Religious Ideas in Japanese Anime

145
研究ノート
Entertaining Religious Ideas in Animation
through the Study of Religious Elements in Japanese Anime
Saeedeh Mousavi
Abstract
In recent years, animation has established itself as one of the
most
important aspects of cultural policies in Islamic republic of Iran
due to
the recognition of the dominating power of this media toward
young
generations. The Iran’s approach is to produce religiously
themed
animation in order to convey Islamic and national values to the
audiences, particularly since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. But
this kind
of products has always suffered from the lack of public appeal
and as a
result, the industry in Iran has come across various problems to

develop
further. The goal of this study is to explore for utilizing
religious ideas
in Japanese anime which can be practicable for the animation
industry
of a religiously oriented country like Iran. Thus, this study tries
to
explore what options the animation industry of Iran can learn
from the
Japanese experiences.
Keywords: Animation, Manga, Anime, Religion, Japan, Iran
Introduction
In Japan, drawing illustrated stories as an artistic tradition goes
backs to
the 12th century. During the past centuries this art form has
been vastly popular
among different social groups. Manga and anime, which can be
considered as
modern day descendants of the long-lasting culture of depicting
pictorial novels
in Japan, primarily act as means for story-telling and
entertainment. But, a
more precise look at the content and usage of these media has

said to reveal
that they also comprise an extremely potential capacity which
connote proselyte
and promote religious ideas.
同志社グローバル・スタディーズ第 4 号146
According to Richard Gardner (2008, 200), manga and anime in
Japan has
first played a role in distributing specific religious doctrines
and thus received
much attention, immediately after the 20th March 1995
poisonous gas attack
on the Tokyo subway lines committed by the members of the
religious group
‘Aum Shinrikyo.’ 1 Real reasons behind the Aum’s act are still
a matter of
investigation. Yet, some scholars started to discuss about a
negative role that
fictional media such as manga and anime possibly played in this
incident, as
the extent of the crimes committed by Aum became clear. They
asserted that
those kind of media might have led to a mental inability in

distinguishing
reality from illusion, fantasy, or simulation. The Sarin gas
attack, aside from
killing twelve people and causing the injury of hundreds of
people, led to a
nationwide concern about the issue of social problem which can
be caused by
any religious group that originally appears to be a marginal
group.
Contemporary Japan is considered as a nonreligious society.
Many
Japanese people do not consider themselves as members of a
specific religious
group. But, a mixture of various religious elements is
considered to be embedded
in people’s mind in a homogeneous way. Major contributors of
this religious
syncretism are Buddhism, Shinto, and Confucianism, which
have shaped a
worldview, beliefs and value systems that are currently
observable among
Japanese people. These concepts and ideas, as Thomas (2012, 9)
mentions “are
often described as ‘common sense’ (joshiki) or ‘Japaneseness’

rather than as
anything explicitly religious.” While Japanese people are
practicing many
religious customs in their daily life, they may not be aware of
the underlying
religious nature of these traditions. In such a society, manga
and anime 2 can be
used as a media to save and transfer the religious information to
the people who
do not distinguish religious activities from other aspects of
everyday life.3
Animation is a media of wide range of audiences, mostly
comprising the
youth. Consequently, it may play a really pivotal role in the
transferring of
specific ideas and beliefs to society. In order to evaluate the
extent to which this
media affects on its audiences precisely, it is necessary to
identify the real
nature of such transferring. An excessive analysis should be
made not only on
the goal and intention of the creator or director through the
analysis of animation
products as well as the evaluation of the products by the viewer

but also on the
dynamic role of the audience in receiving and interpreting the
message of the
animation products.
Entertaining Religious Ideas in Animation 147
As it was propounded by Stewart Hall with respect to the
transfer of
messages in media, meaning is not simply fixed or determined
by the sender of
the message. The message is never transparent and the audience
is not a
passive recipient of the meaning either (Procter, 2004, 59).
Consequently, the
meaning of the message is interpreted through the interaction
between its
producer and the reader, yet is often determined arbitrarily by
the reader: “The
producer (encoder) framed (or encoded) meaning in a certain
way, while the
reader (decoder) decodes it differently according to his/her
personal background,
the various different social situations and frames of

interpretation” (McQuail,
1994, 101). The said viewpoint considered, although animation
works reflect
ideas and beliefs of creators to a great extent, an excessive
emphasis on the goal
and intention of the creator during the transferring process of
the message may
lead to an unrealistic understanding of the audience as mere
recipients of the
message.
In the recent years, animation has established itself as one of
the most
significant aspects of cultural policies of the Islamic Republic
of Iran. The
Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution (SCRC), one of the
leading agencies
being in charge of cultural policies, passed ‘Iran’s
Comprehensive Scientific
Plan’ in 2010. This plan stated the importance of technology
and new media in
educating and cultivating the young generations, and
emphasized the
significance of the advancement of Animation and Computer
Games regarding

