- 6 days ago
Rise of Black Nerds in the Nerd Community with Jay Sutton
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00Hi everyone, I'm Jay. I'm going to be moderating the panel for today and it is the rise of the
00:09blurred in the nerd community. I have an awesome set of people with me and we're going to go through
00:15introductions, but a little bit about myself. I'm a cosplayer and a gamer from South Florida
00:20and I'm one of the co-founders of Urban Anime Lounge, which is a social community. So I'm
00:25going to introduce my panelists. I'll have them introduce themselves. Kendra.
00:30Hey everyone, my name is Kendra. I'm also a cosplayer and a gamer, but I'm from Virginia.
00:38Thank you, Kendra. Brianna.
00:41Hi, I'm Brianna. I'm from the Bronx. I'm a heavy gamer and I am also a part of Urban
00:49Anime Lounge. Kimmy? Or Kim? Yo. It's Kim, aka Fatstar, aka Team PC Master Race, Anime
00:59Leaders, Headphone Enthusiast, Subwoofer Fanboy, and all-around Resident Geek. And I'm also from
01:06the Bronx and an admin of Urban Anime Lounge. And Trish?
01:12Hi, everybody. I'm Trish. I'm also a co-founder of Urban Anime Lounge. I am an amateur special
01:22effects makeup artist, more on the gore and scary side of things. And I'm a gamer on hiatus.
01:31And then last but certainly not least, we have Ro. What's up, people? This is Ro, or Rashadrick,
01:37Art and Meme God, whatever you want to go by. But I specialize in memes and I do graphic
01:44design and a lot of other mediums. And I'm also a co-founder of Urban Anime Lounge.
01:50Awesome. So thank you guys for being here with us today. As I mentioned, the panel is called
01:58The Rise of the Blurred in the Near Community. So we're going to be diving in with a few different
02:02perspectives from everyone on the panel, discussing a couple things within the community, past
02:07present and future. And we'll go ahead and get started. So first, I want to kind of kick
02:15it off with asking everyone on the panel to tell us how you were introduced to the community.
02:19So it doesn't have to be the online social community. It could be how you were introduced
02:23to your alternative interests, whether it was anime, manga, cosplay, gaming, et cetera.
02:30And we're going to start with Brianna.
02:33Hey, so growing up, my brother actually used to watch anime. He would watch Dragon Ball Z,
02:41Bleach, Gundam Wing. So I would watch a couple of things with him. As an adult, I came across
02:50a video with BuzzFeed, actually, where they had some of their workers watching two different
02:59animes. So I was like, hmm, let me see what they're watching. So the first anime that they
03:04watched, they watched with no description at all. It was Kill La Kill and Attack on Titan.
03:12So I was like, hmm, these look interesting. I should watch these things. So 20-something year old
03:18me decided to start watching on Netflix. And I'm like, wait a minute. Hold on. This is like
03:24what I used to watch when I was younger. Oh, stop. This is anime. Like the anime is still happening.
03:29That's cool. So I watched both, fell in love, disappointed that Kill La Kill didn't get another
03:37season. But then it was like, oh, okay. So I'm back in my scene now. And then I started watching
03:44more things. And then I got put into UAL. And then here I am now.
03:51Oh, and that's a hell of a anime. Attack on Titan and Kill La Kill for the first few. That's
03:58something right there. Because that's a little extreme on the extreme side of the anime side.
04:05But Ro, you want to go ahead? I actually started like pre-Toonami Days. So it was,
04:15my granddad used to make these VHS tapes. It was like mixtapes of different shows and cartoons and
04:20shit. And it had like a whole bunch of different shows. But one of the shows was the original Dragon
04:26Ball. Not DBZ. So I didn't start off with Z, but I did start off with the first few episodes. Dragon
04:33Ball. And another show called Transor Z, which is actually Mazinger. That's the actual name. But
04:41it was like the English dub back in the day. And Astro Boy. And I saw like Gigantor, but it was garbage.
04:48Anyway, no disrespect to the original anime. No disrespect. But I did watch it. But yeah,
04:54that was like my introduction. And then Toonami. And we went off.
04:57Nice. Trace, you want to go next? Sure. So I feel like my transition kind of happened
05:07just from the gaming side of things. Like I've been, I said I'm a gamer on hiatus now, but like
05:12that was my entire life. So starting back Super Nintendo, PlayStation and stuff, it just kind of
05:17transitioned over. So it's like, I don't remember the piece. However, I don't feel like I used to
05:23watch it on Toonami and things of that nature. But Blockbuster, okay, let me, one time for the goat,
05:28Blockbuster had an anime section. So I used to live in there every day. We used to walk down there and
05:35you know, go to the thing. And I'm like, oh, okay. So I started like with Ninja Scroll.
05:39And then they had all the DVD or I think it was just at the DVD. Whoa, hold on. Not at the VHS part,
05:47but, um, so Berserk, they had all the DVDs there and a Vampire Hunter D. So those, those were like
05:53my really big transitions. And then Berserk is my all time favorite. Um, and so I just kept watching
06:01from there and I would just go and rent the movies and bring them back home. And that was,
06:05that was my transition into anime. So I'm on the horror side of things of anime.
06:09I will leave that all to you. All right. I ain't touching the horror side of nothing.
06:16Kendra, how about you?
