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My Hero Academia and Durkheim: a Case Study of Blood and Hair As “Sacred” Objects in a Japanese Anime Television Series

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My Hero Academia and Durkheim: a Case Study of Blood and Hair As “Sacred” Objects in a Japanese Anime Television Series doi: 10.17605/OSF.IO/P2RKD My Hero Academia and Durkheim: A Case Study of Blood and Hair as “Sacred” Objects in a Japanese Anime Television Series Dr. Ronald Lorenzo, Prairie View A & M University Abstract designated as sacred, and people regard the sacred with awe and respect. In religions, The Japanese anime television series My gods and spirits can be sacred, but also Hero Academia, originally airing in Japan as people, places, and things. Boku no Hīrō Akademia, revolves around Durkheim noted that two substances of superheroes and their superpowers. Often, the human body conferred universally with these superpowers are associated with the sacredness are hair and blood. Both blood and hair of the characters in the story. substances are associated with power. Thus, Characters increase their superpowers blood has been used in religious ceremonies through the consumption of blood or hair. as part of initiation rites or to mark a place Likewise, characters lose their superpowers or object as holy, even when blood is used through the loss of blood or hair. How these symbolically through the use of the color substances are linked to power, and how red, for example. Religious injunctions they are portrayed are not idiosyncratic, but against the consumption of blood are also a rather based on shared meanings across common feature across religions. Hair, too, cultures. A sociological, theoretical is a universally sacred human substance, framework for drawing meaning out of the also associated with power and respect. use of hair and blood in the story can help Societies establish rules for how hair must illuminate the meaning of these actions in be worn or handled. In sacred places, rules the television series. may exist about how hair must be either In The Elementary Forms of Religious exposed or covered. The hair of sacred Life (1912), Emile Durkheim analyzed people in different religions is worn religion sociologically. Durkheim stated that differently from the way hair is worn by religions are defined by the way they ordinary people. classify the world into the categories of the Durkheim’s observations can be sacred and the profane. In religion, people, extended to examine the way these places, and things can be designated as substances are portrayed in My Hero sacred. Anything that is sacred in religion is Academia. In the series, blood, hair, and the set apart from everything else in the world characters associated with those substances that is not sacred. Strict rules are put in place are often portrayed as having powers above on how to treat anything or anyone normal, or being outside of the realm of the The Phoenix Papers, Vol. 4, No. 1, August 2018 93 profane. The use of blood or hair as “sacred” novel perspective. In so doing, I will extend substances by the characters in the animated and amplify observations Durkheim made series results in either the gain or loss of about shared social meanings of hair and superpowers. How blood and hair are blood to the animated version of My Hero portrayed in the series is not random or Academia. idiosyncratic, but is based on shared The story of the series revolves around meanings attached to these two substances. the premise that, for an unknown reason, people began to be born with superpowers. Methodology and an Overview of My Soon after, nearly all people living have Hero Academia some kind of superpower, called “quirks” within the story. Quirks range from Boku no Hīrō Akademia or My Hero superpowers that are trivial to powerful Academia (its title in English) is an superpowers that allow a few people to run animated television series or anime airing superhero agencies, where they can earn a since 2016, and based on the comic book or living as superheroes by fighting crime on manga first pubished in 2014 (Hodgkins). behalf of their societies. The story centers on The comic book and its television adaptation a young teenage boy by the name of Izuku were created by Kōhei Horikoshi, and have Midoriya who idolizes All Might, the most been warmly received by fans of the genre famous superhero of the day. From an early and its industry. The story in either form has age, Midoriya aspires to be like his hero All won awards in Japan and in the United Might. Midoriya tragically learns he himself States, including a Sugoi Japan Award and has no superpower. The story hinges around several Crunchyroll anime awards (Pineda; these two unlikely characters, Midioriya Loveridge). with no superpower of his own and All This case study focuses on the animated Might, a famous superhero with the most version of the story. In viewing the shows, I powerful superpower known as One for All. conducted a content analysis of