it as a high priority program of the regime. For this purpose,
Iran has tried
utmost to produce religious animations, which transfer Islamic
values and
national beliefs to its audiences. However, because of such
orientation in the
production system, Iranian animation industry has faced a great
challenge in
development, due to the excessive emphasis on the transferring
of religious
message through the animation products. Consequently, most of
these products
do not enjoy required appeal for attracting a wide range of
audiences.
Despite the fact that Japanese society is religiously deficient,
based on the
recent studies of scholars in the field of manga and anime, there
exists an
extremely wide variety of potential religious dispositions in
Japanese manga
and anime. Since the Islamic revolution of 1979, Iran has
broadcasted many
Japanese animation products and looks at Japanese animation
industry as the

most adaptable model of development for Iranian animation
industry.
Within this context, this study attempts to answer whether
Japanese
manga and anime connote many religious elements as the policy
makers in Iran
consider. In this regard, the research tries to examine to what
extent Japanese
manga and anime have displayed and/or connoted religious
ideas and how such
religious connotation reaches the audience accordingly. It is
hoped that this
research will lead to inquiring whether the contemporary Iran
can use Japanese
manga and anime as a model for its own development as an
industry, which is
beyond the scope of this study yet will provide research
perspectives.
1. The Imaginary World Created by Manga and Anime
Manga are a set of visual novels in which a combination of
images and texts

in multiple frames are put beside each other. Usually, each part
of the said
visual novels is published in weekly or monthly journals. Then,
the entire parts
are separately republished in several issues in the form of
storybooks on paper
of poor quality. Mass publication of relatively low cost is
considered as one of
the most significant causes for the extensive prevalence of
manga across the
nation of Japan. On the whole, about 40% of total Japanese
publications consist
of manga (Napier, 2005, 20).
Manga or Japanese comic books comprise a major part of
Japanese popular
culture. There is a close relation between manga stories and
history and culture
of the aforesaid country, especially in such areas as politics,
economics, family,
religion and gender. Thus, the manga stories are not only
reflections of present
society of Japan but also they reflect myths, beliefs and
imaginations of Japanese

people about themselves and the world. Although the equivalent
of the word
Figure1, Comics and comic magazines rate in all publications as
of 2002,
Source: Shuppan Geppou (monthly publishing), February 2003,
The Research Institute for Publications
sales amount number of sales copies
22.6%
38.1%comic
10.7%
comic
magazine
11.9%
other
publication
77.4%
comic
13.5%
comic
magazine
24.6%
other
publication
61.9%

‘Manga’ is ‘Comic’ in translation, actually, there are
considerable differences
between manga and comic. The most distinguished difference
between the two
is the range of audiences and subjects, which are covered by
Japanese manga.
Likewise, manga is produced for all social and age groups: from
preschool kids
to workers of industrial factories. Considering which group of
audience is
concerned, manga stories visualize the most subtle emotional
challenges and
the most trivial social problems with concerned groups. As
Susan J. Napier, one
of the most well-known theoreticians in the field of manga and
anime, believes
that the extension of themes and the variety of the audience
have caused current
considerable effect and influence of manga in Japanese society
(Napier, 2005,
19).
When a manga series sells best or its story has much potential
for the

successful marketing in the future, publishers decide to produce
an animation
series based on the said manga, which is called ‘Anime’. Whilst
there are a few
animation series, which are not based on manga and have been
produced in the
form of animated images from the beginning, as MacWilliams
(2008, 6) suggests,
up to 90% of anime series are produced based on manga, which
had been
published earlier.4 This fact implies that during changing
process of manga to
anime, the story’s complexity and the number of characters are
decreased to a
great extent due to financial and time constraints in such a way
as the animated
copy is created mostly different from the original manga and the
said copy can
be considered as a fresh product by itself.
Reading manga just like consuming newspapers is a regular part
of daily
life of Japanese people. MacWilliams (2008, 3), a researcher in
the field of
manga and anime, considers Susan Sontag’s term of ‘Image