06:17As far as anime and gaming wise, it's always kind of been there when I was a kid. Me and my,
06:28me and my cousins, we will always watch Sailor Moon together. We was always fighting over which
06:33style was who I'm like, y'all can have Usagi even though I wanted her, but I'm gonna just stick with Sailor
06:39Jupiter for the time being. But over time, over time, I kind of adjusted more to Sailor Mars. You
06:46know, she kind of fit my personality in a sense. Um, as far as gaming, I would always sneak into my
06:53older cousin's room playing Tekken on his PlayStation. Like that was the one like franchise that really
07:01drew me into gaming. But as far as like cosplay, cosplay wise, I didn't start cosplaying until like
07:082017. Uh, one of my old co-workers was like, you know, oh my gosh, you're into anime too. You should
07:16come with me to like this con. I'm like, okay. So I saw everybody else, you know, dressing up,
07:23talking about cosplay ideas. And I was just like, you know what, I'mma just dive into this. And my first
07:28cosplay was Michiko from Michiko in Hatton. So that's how I kind of got my start into everything.
07:36That's a fire star. I love her. That whole series. It's one of those rewatchable series too.
07:43But that's good. Kim?
07:46Um, so I got into it, shit. Well, I got my first computer when I was like five. It was a family
07:54computer. And then I got on internet like at six or seven. And so I started gaming and stuff.
08:01You was on the internet at six years old? Yeah. Okay. But the internet, the internet back then,
08:08it was this like gray and just like text and like boxes of like anime pictures and shit.
08:16So it was just like, I didn't know what I was doing. But like, as I grew like older and stuff,
08:21we learned about computers in school. So then
08:22Toonami was coming on. And then we had um, Dragon Ball Z. So that's where I started like
08:30searching that shit up like on my computer. And I started seeing like Super Saiyan 5 and that other
08:35nonsense. And then like, I got into anime heavy was probably um, when my cousin Mike like gave me um,
08:43Dragon Ball Z tapes with like Super Saiyan 3 Goku on it. But like, the Goku that we had just like
08:51learned Keioken. So like, I was visibly confused. So then from there, I saw Dragon Quest like the
08:57game. So I thought it was related as a kid. So I was just playing Dragon Quest. And like, I'm like,
09:02he looks like he's from Dragon Ball Z, but he's not from Dragon Ball Z. So I didn't get that like,
09:06uh, I didn't get the correlation of things at the time, because I was just a kid.
09:11And then I think I fully got into the anime community when I was in like, middle school,
09:16my art teacher, he used to like, give us out like VHS tapes with an anime series. And then like,
09:22I think the first series I had was like, um, Blood the Last Vampire or some shit. And that
09:28fucking shit scared the shit out of me. Like, oh my god, like a little 11, 10 year old watching this
09:35anime like Blood the Last, I don't remember Blood the Last Vampire or something like that.
09:39And it just like scarred me. And then from there, I just like kept borrowing VHS tapes from my um,
09:46art teacher and then like, got into downloading anime. And then that's where I like fully got into it.
09:53You was brave on the internet. I was only on um, I had what Napster? Is that the download where you
09:58download the music? I had Napster and I watched it. Yeah, LimeWire. That's the LimeWire and Napster.
10:07And I was in AOL chat rooms. I know what was going on. Internet used to be a weird thing, man.
10:11I forgot about the chat rooms. Yeah.
10:13Yeah. Oh yeah. I used to be crazy in the chat rooms.
10:16Like ASL. People was really just out here.
10:18ASL. Oh my god.
10:22I was really replying back to grownups on the internet.
10:24That's really what it was. It was like, we were talking to adults and like, it wasn't weird.
10:31Like that was normal because the internet was such like a new thing. So.
10:35Can I just add one little internet, manga story? So before we had manga,
10:40you know how on the apps you get to read it for free. I literally somehow found my way to eBay
10:46on from AOL and got burned CD disk of berserk manga scans. I swear I was the first one in the world
10:54to have this stuff. So somebody sent it to me in mail and I put it on my computer and I'm reading all
11:00of the scans because you know, berserk ended and I had to know what it was. So this was like before
11:05where the evolution where we are now. So not to share any type of age, but I don't know how
11:10I bought them. I think I went to the parents, you know, I don't know, but I got your time.
11:16Dangerous times.
11:20I'm on that auction.
11:24Anime pictures on disk and shit.
11:26Yeah, it was literally on CDs and then all the little manga scans and I was lit. This was after
11:31buying the first 13 volumes. I was like, oh, this way cheaper is like $10 for all the rest of the
11:37chapters. It was crazy. I used to sell bleach like that. I used to put it on.
11:42Kimmy probably sold it to you.
11:44He probably did. I don't remember where it came from.
11:46Where is this supplier? Kimmy sold it to you.
11:47I don't remember where it came from.
11:49Not manga.
11:50I don't know if I had permission to order. I don't know what happened, but I got the scans.
11:57My middle school operation on this on here.
12:01I'm not even surprised, bro. That brings us actually to our next question.
12:08What challenges and changes, which clearly we kind of covered some of the changes. We talked
12:12about a lot of stuff that was in the past, but what challenges and changes have you seen in this
12:15space over the past decade or so? And we're going to start with Rowe, hustling CDs in middle school.
12:25Right, right. It did start off with like hustling a certain kind of CD in middle school and printouts
12:31and stuff like that. But I don't know.
12:34Like I saw it like develop because like like Kimmy said earlier, right, like with Dragon Ball,
12:42the show came out in the 80s and early 90s.
12:45So while you watching like the new stuff, the, you know, like old like the episodes that you
12:51haven't seen yet and sub hasn't came out yet. So I had like a VHS I got from like a flea market
12:58with Dragon Ball GT.
12:59Meanwhile, it's like early Dragon Ball Z. So I'm like, why these niggas look like monkeys?
13:05And, you know, seeing all this stuff anyway, but over the past few years, right, the last 10 year
13:09time span, I just seen the culture embrace it more, a lot more than how it was when it first started.
