Anime. Ah, anime. Something we all like–or do we?–and yet, how we struggle to interpret it! In an online space where admirable individuals must find a place between reactionary forums, websites that put on an air of neutrality, and liberals who think that having a better morality than the last two is enough to go on indiscriminate crusades against every and all panty shots, anime has understandably struggled to find a favorable place in the eyes of outsiders.
But anime, believe it or not, very much has a place in our cultural landscape–from its sheer presence in its home country, to its contemporary worldwide success, the history of culture is an expression of our history, be it in twisted and indirect ways. Even the most simple and apparently inoffensive slice of life you watch after work to forget about the pain of capitalist enslavement has something to say about the world you live in.
Vox Artes was born from this double engagement: with the belief that art is necessarily political; and the belief that only the most thorough criticism will be able shed light on these ideological tectonic plates. This ambition can only be satisfied by standing for the most disciplined criticism, far from both moralistic comfort and technical enumeration–or rather, by the combination of both, and their recontextualization into a higher form of criticism. We consider that not many methods match this desire: that is the openly anticapitalist (and, more precisely, Marxist) mode of analysis, which alone is capable of embracing other methods and historicizing them in such a way that their critical edge remains, keeping them for their local relevance while also going beyond them to achieve a criticism that is truly in keeping with our analysis of the social totality we live in.
This is to say that Vox Artes is a website, and a community, with overt political oppositions: against all forms of oppression, which means, against capitalism; and that these positions are not merely an addition for the sake of niceness, but truly informative of our critical mission. Above all, Vox Artes wills itself an intervention in the field of popular culture, and the ways in which it expresses the world: this is not to restore animation to some higher plane of culture in which it would lose connection to its base; but rather, to show it for all that it is, and create a discourse around it that is at once serious and accessible.
These ideals have been upheld by disparate individuals and group, but our desire was to give all of them a space, and a voice: to bring these flashes and consolidate them one flag. It is in this spirit that we aim to build a community of anime fans–or, more generally speaking, of otaku subculture.
If you are interested, we invite you to read our rules, and create an account! Please enjoy your stay!