the episodes. The two characters cross paths in a chance Based on my viewing of the episodes, I encounter where Midoriya attempts to began to notice a pattern of themes rescue a classmate from a supervillain, surrounding blood and hair, which placing himself in mortal danger. All Might theoretically I could connect to Durkheim’s recognizes Midoriya’s courage and reveals sociology. This study does not concern itself to him that he has been gravely injured in a with testing a hypothesis but in illuminating fight with a supervillain: His days as a patterns of culture to show how the portrayal Superhero are numbered. He reveals that he of hair and blood follows universal can pass his superpower to a chosen meanings across different societies. This successor, and that Midoriya has proven study also does not concern itself with himself worthy to receive it. testing a theory, only in describing, interpreting, and illuminating observations of the series My Hero Academia from a The Phoenix Papers, Vol. 4, No. 1, August 2018 94 Durkheim and Definitions of the afterlife, the belief in a supreme being or “Sacred” and the “Profane” supreme beings, the belief in a soul, the presence of an organized body of priests or Durkheim’s sociology offers a ministers, or a central religious text. These framework for examining how hair and ideas are not always present in religions, blood are treated as substances that are out generally speaking. Religions can and do of the ordinary. In The Elementary Forms of exist where there is no idea of an afterlife or Religious Life (1912), Durkheim discusses where there is no dogmatic belief in a hair and blood, as well as their broader supreme being. social meanings, based in the context of What then can a system of religious religion as an eminently social experience. ideas, or a religion, hold as sacred? Virtually Durkheim saw religion across cultures, anything can be designated as sacred despite the infinite varieties of differences, including people, places, things, and times. as belonging to a category in itself (22). A place may be designated as a sacred site, Durkheim defined religion universally as such as Mecca for Muslims, resulting in the a system that divided the world of social pilgrimage of millions of people annually. ideas into two categories: Those which a Within Catholicism, the lives of certain society considers sacred and those which are people can be socially designated as sacred, considered profane. Accordingly, profane resulting in people being officially and sacred things could be anything, so long recognized as saints but only after they have as prohibitions and practices were in place died. Religions have times of the week and separating one from the other: times throughout the year that are considered sacred and require changes in the Sacred things are things protected daily life of believers, such as by requiring and isolated by prohibitions; profane attendance at religious services or observing things are those things to which the religious customs in the home. prohibitions are applied and that Specifically related to My Hero must keep at a distance from what is Academia, Durkheim notes that two bodily sacred ([Durkheim 38). substances, namely hair and blood, are considered sacred (136). Blood is especially Anything that is sacred to a group is regarded as sacred: regarded with respect and awe, and is protected from coming into contact, or being To begin with, human blood is such despoiled, by things which are profane. a holy thing that, among the tribes of The distinction between those things central Australia, it is very often which are sacred and profane is a primary used to consecrate the most criterion for identifying religious beliefs, respected instruments of the cult. In according to Durkheim (38). Other features some cases, for example, the that can be recognized in religion are not nurtunja [a sacred object] is defining features, such as the idea of an The Phoenix Papers, Vol. 4, No. 1, August 2018 95 religiously anointed from top to In addition to blood, Durkheim describes bottom with human blood (136). hair as being imbued with the quality of sacredness: Blood in religious ceremonies among the indigenous Australians that Durkheim wrote Hair has similar properties. The about was used to consecrate people, places, natives of central Australia wear and things (136). When blood is not used in sashes made of human hair. The an actual way, blood is used symbolically religious function of those narrow through the use of ochre: bands, as already noted, is to wrap certain cult objects… Accordingly, The religious nature of blood also the operation of hair cutting is a explains why red ochre has a ritual act that is accompanied by religious role and is frequently used special ceremonies. The individual in ceremonies... This is because having his hair cut must crouch on ochre is regarded as a substance akin the ground with his face turned in the to blood, by virtue of its color (136).
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