13:15It was just, um, um, I don't know. I like, um, I never felt like singled out as far as doing it
13:23because I just always had it front and center for what I do. So, but I have seen it like integrate
13:32into the culture a lot more, right? Like music, movies, and, you know, now it's to the point where
13:39it's just like everywhere, you know what I mean? So, um,
13:43it's become more normalized, become more normalized and accessible.
13:47Not like a cartoon, like, oh, y'all watch cartoons. Like, no, you know, it's, um, it's mature content.
13:53It's all type of content on there. So, I don't know. It just had a good, um, progression from
13:59back then to now. It's just, I just think it's super dope.
14:04That's true.
14:04I feel like, um, it definitely has become more accessible, um, because back then,
14:13if you didn't catch it on, on Toonami, it was like, where am I watching this?
14:17So now it's on Netflix. It's on Hulu. It's literally everywhere.
14:26It's just so many platforms for you to watch anime, for you to read manga.
14:31There's so many places now for you to pick up these things. If you don't have Netflix,
14:36if you don't have Hulu and stuff like that. So definitely it has become a lot more accessible
14:43than it was in, like, the early 90s.
14:46Yeah. No more buy-and-burn CDs from strangers on the internet. We can just go on Crunchyroll or Funimation.
14:56We don't, we don't gotta live like that no more, Trish.
14:58We do it, do it right nowadays.
15:02Honestly. I gotta watch episodes and parts on YouTube.
15:06Right.
15:06Yes. I remember those. Like, I think that's how I was able to watch Michiko and Hatchin,
15:11because I was like talking to this one dude I was carpooling with, and we were like getting in
15:17a conversation. He was like, oh, you should watch Michiko and Hatchin. Well, I was kind of broke at
15:21the time. So I didn't have Funimation. I didn't have any of these streaming services. So when I was on
15:28my lunch break, I would just be going on YouTube and be like, Michiko and Hatchin, episode one, part
15:33one, part two. I'm just like, yeah, I'm gonna just have to work with this for now. But, you know,
15:39being that we're more so in the digital age, technology is forever evolving. You know, you have,
15:46like Brianna said, you have these streaming services at your disposal to watch these shows.
15:51You know, so I think that's pretty dope.
15:55Definitely agree on that. And the YouTube is quick. Now they don't add to those little boxes,
16:00like, because of copyright issues.
16:02Oh yeah.
16:05I wanted to add that, like within the space itself, and I don't know everybody else's experience, but
16:12I didn't have the experience of, you know, the being bullied and everything, like,
16:15you are lame because you like this stuff. But I will say that I was the only one out of my friends.
16:22So outside of my best friend that I game with, nobody watched anime online and the thing. So
16:29now that the internet has created these, or people on the internet have created these spaces,
16:35that we can actually come together. Because honestly, what, four years ago, before, like as
16:41UAO became created, I didn't know anybody else like me that was watching anime and doing things
16:46like that. So that was like a huge, a huge major thing. I'm like, oh, there's Facebook groups about
16:51this, like black people watching anime. So that was literally a moment for me, like, oh, there's more
16:58people like me. And I mean, that was one of the biggest changes I've seen that we actually have spaces
17:05where we can come together and just talk about all this stuff. And talk about other things,
17:11right? Like, and they might bring y'all together, but like, y'all have all this other stuff in common,
17:16too. So that's definitely been valuable for sure. Yeah. Um, so like my experience is like I was always
17:26locked in because I was just on the internet. So I had like my ways to get stuff. And I had like little
17:32circles where like we shared shit. But like my circles, like I didn't know who they were,
17:37like, and these are like people I just knew online from playing like MMORPGs and video games and stuff
17:44online. So like, that's the circles I came from. So I didn't know like regular like black kids besides
17:51like my art teacher and kids in class were like, fuck the enemy. And so like, coming up all the spaces I
17:59was in, it was just like, they were like faceless communities, but you could tell like they weren't
18:05black, I guess, like you could say. So it was a bunch of like white people and like chilling in those,
18:11those areas of the net that you shouldn't be in. So it's like coming from there, like I,
18:18I thought all that shit was normal. So I didn't think about black spaces till one of my guildmates
18:24forced me to make a Facebook. And then I joined one of the early anime communities,
18:29like specifically for black people. And that's when I was like, oh, shit, like there's people like me
18:36who like, like anime. And this was like back in 07, 08. So like the change of the community from then
18:43to now is just like, um, see more people that had the same background as you, but they didn't have a
18:51place to express that until like, then. Like if you weren't going to cons, and even when you were
18:57going to cons, like the people that you saw at cons, they weren't like you. Like if you saw 15 people,
19:04you might see two to three black people at the cons. And then those black people who were like,
19:09usually whitewashed or, um, yeah, they usually were just whitewashed. That's not to say like that,
19:17but they usually like, they were just like taken over and consumed by like where they've been at.
19:22So it's like they emanated a lot of the like white people that they're around. So you didn't really see
19:27black people, like regular black people, like, not like say we're us, like we're regular, but like,
19:33you didn't see like typical black people that you've seen in the hood. Like you didn't see that
19:37in the community until like, maybe like the last seven years. That's for me what I observe, I observe.
19:46Um, I think that kind of leads us into the next thing because we kind of mentioned that anime has
19:52become more mainstream, but how do you guys feel about that as far as the increased, um, social media
19:59presence, um, especially from celebrities as well. So Megan Thee Stallion, Michael B. Jordan, I think Lupe
20:06Fiasco, I'm not, I'm pretty sure Lupe, Lupe was in the anime. Somebody hurt me if I'm wrong, but
20:14you said what? He's like one of the beginners
20:18as far as bringing it into the culture of hip hop.
20:24And, um, that's where Kendra, did you have thoughts on that part?
