Objects can act as symbols and conveyors of meanings. By having meaning, object prompt us to feel or do certain things. This can be understood as object agency.
Agency can be defined as the socio-culturally mediated capacity to act (Ahern, 2001 in Hoskins, 2006, p.74). In applying this definition to objects, I want to stress Steiner’s point on the “significance of human agency and the role of individuals and systems that construct and imbue material goods with value, significance and meaning” (in Hoskins, 2006, p.75). This stresses that social interactions around objects give them meaning. I support that objects are embedded with agency and a purpose by human interaction around them. They do not have agency independently of human societies. However, with this constructed agency, objects influence what we do and how we interact with them. Hence, it can be said that objects play a role in all that we do and that people and objects are entangled (Harding, 2016, p.5).
Hence, an object’s agency is tied to the individuals and systems connected to it. Moreover, an object’s agency can be tied the personal relation one can have with a specific object. Things have value both individually and societally (Canham el al., 2020; Harding, 2016, Hoskins, 2006). For example, a kitchen utensil like a metal cup can be symbolic of the living conditions of a certain class of people in a certain time and space but can also connect someone to their grandparents and trigger memories they have of them.
In this blog post, I focus on agency in the sense of how objects prompt us to interact with them. I will be discussing the agency of the object I digitized into a 3D model and reflect on the agency of the physical and digitized versions of the object. The findings are based on observations of my own experience with the figurine.
The anime is now available on Netflix and gained a renewed interest from older and new fans. On the picture, you can see the character represented by the figurine second from the right.
Hence, the object of the figurine is embedded in this cultural system of anime fandom, in which people grow up with characters over several years and get attached to their personal favorite and to the fictional universe of the story.
The purpose of an object like the figurine is to extend that fictional universe into the physical world. The embedded agency of the object is to connect the fans to the universe of the anime by manifesting a character physically. It is clear in this case that the object does not have agency on its own, and that its agency is dependent on the system of interactions around it.
One could even say that a certain knowledge and expertise is necessary to embed this object with agency. One must know the universe of the anime and recognize the character for the object to have agency. With those conditions fulfilled, this object can have important agency on the people interacting with it.
This object highlights how object agency differs depending on how different people relate to it. For example, a child who just watched the show on Netflix will see the figurine and want to play with it. The child will re-enact some scenes of the show, or even create their own stories. In this case, the figurine prompts creation and play by providing physical access to a fictional universe. However, if the figurine is gifted to an adult who was a big fan of the show as a child, the figurine might prompt feelings of nostalgia, endearment and might make the adult want to watch the show again. Hence, the same object can have different agency on different people.
Parts of the agency of this object are lost when digitizing it. As physically interacting with the object becomes difficult, a child might be less interested by it. The child will probably still recognize the character, but will not be able to play with it. As for the adult, while the object might still prompt nostalgia and endearment, a form of distance can also be felt.
Indeed, the purpose of the figurine is primarily to bring a piece of this fictional universe in the physical world of fans, allowing this universe to step into one’s room and close surroundings. This creates a sense of direct connection with the fictional universe and character. Once the figurine is transferred back into a screen, this sense of closeness is lost. The object is no longer part of one’s direct physical surrounding but is back into the computer screen, in the same space as the anime itself. This refers specifically to fans of the anime, as fans of the manga might feel different about it since the latter is a physical object as well.
This blog post discussed the agency of an anime figurine. The case of this object is useful in demonstrating discussions on objects’ agency. Namely, that they are dependent on human interactions and systems and that agency can transform, depending on the person interacting with the object and as a consequence of digitizing an object.
References:
Canham, H., Kotze, E., Nkomo, N., Nkomo, S. (2020). Retrieving grandfathers and histories through objects and affective registers. Emotion, Space and Society, 34, 1-8
Harding, A. (2016). Introduction: Biographies of Things. Distant World Journal, 1, 5-10.
Hoskins, J. (2006). Agency, biography and objects. In C. Tilley et al. (Eds)., Handbook of Material Culture (pp.74-84). London: Sage Pub.
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