ETERNAL’s latest entry on The Impact of Gateway Anime
pokes some regions which have likely crossed minds before. The premise lies somewhere in the general question, “what spin does a gateway experience have on the overall growth of a participant?” which would be answered more accurately by case studies of sample groups; it’s scientific1. Perhaps indirectly related to the article, I found a spark of interest:
If I mention the term “oldfag”, you’ll probably know where I’m headed with this. Many of the older anime fans who went to high school in the 90s have a completely different perspective of anime than the younger fans do, and a lot of this is due to the early experiences of both parties.
The term “oldfag” is quite accurate for this framework stub, but something about it doesn’t sit right; it needs more analysis. From the notion, it seems that these individuals are stuck in a certain time frame, possibly as a defense mechanism, though that is probably a rare extent. Generally, people will progress and move with the times even if they do not enjoy the present offerings. Some may even go beyond what’s current and speculate on the future. Adaptation and growth yield a special correlation, and with regards to experiences, I believe a sort of duality (or more parallel) arises with the passing of time.
We are nostalgic about our first experiences, but at the same time enjoy current ones, yet what is the trend of comparison. Regardless of age, an oldfag might be one who holds notable bias for nostalgic experiences over those freshly baked. Conversely, newfags would do the opposite, while just plain fags would do neither…. there might also exist futurefags who are even further ahead than newfags, but in the context of experiencing media, that is pointless.
While some might argue that balancing your gateway experiences with current ones is impossible, I find it more useful to embrace the duality parallelality in which an individual understands/recalls both the context of past and current experiences. This realization allows one to consider that perhaps during their gateway period, today’s works may not have appealed in the same manner or at all, and vice-versa, works of yesterday may not reach the same level of significance if they were created today.
Enabling the duality of these circumstances, the participant should be able to construct perspectives which cater to both nostalgia and trend. This is optimal, in my opinion, as the participant can detach and/or activate various snapshots of their experience in order to identify with new and oldfags alike, yet there is something more to this concept than identification.
As the focus and momentum of any sphere transform and grow, there are often non-trivial flux points which serve as trend indicators and may reveal the direction of the system. Disregarding past experience, we should realize that any individuals in a moment of flux are in fact experiencing the same creations. The implication here is that all participants are typically on the same playing field, regardless of how long they have been involved2.
Going back to the role of gateway experiences, I cannot say that their influence is something universal. I feel there are many who allow their first steps to control the way they experience the present, but I also believe there are those who are beyond that point. Life and experiences are after all existential and momentary. Sometimes, we simply have to be there in order understand, and in the same light, we may not understand without detachment.
On a side note, perhaps we should ask what produces a better-rounded critic, being well-experienced or being able to examine works in a present context rather than that of the past3.
