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College of New Jersey, Society for Creative Endeavors
The College of New Jersey has invited me back!
On Saturday, May 2nd at 7pm, I’ll be presenting my Anime Mythology Panel entitled Mystics, Priestesses & Warrior Women at the College of New Jersey!
The event is being hosted by The Society of Creative Endeavors. I’m looking forward to returning to the TCNJ to speak to their students again!
The event is free for TCNJ students; $5 for non-TCNJ students
Tickets are available at the door.
You can view the event on the TCNJ Mythology & Meaning Facebook Event Page.
You can also Download a Map with Directions to the TCNJ Library where the presentation will be held!
You can contact tsce@tcnj.edu
Mystics, Priestesses and Warrior Women is about the hero journey from a woman’s perspective. Specifically, it looks at the different types of female hero journeys in American and Japanese animation and how there are avenues for exploring the female hero journey in the East that are unavailable in the West. These different types of female hero journeys have their basis in the different mystical religious traditions of each country. These different concepts of mysticism East and West give rise either to Magical Girl or the Princess archetypes in animation. To wrap it all up, I explore how these different archetypes manifest and are subverted in the anime, “Revolutionary Girl Utena”.
Below is a trailer for my Anime Mythology presentations! Enjoy!
Anime Matsuri 2015
I’ll be presenting my Anime Mythology Panel entitled Mystics Priestesses & Warrior Women at Anime Matsuri on April 4th at 1:30pm.
You can also find the panel information on Anime Matsuri’s Schedule Page.
The panel will take place in the Panel Room 3 Building in Grand Ballroom C of the GRB Convention Center.
In my Mystics, Priestesses and Warrior Women presentation, I explore the hero journey from a woman’s perspective. Specifically, I look at the different types of female hero journeys in American and Japanese animation and how there are avenues for exploring the female hero journey in the East that are unavailable in the West. These different types of female hero journeys have their basis in the different mystical religious traditions of each country. These different concepts of mysticism East and West give rise either to Magical Girl or the Princess archetypes in animation. To wrap it all up, I explore how these different archetypes manifest and are subverted in the anime, “Revolutionary Girl Utena”.
Below is a trailer for my Anime Mythology presentations describing each one of them! Enjoy!
Phoenix Comic Con 2014
I’ll be presenting 3 of my Animation Mythology Panels at Phoenix Comic Con over the June 6th-7th weekend.
Here’s my schedule:
Friday, June 6th: 2:30pm-4:30pm – Giant Robots and Superheroes
Friday, June 6th: 4:30pm-6:30pm – Mystics, Priestesses and Warrior Women
Saturday, June 7th: 6pm-8pm – Knights and Dragons
You can also find this schedule on my guest page at the Phoenix Comic Con website.
All the panels will take place in the North Building in Room 221.
I’ve never done 3 presentations at one convention before! It should be an amazing experience!
In my Giant Robots and Superheroes presentation, I explore why Americans tend to write about Superheroes while the Japanese tend to write about Giant Robots. By looking at the mythological roots of these two archetypal heroes, I explain how the religious traditions of each culture percolate up into their animated storytelling and create different heroes East and West. I also catalogue the spiritual evolution of the Giant Robot from his manifestation in anime in the 60′s up until the present.
In my Mystics, Priestesses and Warrior Women presentation, I explore the hero journey from a woman’s perspective. Specifically, I look at the different types of female hero journeys in American and Japanese animation and how there are avenues for exploring the female hero journey in the East that are unavailable in the West. These different types of female hero journeys have their basis in the different mystical religious traditions of each country. These different concepts of mysticism East and West give rise either to Magical Girl or the Princess archetypes in animation. To wrap it all up, I explore how these different archetypes manifest and are subverted in the anime, “Revolutionary Girl Utena”.
In my Knights and Dragons presentation, I look at the differences between Asian and European Dragons and how the Knight’s journey changes because of those differences. I also explore the psychological implications of Dragon and Knight imagery and how this seemingly external battle is actually occurring inside each one of us. The end of the presentation focuses on how these different archetypes manifest and are subverted in the anime, “The Vision of Escaflowne”.