World’ as an
evidence of present Japanese society where most of the mass
media are involved
in creating and using images to direct people’s expectations
about reality in
order to replace objective experience by stories. MacWilliams
believes that the
sources of these stories are in fact animated images of manga
and anime. Such
entertainments as manga and anime create a great opportunity
for audiences
to move away from anxieties of their daily life and
simultaneously to reflect
their wishes, desires and anxieties:
Thus, of the more than 2 billion manga produced each year, the
vast
majority have a dreamlike quality. They speak to people’s
hopes, and fears.
They are where stressed-out modern urbanites daily work out
their
neuroses and frustrations. Viewed in their totality, the

phenomenal number
of stories produced is like the constant chatter of the collective
unconscious,
an articulation of a dream world (Schodt, 1996, 31).
The devoted fans of manga and anime which are recognized
under the term
of ‘Otaku’ estimated to be around 2.4 million in Japan and
spend 2.5 billion
dollars a year on manga, anime and related products.5 Such
popularity of manga
and anime is not only limited to Japan, but also, as Brown
(2006, 6) suggests,
anime covers about 60% of total animations being broadcasted
all over the
world. It seems an increasing trend. Combined anime and manga
trade in the
USA have been calculated in 2010 to be over $400 million. Up
to 35% of total
annual income of great Japanese animation producing
companies such as Toei 6
earn from these foreign trades.7
Justifying the huge popularity of Manga and Anime inside and
outside

Japan, Jaqueline Berndt (2006, 149), a scholar in the field of
Manga, propounds
that they are low-cost forms of entertainment, which are only
for pleasure.
Nevertheless, these characteristics do not reduce cultural value
of the said
products. In Japan, manga and anime belong to mass or popular
culture and
from this viewpoint, they have been put forth as challenging art
forms in
academic and scholarly cycles in the recent years.8
2. Power of Manga and Anime in Deploying Religious Ideas
After the incident of attacking Tokyo underground using Sarin
Gas,
observers were searching for probable agents causing the attack,
investigating
all aspects of present Japanese society. Many of them
considered Manga and
anime as one of the main agents in formation of ‘strange’
beliefs and performance
of Aum group. Among Japanese religious researchers, Nobutaka
Inoue
elaborated the concept of ‘Virtual Reality’ in connection with
the effect of visual

images 9 resulted from manga and anime media on the youth.
He stated that
these media may cause disturbance in individual perception in
such a way as it
will be difficult to differentiate reality from imagination:
Youth seem to feel that everything is like a computer game.
Asahara
seemed to have said in his childhood that «I want to create a
robot kingdom
someday». While we may think it ludicrous that they did such
things as
import a military helicopter from Russia and store up immense
supplies of
drugs and chemicals in order to survive Armageddon, it might
be that they
tried to make real their fantasies derived from manga and
anime. (Inoue,
1995d, 29 and Gardner, 2008, 214).
Asahara and his group were not only impressed by cataclysmic
and

catastrophic manga and animes such as The Space Battleship
Yamato (1973),
Conan, The Boy of the Future (1978), Nausicaa of the Valley of
the Wind (1984),
but also they themselves were involved in producing such media
in order to
attract new followers and to strengthen belief and faith of group
members in
superhuman abilities and Armageddon predictions of the group
leader. The
artists, who were residing in Aum, have created certain manga
and anime to
emphasize the Asahara’s claim of possessing of supernatural
powers. As Thomas
(2012, 125) mentions, they used to decrease adventure aspects
of stories as
much as possible in order to deal with parts, which were
allotted to conversion
of religion of new followers, achieving metaphysical powers by
them, and
admiring and praising the religious intellectual leadership of
Asahara Shoko as
Savior.
Use of manga and anime media in order to attract and convert

new
adherents by religious groups is a common trend in Japan
(Inoue, 1995 and
Thomas, 2012). Traditionally, Japanese illustrated stories have
been serving
religious ideas and beliefs. Through a look at history of
illustrated storytelling,
it is revealed that different kinds of this art such as Emaki 10,
Etoki 11, Kibyoshi 12
and Kamishibai,13 which can be regarded as antecedents and
primary forms of
modern manga, in some way have all been at the service of
religious propagation.
This may be rooted in the value, which is attached to images by
Buddhism and
it considers the same as powerful means in educating and
achieving final
salvation and prosperity.
Since receiving and perceiving messages of images do require
familiarity
with visual grammar and its specific codes, religious illustration
in Japan does
not rely on images only. Furthermore, it has used marginal text
for elaboration

of the story of work and also benefited from monks and trained
individuals in
order to narrate depicted religious teachings and stories. The art
of these monks
was to narrate illustrated stories in such a way as the stories
could entertain
the audience and teach religious and ethical concepts to the
audience
simultaneously. Lastly, it was the imagination of the audiences,
which has
played a pivotal role in adapting the story to images, animating
the story in
their minds.
In modern manga and anime, which have been formed by
introducing
western comics and film technology to the Japanese society,
cinematic
techniques and dynamic image processing methods played the
role of narrating
monks. Precise arrangement and intelligent mingling of still
images all together,

