About Rags Drum
Once artworks are no longer made for particular people or reserved for the enjoyment of a select few, new forms of aesthetic experience become available to everyone in the community, just as they did after the French Revolution. Every individual is promised aesthetic equality—every one, any one, without exception. … The subjects, forms, materials, and interpreters of artworks are placed on an equal footing; the consequences of the aesthetic revolution are therefore shattering. … Even when we do engage in criticism, drawing on elegant theories, the result is often that before long we are flirting with the enemy and going on picnics together. Should we not mark out new spaces where those who do not yet have the standing to offer criticism—“ordinary people”—can demonstrate their abilities?
—Lu Xinghua, 朗西埃美学思想研究 [A Study of Rancière’s Aesthetic Thought]
The Lab on Roof · Rags Drum Organizing Committee hereby announces the results of “Rags Drum 2022,” our second call for submissions on anime, comics, and games (ACG).
Selection Results
Following a submission period of 3 + 2 months and just over half a month of judging, the Lab on Roof · Rags Drum Organizing Committee announces the results: the “Pre-Festival” (前夜祭) stage produced three award-winning submissions, selected on the basis of the completeness of the submissions and a simple majority of the judges; the “Post-Festival” (后夜祭) stage produced two award-winning submissions, selected by an absolute majority of the judges.
Passed the “Pre-Festival” Stage but Not the “Post-Festival” Stage
The following submissions passed the “Pre-Festival” stage but not the “Post-Festival” stage (including submissions entered only for “Pre-Festival”):
- 河豚, “[Animation Discussion] Perception Everywhere: Experiencing and Investigating the Treatment of Eyebrows and Eyes in Relation to Hair in Two-Dimensional Animation” (BV16a411D7PA)
- Colisa, “Transformation: Becoming a Magical Girl in a Side Story”
- 「 」, “Modernity Not Overcome: Absent Origins and Subjectivity—Mysticism of the Written Word and Science”
Passed Both the “Pre-Festival” and “Post-Festival” Stages
The following submissions passed both the “Pre-Festival” and “Post-Festival” stages:
- 一条, “Animation’s Directorial Dimension: Rediscovering Takashi Anno and Naohito Takahashi”
- Sairai, “A Quantitative Analysis of the Relationship Between Hair Color and Personality in Japanese Animation”
Congratulations to all the authors above! Under the previously announced rules, authors of “Pre-Festival” submissions will receive RMB 300 in payment, and authors of “Post-Festival” submissions will receive RMB 2,000.
For award-winning submissions, the organizing committee will notify the authors of the results and publish their work after obtaining their consent. Authors of submissions that did not receive an award regain full rights to decide for themselves how their work is used. Regardless of the outcome, our sincere thanks to everyone who submitted work to this event!
Acknowledgments
Thank you to the members of the judging panel for volunteering their time and effort to review the submissions. They are: …
A group of enthusiasts on an equal intellectual and aesthetic footing with the audience! No academic authorities, no “seats” reserved for fandom big shots!
Thank you to “初鹿野凪” for supporting the event with promotional artwork, including the poster, and to the commentators, groups, and platforms that offered friendly advice and sincere help. As a token of thanks, the Lab on Roof · Rags Drum Organizing Committee will give the judges and other contributors Dangdang book gift cards worth RMB 50.
In organizing this event, the Lab on Roof · Rags Drum Organizing Committee has gained further experience and learned further lessons. We have concluded that the annual call for submissions no longer meets readers’ and commentators’ needs as they now stand. This year’s annual call will be the last one for the foreseeable future. We will work toward an “online fanzine” that brings contributions together in regular issues, as an alternative way of meeting those needs. Details will be announced soon, and we hope you will take an active interest and lend your support!
Fate changes trains. We hope to see you again in the future.
Lab on Roof · Rags Drum Organizing Committee.
October 28, 2022.