Below is a trailer for my Anime Mythology presentations describing each one of them! Enjoy!
College of New Jersey Japanese Club
On Wednesday, April 16th at 8:30pm, I’ll be presenting my Anime Mythology Panel entitled Giant Robots and Superheroes at the College of New Jersey’s Japanese Club!
I’m looking forward to speaking to the students at TCNJ!
The event is free for TCNJ students; $5 for non-TCNJ students
Tickets are available at the door starting at 7:30pm
You can contact tcnjjapaneseclub@gmail.com
In my Giant Robots and Superheroes presentation I explore why Americans tend to write about Superheroes while the Japanese tend to write about Giant Robots. By looking at the mythological roots of these two archetypal heroes, I explain how the religious traditions of each culture percolate up into their animated storytelling and create different heroes East and West. I also catalogue the spiritual evolution of the Giant Robot from his manifestation in anime in the 60′s up until the present.
Below is a trailer for my Anime Mythology presentations! Enjoy!
Anime Mythology Panel at LA EigaFest
On Sunday, December 8th at 12:50pm, I’ll be presenting my Anime Mythology Panel entitled Sentai Teams: Elements and Alchemy at the LA EigaFest!
My presentation is part of a larger Anime event entitled Synergy of Man and Metal: The Evolution of Battle Armor Anime. The Anime event starts at 11am.
I’m very excited to be able to bring this panel to LA EigaFest!
To get tickets to the anime and my presentation, click here.
To get tickets only to my presentation, click here.
My Sentai Team presentation focuses on the different superhero team structures in America and Japan, and shows how they have their roots in the different elemental systems East and West. Through exploring the notion of the elements, and applying concepts from alchemy, we discover what makes a combining robot so powerful. I conclude the presentation with a look at one of the most mythologically sophisticated sentai anime shows of all time, “Wolf’s Rain”.
Below is a trailer for my Anime Mythology presentations where you can see some footage of the Sentai presentation. If you watch closely, you’ll see slides of power ranger shows and the animated series Gatchaman! Enjoy!
Knightrokon 2013
I’m headed to Knightrokon 2013 in June! I’m very excited that they’ll be having me do one of my Animation Mythology Panels.
We haven’t yet decided which one of my presentations I’ll be giving, so if you have any suggestions of which of the five presentations I should perform, please leave a comment below.
If you’re not familiar with my Repertoire of Animation Mythology Panels, feel free to read about them in the Animation Mythology Section of this website.
Knightrokon, here I come!
Katsucon 2013
I’m headed to Katscuon 2013 this February and I’ll be presenting the second in my Anime Mythology Presentations: Knights & Dragons.
I’ve updated much of this presentation from when I first presented it back in 2007 at the Schoolgirls and Mobilesuits academic conference at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, and I’m looking forward to sharing my new insights at Katsucon!
I’ll be presenting Anime Mythology: Knights and Dragons on:
Sunday, February 17th at 12:15pm in Live Events 3.
Don’t miss it! For those who may not be familiar with my Anime Mythology presentations, you can watch a trailer for them below or else here on YouTube.
See you at Katsucon!
Every Journey Starts with a Single Step…
Greetings fellow traveller! I’m so glad you’ve decided to join me on this journey into Mythology & Meaning.
For years I’ve been sharing my experience, scholarship and insight into what makes certain films, animation and games so captivating to so many people. I’ve presented at academic conferences like Schoolgirls and Mobilesuits at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. I’ve lectured at Universities in Chicago, Dallas and Tyler, TX. I’ve presented at conventions and film festivals all over the U.S. and around the world including Germany, Australia and New Zealand. But finally, I have an online home, here at MythologyAndMeaning.com.
As this website expands, I’ll be including even more content to help you explore the storytelling blueprint behind your favorite stories including:
- Videos
- Articles
- Podcasts
- Books
- Interviews
Everything on this site is designed to help you expand your expressive capabilities as a creator, as well as give you a greater understanding about the mythology and meaning of your own life. I think you’ll find it both enlightening and rewarding!
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please feel free to leave them as comments on this blog. I look forward to conversing with you about my favorite topic, mythology and how it affects storytelling in art and in life.
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