The Japanese Pop Culture Club at IU Southeast offers a place for students interested in Japanese media culture to go for fellowship and the shared enjoyment of watching anime films.
The JPCC began as a Japanese music appreciation club in 2005 and has seen its membership grow from five to 12 members since its creation.
Patrick Ridout, English senior, is one of the founding members. He said he first became interested in Japanese pop culture after watching the anime film “Ocuda.”
“It was a cartoon that didn’t look cartoonish,” he said. “Anime doesn’t have the same boundaries as regular American cartoons.”
Shortly after forming as a Japanese music appreciation club, they changed into a Japanese media culture club during the ’05 – ’06 school year.
“We skipped the summer after ’05 – ’06 and started back up that fall,” Ridout said. “At that point, people started bringing in animes, movies and all sorts of stuff.”
Now, the club explores anything involving Japanese pop culture.
“Really, it’s anything that has to do with Japanese culture,” Ridout said.
The club offers an informal atmosphere where students can go to relax, watch their favorite anime films and discuss topics involving Japanese pop culture.
“The only thing we ask is that students come prepared to enjoy the meeting,” Ridout said. “Come to have fun. That’s what it’s about.”
The club meets on Thursdays from 9 to 11 p.m. in Knobview, room 002, and encourages participants to bring any aspect of Japanese pop culture they wish to share with the group.
After a quick vote on what the majority wants to watch, they begin their evening events.
Usually the club is watching three series, which are similar to telvision seasons, at one time. Currently, they are watching the anime series’ “Darker than Black,” “Kurozuka” and “Cowboy Bebop.”
The club also offers an incentive for students who have a partial interest in anime. If a student prefers one particular type of film, they can go to a meeting and discuss what other films a specific director, writer or creator has made.
Even though the club focuses on Japanese pop culture, most members have an interest in other pop cultures, including aspects from the American scene.
That is why the club traveled to view the movie “Watchmen” at midnight on March 5.
“It’s not necessarily official JPCC business,” Ridout said. “While the club focuses on Japanese pop culture, most of the members have interests in other cultures as well.”
Through the years, the JPCC has weathered its share of hardships.
The group chose not to meet during the summer after the ’05 – ’06 school year which caused some members to stray from the group.
When the ’06 – ’07 school year began, Ridout and Simler took charge by spreading the word and contacting old members in hopes of getting the JPCC going again.
The club successfully resumed its weekly meetings and faced no rigorous challenge for the rest of the year. The peace, however, was short lived.
At the beginning of the ’08 – ’09 school year, the club split in two, with the Asian Pop Culture Club forming in the wake of the schism.
“Due to the nature of the informality, a lot of times members wouldn’t get what they wanted to watch, because it’s a general majority rule,” Ridout said.
Allison Douglass, international studies sophomore and member of the APCC, gave a reason for the spilt.
“We are not part of the JPCC because we wanted to be more legit and organized,” she said. “[The] JPCC is essentially a group of friends hijacking empty classrooms.”
Ridout acknowledged the informal atmosphere but denied the allegations that they were illegally using classrooms.
“The hijacking of classrooms was always a joke within the club,” he said. “The campus police, staff and student services all know we are here.
The JPCC boasts their approach to conducting club functions as an incentive to join.
“The JPCC offers a more relaxed atmosphere and a fun time,” Ridout said.
By TRAVIS STURGILL
Staff Writer
trsturgi@ius.edu