Loving the Alien, Hating the Hybrid: A Cultural Study of Robotech.

In 1980s Japan, a struggle between the old guard, harmonious collective mentality and the idealism of the new breed of independent, rebellious youngsters became illustrated in anime. Three examples of Japanese animated series that televised this struggle were acquired, repackaged, rewritten, and rebroadcast in America by Carl Macek under the one name -- Robotech. Robotech, the American TV series, is a hybrid in and of itself with its Japanese-created visuals married an American-rewritten storyline. In addition to the show's own mixed heritage, Robotech contains multiple interracial and interspecies (human and alien) couples and hybrid offspring. This paper explores the hybrid nature of the American Robotech animated TV series and how the Eighties' generational struggle in Japan manifests itself through two hybrid, interspecies characters: Dana Sterling and Marlene/Ariel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]