Emoticons have become a little too central to my interactions with people of late. The following is a letter that came from one such conversation…
Dear Chris,
Hello. Megan and I have spent the afternoon on what professional cartoonists call “new character development.” In discussing the cultural underpinnings of various emoticons, I happened to mention that in Japan, since people focus more on the eyes than on the mouth, happy and sad faces are expressed using emoticons that highlight the eyes. This sparked a very fruitful conversation about how these fascinating cultural variations could potentially be mined for cartoonic ore.
After extensive field research (we googled “happy in Japanese”) and a spirited nomenclature debate (we decided that “tanoshii,” which literally means enjoyable or fun, had a nicer ring to it than “ureshii,” the more faithful translation of happy), Megan and I reached a consensus.
We are pleased to introduce herewith two new characters for consideration in the Giampietro Emoticon Pantheon. Please say “konichiwa!” to Tanoshii and Kanashii.
(^_^) (;_;)
Tanoshii Kanashii
We were particularly struck by the dramatic potential of Kanashii (whose name means “sad”) and his perpetual weeping. Just think: there could be an all-ethnic-all-the-time series called “The Adventures of Stachey and Kanashii.” The trademark of the series would be that each strip would begin with Stachey saying, “Kanashii! Why-a you-a cry-a?”
Megan and I are falling all over ourselves laughing right now. Megan adds, “They’re so cute, they look like they should be made of marshmallow and filled with weird gel, like those little unnatural-tasting Japanese candies!” Here here, Megan, here here.
To be discussed more over brunch*.
Cheers,
Jay
Track the emoticon characters’ development on their new blog. (Also linked to on the sidebar to the right–eternal easy access.) Please feel free to join in on the conversation; our latest debate is “Tanoshii and Kanashii: to Engrish or not to Engrish?”
*There are monthly Doll-Giampietro Friendship Brunches with rotating guest stars. To apply for a cameo, please fill out an application form on our website at dollgiampietrofriendshipbrunch.com. Please include writing samples and a head shot. Knowledge of a foreign language a plus.
2 Comments
October 21, 2007 at 12:38 am
First, I laughed so hard at this posting. Second, I came across a pair of underwear while shopping the other day and thought of you. They were boy cut undies with a tiny little ; ) on the hip and it said “Wink” on the butt. I wanted to send them to you so bad, but they only had giant people sizes left, and you have a little person’s butt.
October 24, 2007 at 8:59 pm
Aw, that’s so thoughtful of you Karen! I hope that all is well with you. What’s popping neonatal-side?