creates the illusion of movement in the mind of the audience. In
fact, such
illusions have changed manga and anime to an appropriate
media for display of
imaginary qualities of religion such as miracle, ascension,
spiritual manifestation
and intuition. In this regard, Thomas (2012, 56) explains that
intentional
suspension of disbelief, which forms an inseparable part of
imaginative
participation on the process of reading manga and watching
anime, is the same
as voluntary assumption of belief in essence of religion.
Preparation for taking
part in narrating a story through belief is common both in
imagination and
religion as such preparation exists for interpretation of painted
images as
reality.
Religion in Japan encompasses a mixed history consisting of
nature-based
religion of Shinto and primary forms of Chinese Buddhism
together with

ethical-social teachings of Confucianism. Contrary to most
countries where
different religions are completely separated from each other, in
Japan, all of the
mentioned traditions are mingled as an amalgam of customs,
ideals and social
behaviors. On the other hand, cultural and religious history of
Japan are merged
in such a way as even in today’s Japanese society, there is no
sensible difference
between religion and other cultural areas of daily life of
Japanese people. Thus,
religious traditions are involved in all aspects of Japanese
people life as in most
of the times, an individual is not aware about religious roots of
many of his
activities and it may be said that most of the public prefer to
note these activities
as tradition not religion. Although statistics reveal low
percentage of belief in
religion by Japanese people,14 such deep interlinked religious
and cultural
values within Japanese society reinforces this thought that
actually Japanese

people must have an extremely religious nature.15
In such society, as much as the proselytizers are interested in
manga and
anime to represent the authenticity of their religious beliefs and
to promote
religious and moral values, authors, artists, and directors too,
may utilize the
capabilities and capacities of religious concepts and imagery to
enhance the
visual attractiveness and to make sense of the narrative of their
works.
Meanwhile, manga and anime enable their creators to preserve
the fading
religious traditions in their artworks and to convey them to the
audiences.
However, this does not mean downplaying the role of the
audience as a passive
consumer of imposed thoughts by creators of manga and
directors of anime
either. In fact, illustrating religious ideas in Japanese manga
and anime

embraces dynamic and various arenas, providing the possibility
of different
readings for their audience as well.
3. Representation of Religious Ideas in Manga and Anime
As Stewart M. Hoover (2002, 147) has propounded regarding
representation
of religion in television programs, religious approach in visual
media is of two
types: One is respective programs, specifically addressing
religious subjects and
concepts. These programs usually have only a particular group
of audience. The
other is presence of religious concepts and thoughts which
exists in experience
of watching a visual medium, which is exposed to all groups of
the audiences.
When it is generally spoken about representation of religion in
film and
animation, the former approach is usually concerned at first.
Religious program
development is often considered in the direction of ethical
beliefs and values
while religion may cover more extensive and entertaining areas
simultaneously.

3-1. What Is Religion?
According to a minimal definition of religion, presented by
Edward Burnett
Tylor, Religion is associated with “belief in supernatural
beings.” Elaborating
the said subject, David Chidester propounds that religion deals
with metaphysics,
which can’t be traced or proved by using natural senses or
scientific experiments
(Chidester, 2005,16). In Islam also belief in ‘Unseen’ is
considered as one of the
first characteristics of faith. Explaining about the phrase:
“(Muslims are) Those
who believe in the unseen” (Verse Three of Koran Al-Baqare
Surah), Ostad
Motahari stated that “the unseen means that a human admits to
the fact that
there are certain realities in this universe, which he is not able
to perceive
through his body and his senses, even if they exist in this
universe”. He further

added that “all in which humans should believe, has been
expressed by the Holy
Koran by ‘the unseen’; belief in the fact that there are realities,
which are
beyond human’s senses” (Motahari, 1991, 146-147).
Considering this viewpoint, the glossary of religious concepts
and symbols
are one of the richest references for storytelling and attracting
various audiences.
Biography of the most religious leaders and saints, superhuman
characters,
miracles, metaphysical phenomena, astonishing or divine
events, mysterious
allegories and experiences, invisible worlds and ghosts, evils
and angels, jinn,
and horror stories, which are told in connection with each item
mentioned
above, all lie within the area of religious beliefs, which comics
and animation
imagery is noticeably able to visualize them.
The dilemma that faces this area is concerned about the border
existing
between religion and superstitions. As it has been put forth by

