the problem of Texas’ social media law, the end of Bitch magazine, a post-Roe future already happening in Florida, asking what’s behind America’s baby-formula shortage, farmworker rights, the release of Former Black Panther Sundiata Acoli from prison after 49 years, houseplants as a means of Black joy and queer resistance.
There were also articles about White House documents noting a looming squeeze on COVID-19 boosters, Africanjujuism, Thomson Reuters to review human rights impact of its data collection for ICE, Elsevier to acquire Interfolio, that subsurface ‘lakes’ on Mars may actually be frozen clay deposits, building community through video games, social networks, genocide, and the structuralists’ database of language, gothic fiction in an Australian context, what your tweets say about you, and digital curation, copyright, and academic research. There’s also the introduction of pop justice, a new feature on Scalawag to examine the way pop culture “warps our understanding of policing and justice” and will examine the role of “journalism and other reported media in propping up copaganda.”
That brings me to illustrations in The Nib. They focused on the fallacy of arming everyone, Supreme Court poised to expand gun rights, those making street food in Southeast Asia being heavily impacted by the pandemic, terrible inventions, microaggressions, Biden’s logic gap over views of Republicans on gun control, queerness as always part of the Mideast, Republicans calling for “school control,” and Biden deploying U.S. troops to Somalia. Very little information is out there about this deployment to another battlefront of “under 500” U.S. troops, other than it reversing what the previous president did, and the claim that the troops will supposedly not be for “combat.” There have also been calls by advocates for civilian protections in Somalia and claims that the troops are there to “fight terrorism” although some admitted that “the U.S. has a long history of intervening in Somalia” and said to be a limit on Biden’s claim that he is ending “forever wars”. Others have questioned the latter in the past, saying the claim is a bunch of junk and could enter a perilous new phase, especially when it comes to involvement in Afghanistan.
That’s all for this newsletter. Until the next one! I’ll do my best to make sure the next newsletter comes out in a shorter period of time, perhaps 3 weeks instead of 4.
- Burkely