---

ANIMATION WORLD MAGAZINE - ISSUE 4.5 - AUGUST 1999

Opportunities for the Disabled I have an interesting subject for an article. What becomes of the disabled animator? This comes from a personal problem. I had talent, training, and a great position, but an accident took that away. Now I can still work, but going to a studio or an office is impossible. Freelancing when disabled is a horrible task. If you can't go door knocking, or socialize with your contacts you become invisible. It seems all studios, big and small, refuse to admit that telecommuting is a worthwhile idea. There have to be others out there with my problem. It would be nice to set up a contact list so that we could continue to work as an animation team, using computers as a way of passing footage around. There are self help groups available for disabled people in other careers. There should be some thought put to this as an accident can happen to anyone, moreover, not having anything to work on is enough to drive intelligent people crazy. Maybe Animation World Network could have a Telecommuting Job Opportunities section? Of course, this would be empty for a long time, but having it there just might prod the minds of Human Resources people. Yours Sincerely, Rodney Entwisle Editor's Note: Thank you Rodney for this idea. I have passed this note onto several organizations and encourage you and others to meet in the Animation World Network Forums to discuss this worthwhile topic more. Animeland is Great! I've just read Cedric Littardi's article, "Animation: Adults May Not Be Unwelcome" (Littardi, 4.4), on the farcical, but alas also serious, trial of Animeland in Paris. I regard Animeland as the best non-Japanese anime magazine in the world. I constantly recommend it to friends. The high editorial and research standards it maintains would do credit to many a scholarly publication, and since issue #1, I have watched it blossom from a slim black and white production to the beautifully designed, satisfyingly heavy, full colour magazine that now drops through my letterbox. If it ceased publication the world of anime would be infinitely poorer. (And I don't just mean in France. A number of non-Japanese speakers rip off, or maybe I should say "use," its articles and news columns as "research" for their own magazines.) Here in Britain we have had to contend with the same kind of blinkered attitude to anime and its power to corrupt since the early days of the commercial market. Sadly, the French, who have had a thriving commercial market for translated anime and manga for two decades, seem to have recently imported this narrow attitude from across the Channel. I'm delighted to read that Animeland convinced its attorney, who then convinced the Court, that their work is not aimed at children. (It was amusing to read that its vocabulary was also considered too advanced at times!) It's also good to know that there is to be no appeal by the public prosecutor. I hope the magazine will be able to continue its work untroubled by any more such threats. Helen McCarthy, London, England

---

Note: Readers may contact any Animation World Magazine contributor by sending an e-mail to editor@awn.com.

---