20:28I think it's dope, honestly. Um, it's always, I think it's always a great opportunity to,
20:37you know, introduce people, you know, into the nerd community if they feel as though they're kind of
20:44holding on to it, you know, face off embarrassment or what have you. But like you said, you have
20:50celebrities like Michael B. Jordan, who's into Naruto. You have Megan Thee Stallion, more specifically,
20:56who's, you know, pretty much into My Hero and a whole bunch of other stuff. You have her cosplaying,
21:03which I thought was really dope. I'm like, oh my gosh, she's literally on the cover of Paper
21:08Magazine cosplaying as Todoroki. Like, I was shook. I was so shook. And I just, I just thought that was,
21:16like, an amazing thing to see, you know, especially me as a, as a nerdy Black woman,
21:22you know what I mean? It's, it's really good to see people at the forefront, um, expressing
21:27themselves outwardly, you know, being their, their inner nerd outwardly and stuff like that. So I just,
21:35I just think it's an amazing opportunity for, uh, the Black community, well, the Black nerd community
21:42to fully embrace themselves, so.
21:46I, so I'm kind of in between. And when I say this is, um, with it being mainstream,
21:54yes, what, definitely what Kendra said about everything is, and it's necessary,
21:58it's super necessary, especially when you have the celebrities showing this, um, because it's like,
22:04oh, okay, now it's cool, or whatever the case may be. But then I'm like, but y'all, you know,
22:11everybody wasn't shooting in the gym with us. And when we had to go through it, you know,
22:16but then I'm like, but it's necessary, it really is necessary, because it only creates more
22:20opportunities. And I think Kendra really touched on it, like being able to just bring that outward,
22:26because even if you, if you're starting to see celebrities, and you know, that on TV, and it's
22:32everywhere, you hear it in music, even if your friends still not doing this, like, oh, okay, look.
22:36Um, but then I have, like, friends like mine who, they always like, oh, Trish, you weird,
22:41because you like this. And you know, I never cared, because I'd be like, look, you weird,
22:44uh, for not liking it, number one. And then number two, now look at you, because they all like, oh,
22:50what's up with, you know, this anime? And I'm like, hmm, you need to go ahead and watch these five
22:56first before we can talk about this. Because y'all been talking about this, like, clowning me for a long
23:02time now. So, but here y'all are, because it's cool. And I'm sure that could be peace with a lot
23:08of people. But that's kind of my experience, why I'm like, but then I'm happy about it, because it
23:13has to be a thing. It is a thing. Yeah.
23:17Well, for me, um, I love it. Um, me and my family have actually gotten into an anime. Um,
23:28like, my sisters, we all watched different things. My brother, who probably was like,
23:34the only person that I knew that was watching anime, um, in the 90s. We all watch something
23:41different. We all talk about it. It's like, oh, did you catch this? Nah, but did you catch this?
23:45Like, it's just, I feel like it brings people together. It really does bring people together,
23:51because it's like, oh, you watched that? Oh, wait, I watched that back in such a so-and-so,
23:56what'd you think about it? Like, it's, it's a conversation starter as well. So I love it.
24:02I love that it's mainstream. Everyone has, everybody can watch it. Your friends can watch
24:07it. Your family can watch it. Your mom can watch it. And it just brings people together.
24:13Ro, did you have any thoughts? Um, yeah. See, um, with me, it's kind of like,
24:19like, since I just always wore it on me, for the most part, like, and I was like,
24:25I've been around, like, a lot of urban shit. And just surprisingly, like, since I always
24:31had it in my forefront, a lot of them were always into it. Like, my cousins, me, like,
24:36we used to draw Dragon Ball, like, all day. Made our own characters, drew fanfic. You know what I mean?
24:42I used to draw in school, actually. So people used to sit there and watch me drawing my comic books and
24:47stuff like that. So, um, it's just always, to me, it's just, like, always been, like,
24:54a thing. You know what I mean? So it wasn't surprising when it started taking over. And
24:59I fuck with it. I don't mind it at all. Ro just reminded me that I used to write fanfic.
25:04I did. I used to write fanfic when I was in elementary school.
25:09Like... Girl, I wrote it for boy bands. I don't know what I was doing.
25:13For boy bands? I don't think I ever heard no fanfic for boy bands.
25:18I don't know if it's a thing and I shouldn't have ever have brought that.
25:20Is that MC Girls Backstreet? Let's edit that out.
25:23No. Nah, it's staying.
25:26Absolutely not.
25:27So after this panel, um, everyone's gonna get an email, um, along with Trisha's finest
25:32boy band fanfic work. So we're gonna do that. We're gonna do that up from the archives,
25:37and we're gonna sit, we're gonna spread it to... Listen, and I'mma own it because it was for NSYNC,
25:40and my stuff is it. Okay, JC, let me say less.
25:50Kim, did you have anything to add? Um, y'all mad jolly and shit with it. So,
25:57I'mma, I'mma get some baby powder and rub up the ash real quick.
26:01Kim, I kind of was there with you.
26:05Yeah, I, I'mma say I 75% hate it and 25% love it. I'm on my, on like what Trish said. Niggas
26:13wasn't shooting with us in the gym. So it's just like, I, like as an anime, like, fan and video game
26:19fan, like, them companies didn't fucking love us. They treated us like shit for mad fucking long.
26:27They punished us. Anytime niggas was pirating shit, they were stealing, not like that,
26:31but like they reprimanded people, they put people in jail, they clapped them up, they made examples
26:36of them, and then all of a sudden now it's okay, it's popular. They flipped the switch and it's like,
26:42oh, everything's okay. And then they're like, we're gonna cater to you now because we see that
26:47this is a neglected market. I'm like, yo, there's people like that, that went through a lot of shit
26:53because you guys are just like, I see where they're going with it now. So like, I can accept
27:00it. But like, in terms of like mainstream and getting up there, I can, I like the after effects
27:06that come from it. So like, the fact that we don't have to pirate content so much and that we can get
27:13it like on Netflix or Hulu or Funimation or Crunchyroll or one of those easily accessible
27:20platforms and you can just see it and you don't have to go through all the hoops and everything.
