And also by one of the very first sympathetic voices to the cause of Uncut Dragon Ball working for Funimation. A Librarian named Monika Antonelli.
And also I met a fan who read the entire Dragon Ball manga by renting it from the library. And I have also heard many libraries wanted to ban the manga as "Porn."In Response to Your Editorial
I read your editorial "International Incident? More Like an International Disgrace" and I wanted to let the DBZ fans hear my side. I am the librarian and DBZ voice actor mentioned in the article and in your editorial.
I want to start off by saying if you don't like my work on DBZ, that's okay. You have a right to your opinion. But when you criticize my work because I am a librarian, you are writing from ignorance. The fact is most actors today are unable to support themselves as actors. According to government statistics the average actor earns roughly $3000 a year. $3000 a year!!! People make three times that working at McDonald's. And that figure includes actors like Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger who make millions a year. What this also means is that most actors have to work another job to support themselves. (There is a joke about actors that goes something like this: How do you get an actors attention? Shout, "Hey Waiter".)
My other job happens to be working as a librarian. But even though I support myself as a librarian, I am also a professionally trained working actor. I have both a Bachelor's and a Master's in Theatre and Drama. I am a graduate from Indian University's theatre program which is one of the top ten theatre programs in the United States.
Being a professional voice actor means my voice is my instrument. It also means that as a professional actor I have to do what the director tells me to do. There is no place for creative interpretation in this environment. When I am recording I read my lines as instructed. I must match exactly the emotion, pitch, rate, and volume the director wants me to deliver. Time is also money. So I must also record my lines as efficiently as possible. That is the role of being a professional actor.
The other item I wanted to address in your editorial is your lack of respect for the library profession. This country would be in sorry shape if there were no librarians or libraries. First, the library profession is fighting for your right to have access to information on the Internet for free. That's right, librarians are fighting for your right to have access to VegettoEX's web site. The American Library Association is an organization who frequently goes before Congress to fight for affordable access to information on the Internet. Because librarians know that you cannot have a democracy without access to information.
Probably most of the people reading this have access to a computer and the Internet at home. But for those who do not, public libraries are a places where people can go and log on to the Internet for FREE. And librarians offer this service because we think it is important that EVERYONE be able to use the Internet. That includes people, like some young people, who do not have the money to afford a computer and Internet access from home.
And librarians fight censorship. You don't like censorship on DBZ, well librarians don't like censorship, PERIOD. Librarians believe what you read, surf, look at, is your business and nobody else. Librarians believe nobody has the right to tell you what you can and cannot have access to in print or electronic format. But once again there are people in this country who are FORCING librarians to censor books and websites. So librarians are having to file LAWSUITS to keep censorship off of the backs of libraries and the American public.
So instead of putting down librarians, why don't you make friends with them? Libraries have a responsibility to the community to purchase materials that the community wants to use. From what I have read on the Internet I understand that many of the fans don't like the sanitized versions of DBZ. Well, why don't you go to your public library and ask them to purchase the uncut version of the show? (Be sure to give them the URL where the tapes can be purchased.) Or if you don't like the dubbed version ask them to buy the subtitled version for you. It is your right as member of your community to ask the library to buy the materials you want to use.
And those of you who are college students, start a DBZ or Anime student group on your campus. Then go ask the librarians on campus to purchase materials to support your organization. Many of you are paying library fees at the university or college you are attending, take advantage of this fact. You have a right to have materials you need to support your organization.
Respectfully,
Monika Antonelli
I have never been to a major library other than the library that was on my school not because I dont like to read but because my parents always had lots of books and bought me any I wanted. But what is your experience with Libraries?