27:25And I like that they're letting the underground piracy community still live for now. So like,
27:34they don't come for the fan dub scenes and like the fan subs and the people that translate scans and
27:40things like that, I think they're coming to a balance where like they understand that you can't
27:44have one without the other because they generate hype of each other. So once they get to that
27:52uh mainstream adoption where they understand that you need both parts, that's when I think I could um
27:58accept where it's going. And as far as like um like mainstream adoption by like celebs and stuff,
28:06like I feel like you gotta go shoot in the gym, man. You gotta, you can't just jump into the anime
28:11community and then like you're like, oh, I'm the number one anime fan. Like, no, no.
28:16Well, who's saying they're the number one anime fan?
28:18I'm not saying they don't know. That's how I like interpret it. Like, that's like what...
28:22But don't y'all think that's like the fan base that kind of hikes the people up? If somebody,
28:26if Beyonce just said, yo, I watched JoJo the other day, you don't think people would be like,
28:30the fans themselves would be the ones who hype it up more than the person who's actually doing it.
28:37Because we've been so underrepresented that when there's a, when there's someone with such
28:42visibility who, who does something that we do and we're like, yo, that's awesome. And my, my,
28:50I don't want to say my criticism, but I think more of that comes from the fans that hype the people up
28:54because I don't remember not one celebrity ever saying that they was the number one anything.
28:59But I love your take on, on, on the corporation side. Because like, I kind of thought of it,
29:06but when I think of more mainstream, my immediate thought goes to the fan base and not from the
29:11corporations. So that's super interesting. Go ahead, Trish.
29:15Well, I want to add to that because it's just a hard take because what I'm getting from Kim is like,
29:21the ones jumping on, okay, yeah, the fans might hype it up more, but then you have the people that like,
29:26I mean, I don't know who's, who, who the real anime fan. I don't want to even put it like that
29:31because then we, we start going to different, but is everybody for real? I don't know. Like,
29:37that's the thing. Um, you don't really know, but I think that's the biggest piece of that is
29:43because it's more mainstream and because it's more accessible and because it's more popular now,
29:47you're going to have newer people getting into it. And that's okay. Like it becomes that point
29:54where it's like, like how Brianna said, my mom is interested now, you know, family members, like
29:59that's cool because you get a chance to start watching it or whether it's comics or anything
30:04like that. Like you, when do you, you have to have your entry, you know what I'm saying? Like
30:08it has to be an entry point where it's okay for you to enter into it and start really learning about
30:15it. So it becomes that, that area where it's like, well, we don't want no new people watching it.
30:21Is you real? And then it's like, oh, that's cool. Come, come. We're here. Like you have found us.
30:28So I don't know. I still be on the fence though. Cause I'm going to be like, I'm a little toxic
30:32when it comes to that. So I'll talk a little later, but you know, I don't know.
30:37You already know on that one. I don't want to say I'm King toxic. I want to say I'm King toxic,
30:44but it's just like, like don't pick up like, I'm going to get fried for this.
30:50Femi said he wasn't burning CDs with me in 93.
30:53Yeah. He wasn't reading the scans on the CD, dog.
30:57Like don't watch one anime that's coming on TV and then like update your bio and be like
31:04number one anime fan or like anime lover. I'm just kidding. I mean, some people want that,
31:09but I'm going to be like, what? I'm going to be like, what? You've only seen two series.
31:16Are you an anime lover?
31:21Kim, they got to start somewhere. They got to start somewhere. Cause I would hate
31:24coming into, I'm a super casual, casual closet cosplay. Like I dabble with the special effects
31:31of that, but I would hate to like join in there and be like, oh, but you wasn't cosplaying,
31:35you know, a long time ago. So again, I don't know if it's just more anime or like,
31:41you have to let them in.
31:43And I, and we're going to get to gatekeeping and that's for sure. Um, with not the king,
31:48but Prince gatekeeper. I don't know what you want to call it. Prince toxic, whatever you called yourself.
31:56I agree. Like you have, you have to let people in and I don't even think it's a matter of
32:00of saying that we have to, cause then that sounds like we have to grant people permission. But I
32:05think like, give people room to be fans at whatever age. Like Brianna said, she started back,
32:12I think in her twenties, right? Is that what he said? She started back in her twenties. And I don't
32:16think, um, if somebody did say they was a number one anime fan after one anime, I haven't seen that
32:23situation happen. So it sounds like an exaggeration. Um, I haven't seen no one ever do that. So it's
32:33like, to me, that don't even sound like something somebody has done. However, to Trisha's point,
32:38when she said earlier, where she had friends and I had people who my very first cosplay was to show
32:44Maru and it was in 2014, 2015. I think I went to a convention in Florida and I was so scared to post
32:51this to my Instagram and I did. And all my people from college was like, what are you doing? And now
32:59they're like, yo, this is so cool. They were like, what? Like, why do you have on this white wig? And
33:06like, what are you, what are you doing? They just didn't understand. Literally anytime I'm on Instagram
33:13or something, they're sending me a post about anything anime because I'm the anime person that they know.
33:18So like, I can, I can get, I can get both sides of it. Cause it's just like, dang, like I like that
33:23years ago. Y'all was telling me weird, but it's fine. It's whatever. It doesn't bother me to my core.
33:28But I think more from the corporation side, um, I agree with Kimmy, but y'all gotta let people watch
33:34the shows, man. Kim, let them update my anime list, whatever that, that site's called. They don't have
33:40as many hours as you and that's okay. They can still be an anime fan. We don't, we don't come back
33:45to gatekeeping. Cause we don't, I'm not gonna ask you how many hours you got Kim on your anime list.
33:51I just wanted to like interject, like since like UAL, since we made it,
33:55I want to say that I've had growth, growth. I don't know how to do the hand, hands on, but like,
34:01there we go. Um, but I've like learned to like let people live and like help guide them. Like
34:09if they ask for like, um, suggestions and stuff, that's the route I've been taking.
34:13Like as a more senior member of like the community, just like help them grow. So it's like, as long as
34:19they aren't like stepping on a pedestal saying some head assery or some hot takes that are wrong,
34:25I've been letting people live and like go down their anime discovery journey. But like,
34:30once they step out of line, I don't know, y'all tell them about themselves.
34:36I think what you're saying speaks to the importance of these spaces,
34:39these black curated spaces where we can, um, just talk to one another and cause we didn't have it.
34:45And I think that's, that's why some people are so protective of it is because it wasn't a part of
34:51what some of us had growing up. Um, but like you said, integrating yourself in these social spaces and
34:57circles, um, gives you new experiences and allows for, um, we're going to move on to the next question.
35:07Um, and we are kind of talking about this as we go, but what would you like to see, um, in the future
35:13from the community and Trish, we're going to start with you.
35:18Um, so in the general nerd community, representation, representation, representation,
35:26period, uh, respect our melanin. Okay. So that's where the general, the general nerd community.
35:33And like, you know, we're starting to, and I hate to say that we're starting to see it more,
35:37but like more is like, Oh, two different things. Um, like Lovecraft country, amazing hits every
35:45possible genre, you know, the sci-fi seeing us in sci-fi is already a whole new different conversation.
35:53Um, but it's like, you get that and that's amazing, but it's still not enough, right? It's just not
35:59enough. So it's, it's great that this is happening in the general nerd world. Um, what I'll say for
36:06the blurred, um, community space, where do I want to start? I think it's just more coming togetherness.
36:16So yes, we come together in a general space, but I think on a deeper level, we need to work together
36:23more. So green, what about you? What would you like to see from, um, the community or even for the
36:28community? I really want to see physical spaces. I want to see a lot more,
36:37spaces for us to go to spaces for us to meet people in our area. Um, spaces for us to buy stuff,
36:45spaces for us to hang out, listen to music, talk about anime in person. Like I really would love to
36:54see a physical lounge in a couple of cities and see how that grows because I think that would be such a
37:03dope concept. We buy a lot of our things online. We buy a lot of our things from other cultures.
37:12Let's start selling it ourselves. Yes. Thank you for that, Brianna.
37:15Trish's eyes. I'm smiling. It's a physical space. Yeah, I've been smiling because, um, yes, it's
37:22patreon.com slash urban anime lounge. As we, uh, one of our tiers is actually to bring the lounge to you.
37:30That can go at the end. So, you know, Kendra? Um, so this is more so geared towards, uh,
37:40what I want to see as far as the cosplay community. Um, of course I want to see more so a lot more
37:48togetherness. You know, if you are a black cosplayer and you have such a big following,
37:54it wouldn't necessarily hurt, you know, to the presentation to the smaller cosplayers, you know,
38:01with the smaller follower count. Um, and also I don't want to see a lot of performative representation
38:11because what I noticed me specifically, I noticed this during the protest, during like the height of
38:19the George Floyd protests where you had, you know, certain cosplayers, certain big name cosplayers,
38:26you know, non people of color, they were, they were like sharing black cosplayers as a means to get
38:35brawny point to be woke. And I'm just like, you know, I see y'all, we all see y'all, you know, we all see
38:44through the bullshit. If y'all wasn't giving genuine as a representation, if y'all wasn't giving genuine
38:52support, why did it take for black people getting killed in the streets for y'all to suddenly have
39:00this aha moment? You know what I mean? So I, I would rather y'all genuinely support us, um, than to just
39:10use us as a prop, use us as the black token cosplayer. You know, I want to see more genuine,
39:15authentic support from other cosplayers though. Yeah. What you said is, is so valid and
39:23there's a lot of, um, performative people and companies, um, especially during this time. It's,
39:29it's a weird year, man. It's a weird, it's a weird year, man. Very weird. I'm hoping December 31st brings
39:37us some joy because 2020 has not been it. Um, we're going to, um, move on to the last question.
39:45Um, before we get into a little bit of something else, do you think there's levels to gatekeeping?
39:49Do you think all gatekeeping is the same? Like what, what do you really think about? Because I mean,
39:55people throw the, throw the word around. A lot of words are thrown around very loosely and very easily.
40:00So do you think there's some kind of levels to this or is like all of it bad?
40:04I think, I think it's necessary because you need it to keep control of your community because
40:12if you don't have, so I'm going to go into it more, but if you don't have gatekeeping,
40:17then that, that any company that like puts money at it could just come in, claim the whole community,
40:25make the rules for the community. And since they have the mainstream platform and the most like, um,
40:32views to them, they could define the whole genre and the people that's in it will have no say. And
40:39then like a person that comes from the outside of that day, they won't know like the true origins or
40:44anything. So because of gatekeeping or that's what y'all want to call it, it, it, it, it holds like a, um,
40:51um, a check on it so that like frauds can't just come in, pump fake, fake it and come take over
41:00the community because we've seen that happen time and time again, like no shade, but we see it happen
41:07in the cosplay community when y'all say everything is welcome and yada, yada. And then someone comes in,
41:14they start doing some low effort stuff and like they start getting shine over the people that are
41:20putting in all the hard work and like, and then you like, you see how that happens sometimes in
41:25those spaces and it happens like once every year, like a big blow up. So when I come,
41:31when it comes to gatekeeping, I like to say there's like, there's two parts to it. So there's the
41:36gatekeeping because you love it. And then there's the gatekeeping that I'm not for. That's like the
41:41the gatekeeping to keep someone down, like just because you dislike them. So like when the,
41:48when they be like gatekeeping women in like the, in the genre that I'm not for that type of
41:53gatekeeping, I feel like that's like, you got to get over yourself, but like if you're gatekeeping
41:59for the love of it, like to keep the spirit and the heart and soul of the community, like
42:06to where it's supposed to be, that's what I'm for. So like, for example,
42:12shit, I don't even know. For example,
42:15I've been, I've been through it so long. I don't even, I don't even know.
42:20No, I mean, I get what you're saying. A lot of where you're gatekeeping
42:25uh, commentaries coming from is kind of like from a corporation standpoint and a company standpoint,
42:30where if let's say someone had marketing dollars and wanted to acquire a community so that they could
42:35push their marketing there, they don't really have a care about the community, um, about the people in the
42:40community or their common interests. They're just using it as a marketing piece and probably
42:44dispose of it when, when they're done. Um, so that's how I interpret kind of what you said,
42:50like a little piece of it. Um, but I mean, I always think it's interesting that you bring up that point
42:55of view, because again, my mind always goes to the fan base and like the consumers rather than,
43:00um, the people who are managing the access, I guess I'd say, to all of these things. But, um...
43:07Yeah, like to add on to that, like for example, like I'm not like throwing no shade to like the,
43:15the old heads that's been here, but like our community as in the black blurred space or the
43:20bleaker space as Ro put it one time, is that like it's still fresh and new. Like to be honest, I would
43:28say that collectively the space is 15 years old and the black online presence, like space, like
43:39I'd say 15 or so years, that's how old it is. And so compared to like cosplay scenes where people
43:47been doing it since the 50s and 60s and like the, the, the con communities that's been going on since
43:54the 80s and 70s, it's a relatively young space. So like the rules for our space every year grows.
44:04So what people did in 2014, you couldn't necessarily do in 2020 because we as a community grew from that
44:12experience and new rules were set where like, you're like, yo, that's not like, that's not it.
44:19That ain't it. So every year we grow a step higher in that regards where like,
44:28like trying to gatekeep, like, for example, when the shit that you said earlier, when they said,
44:34oh, you're an anime fan, tell me about the five characters of the five best characters from Dragon
44:41Ball. And like, at first it was like, they went for it. And then like the year after it became
44:48frowned upon. And then the year after it became a meme. So now it's just like a running meme. Like,
44:53like if you don't want to get clapped up, just don't do that dumb shit. And now it's evolved to where
45:00the, the, the women's side of the, the black community and like the blur community, like they go,
45:06oh, you're such an anime fan. Tell us about the, the strongest people in Sailor Moon. And then
45:11it like throws all the guys for like, uh, uh, like it just gets them up that loop. And like me,
45:18y'all played me because I went, it really went out and I rewatched Sailor Moon with adult eyes and I
45:24forced myself through that shit. Oh my God. So I can answer that question. So it's like,
45:29it worked to level me up so I can now be a part of that. Like I passed that gate now.
45:35So we're now on that next level. Can I edit that camp real quick? I'm going to take it to the next,
45:42next level. Like if you don't watch anime, we not talking like a dude trying to talk to me. It's not
45:49my deal breaker. Okay. That's how far on my, my, if you're not watching anime, you don't got nothing to
45:54talk about. And that's real. Um, and I always say that everybody that knows me said this, but it's,
46:00it's real life. Like that's on my level aware that has transferred out. Like, no, this, this is going
46:05to be a thing or be not going to be a thing. I don't know. And I like that because now that mindset
46:10now going forward, like give or take 2002, four, you're going to have a whole bunch of women like,
46:15yo, if you really not watching anime, like, I mean, really watching anime, I can't fuck with you.
46:21That's literally in 2020 right now. Did you have any thoughts?
46:25Um, I guess going piggybacking off, you know, gatekeeping in regards to like the dating scene.
46:35Um, me personally, like, as long as you respect my love for anime, and we don't have any issues,
46:41then that's, that's totally fine. Like, thankfully, I don't have to go through that
46:45shit. Um, but I would see certain people like online sharing their like,
46:52Tinder messages and stuff like that. And motherfuckers be wilding like, you know,
46:58asking the most outrageous questions. And I'm just like, you just really about to fumble your way
47:04out of a date because you answer it. You like asking all these like, bogus ass questions. And
47:11I'm just like, this could have been like, I could have pulled, I could have pulled shorties. Just by
47:16simply asking like, yo, what's your favorite anime? And just leave it at that. You're asking like,
47:21oh, what's, what's the mole on Norutu's butt cheek? Like, where's it look? I'm like, bro, you,
47:27you really, you are really just talking your way out. And I'm just like,
47:33every day, every day. I'm like, you were just right there. Right there. So yeah,
47:41I like in terms of date keeping in regards to the dating scene. I'm just like, y'all,
47:46y'all really got to chill. Y'all got to chill. That's a fact. But keep it coming. Cause at the
47:51same time, the memes are entertaining. Like I be laughing, I be feeling bad, but I be laughing
47:56when I see that themselves. Brianna, what you got? Oh yeah. Go ahead. Um, honestly,
48:03as far as the gatekeeping is concerned, I've had my own experience with it because once I started
48:12watching anime again, as an adult, I found these spaces where it was like, oh, okay. These,
48:18they watch anime too. They're black. So I'm like, you know, let me share what I'm watching and things like
48:25that. And again, I had just started watching. So of course I'm not up on a lot of things. I caught
48:33up on a lot of things now, but at the time, you know, I was watching the two that I was watching
48:39and that was it. So it was like, oh, you don't watch this. You've never seen that. La la la. Oh,
48:44you don't watch anime. And I'm like, but I, I literally put in my introduction, like, yo,
48:50I just started back. I started on these two. I will gladly take recommendations. I have no problem
48:58with that, but you're not going to, you're not going to turn me down from this community just
49:03because I just started. Like it's annoying. And to piggyback off of what Trisha said, like, I,
49:11I can't do it. If you're not watching anime, we, we, we can't be a thing. I'm sorry. Like,
49:16that's just my thing. That's cool. We can watch different anime. You can watch stuff that I don't
49:21want to watch, but as long as you are watching anime, you'd be good. Being a black nerd in this
49:30space, whatever your hobby is, there is a form of gatekeeping from the white side of it. So even
49:36for cosplay, a lot of cosplayers are just getting hateful comments. Kendra can tell you because she
49:42on Twitter too, and she can see all these people hiding behind anime profile pictures,
49:47talking spicy as hell, saying stuff they wouldn't say in person to these black women just living
49:55their lives. Life too short, 2020 too rough, everything too hard. Like there's no reason to
50:00add all this extra stress. Let people cosplay, like let them, let them game, let them buy their PC parts
50:07without knowing the, the, I don't even know the terminology. I can't even go, I can't even,
50:12I can't even go more into the PC part. But I did have like a quick little activity. So I wanted to, um,
50:20show you guys a couple of images, uh, with like a phrase. And I want to know the first thing that
50:27comes in your mind. It kind of goes with our gatekeeping conversation. Um, but I want to know the
50:32first thing that comes to your mind when we do this. So I prefer dubs over subs in anime. What's
50:38the first thing that comes to your mind? No thinking about it. Casual. Casual as fuck.
50:47Bro. Pure. Pure? Yes. Free. What? Can he elaborate? I mean, just like, it's just like the purest form of
50:58watching anime. Like you watch a dub. This is usually how you get into it. It's usually how you
51:03start. You're going to start with something familiar. I mean, unless you just read subs,
51:08you know what I'm saying? Like you watch, um, kung fu movies and stuff like that, or, or foreign films,
51:14you probably watch subs, but generally you're going to start with dubs.
51:17I like that. Bri? Me? Cause that's me.
51:22That's right, girl. That's right. Kendra?
51:29Um, constability. That's, that's all I see. That's right. And we are toxic. Let me, can I
51:35elaborate? Look, dubs is good for multi, dubs is good for multi-tasking, okay? Like, sometimes you
51:42gotta watch dubs. Sometimes. But Trish don't even watch the show. She be like, I got it on in the
51:47background and then say she watched the show. That's why you can't take her away.
51:50Hey, then I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa. You never had to start that line. Hold on.
51:53It, they mad cause I can multitask and do a lot of different things at once. Even if it's in subs.
51:58You multitasking with subs. Listen. We're not going to move on. How are you multitasking with subs?
52:05Old Chem would have. This is for Rope. This is for Rope. This is for Rope. This is the best anime ever. If
52:09somebody said this is the best anime ever, what is the first thing that comes to your mind?
52:16Have you only seen one anime? Casual. Uh, uh, filthy casual. Filthy casual. Oh my god.
52:23Again with the not. I'mma just be like, that's cute for you.
52:31I'mma ask, I'mma ask them for their top 10. That's, that's me. I'mma be like, what's your top 10?
52:35What's your top five? And then if it's also as bad as this, then I'mma just gonna like leave it for
52:44the people in the community. Like. You know what? This might be, this might be what people like. This
52:48type of show. So the top five would probably align, you know, with this. Bro, defend your squad.
52:56Let me break this down for the people who are the Dragon Ball connoisseurs like myself.
53:01Dragon Ball is simplistic beauty. That's all it is. There's nothing more, nothing less. If you love,
53:07if you think it's the best anime ever, which I do, like, you know what I mean? Like, I, now look,
53:12let me break this down because there's anime that are better than Dragon Ball. Don't get me wrong.
53:17Like, listen to me now. There's certain levels to it. Like, best is just what makes you feel it the
53:24most. What you make, what you feel the most. That's what your best is. It doesn't necessarily
53:28have to be the best in quality. It doesn't necessarily have to, necessarily have to have
53:32the best story. Any of that is just what resonates with you the most. If Dragon Ball is your best anime
53:40ever, then nigga ride for that shit. You know what I mean? I don't care what nobody say. I don't care
53:47if y'all say it's garbage. I don't give a damn. It's garbage. All right, well, if that's your top,
53:53you got to call Ro up because he going to be there for you. He going to put the cape on.
53:59I might put the cape on like some niggas I ain't riding for. That's super valid.
54:05Not everybody needs that. Yeah, that's right. Yeah, not everybody deserves a cape. And that's,
54:12that's a fact. Um, everybody got some gatekeeper in them. That's all I'm gonna say. Um, I think
54:18there's levels to it. You can be toxic. You can infringe it on other people. I think as long as
54:23you're not infringing this on anyone else and being condescending, taking away from their enjoyment
54:28of this space, um, it's not cut and dry. Because Dragon Ball is not the best anime,
54:36and that's just a fact. So. I want to say though. Subjective. Subjective. But again,
54:45thank you all for coming to the panel, Rise of the Blurred in the nerd community. Um, if you're
54:50looking for more content, um, more about Urban Anime Lounge, go to www.urbananimelounge.com.
54:56And we will see you guys next time.
Comments