the well-known
linguist, Emil Benevist, the application of religion has been
strongly a
differentiating indicator, especially against ‘Superstition.’ On
this subject
Chidester (2005, 39) explains that in ancient Roman discourse,
the word ‘religio’
was used mostly referred to noble human activities, against
‘superstitio’ that
meant “non-original,” strange or something contrary to human
activities, which
have apparently been based on asininity, fear or deception. In
fact, application
of the word “religion” was in such a way as people used this
word in connection
with their day-to-day actual and tangible experiences, giving
meaning to their
daily activities (cause and effect relation). Consequently,
religion is considered
something which acts for integrating the three factors of
experience, identity
and meaning in daily life (Hoover, 2002, 147).
3-2. Visualizing Religion in Manga and Anime

In order to solve the abovementioned dilemma, Thomas (2012,
13-14)
analyzes the religious aspects of Japanese manga and anime by
hiring the word
“Vernacular Religion”, indicating daily function of religion.
Vernacular religion
is the improved form of the words “Popular Religion” and “folk
religion,” which
is exclusively referred to interpretation and translation of a
specific religious
practice or concept into local languages and worldviews (which
may be educated
or illiterate). Moreover, vernacular religion means inserting
official religious
ideas in daily activities. Thomas believes that both religious
leaders and artists
are involved in creating a certain type of language, which may
easily be
understood by the audience of any type or group. Consequently,
the result of
efforts taken by both groups is familiarization of public with
religious words,

concepts and images. Over the centuries this process has
occurred in different
cultures. The result of the process is to form a storehouse of
religious concepts,
which has helped different artists to create attractive and
conceiving stories.
Thus, producers and creators of manga and anime may utilize
this
storehouse of religious beliefs and concepts in two different
ways:
● Religious organizations or missioners may use animation as a
powerful
media to present the religious ideas. In this case, artists who are
hired
for creating the intended product may use the storehouse of
religious
concepts to create the product within the frameworks imposed
by the
message, which has been determined by the contractors.
● Authors and producers of an animation product may use the
religious
concepts and ideas as a way to create an entertaining story. In
this case,
the primary goal of the creator of a work, which may be an
artistic

creativity, earning money, entertaining a group of audience or
educating,
shall impress selected religious concepts and thoughts.
This classification indicates that the type of art work noticeably
determines
the area of action and freedom of an artist in using religious
notions, whether
the artist is hired for producing a religious work or the artist
himself, based on
the requirements of the project liberally picks the religious
concepts. Meanwhile,
this implicitly reveals the fact that during the creation of an art
work, deploying
religious images and concepts by the artist does not necessarily
reveal the belief
and commitment of the artist in presented religious notions on
the art work.
Artists may use evils, angels and/or holy places in their
products with no
religious motivation, only aiming at making their work become
more entertaining
while this may lead to religious interpretation by the audience.
4. The Utilization of Religious Elements in Manga and Anime

‘Religious manga and anime’ are not commonly classified as
one genre, and
often discussed separately. But, earlier studies made by scholars
such as
Yamanaka Hiroshi (1996), Yumiyama Tatsuya (2005) and the
detailed work of
Jolyon Thomas (2010) have already maintained the idea that the
‘religious
manga and anime’ is regarded as a genre which itself is divided
into various
subgenres. In fact, using religious ideas and concepts in manga
and anime
comprise various patterns. They may lie in a range of
‘pedagogical-instructional’
types to certain models, which are only used for ‘ornamental-
aesthetic’ purposes.
In order to introduce religious-ethical concepts to their
audience, creators of
educational products use educational or advising method and
style. Although
the primary goal of this group of producers is to educate,

however, during this
process they may also provide suitable grounds for entertaining
the audience
too. Instead, producers of esoteric or cosmetically religious
manga and anime
use religious illustrations and concepts to make their products
appealing. The
primary goal of this group is to hire religious concepts,
characters and images
for entertaining the audience although during the said process
they may
stimulate religious emotions or at least create sense of religious
curiosity among
their audiences. Adventure stories associated with saints and
angels, stories of
ghosts, and mysterious and horror stories are classified in this
group as well.
4-1. Pedagogical Manga and Anime
This group of works by telling an imaginary or realistic story,
actually acts
as a text or preliminary booklet about religious or historical
principles of a
certain sect. These works are mostly produced through financial
sponsorship of

a religious group or sect, which has propagated for the ideas of
the said work.
When pedagogical manga or anime are directly produced by
religious sects,
they become ‘Didactic’. The aim of …
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"The commission'd be all yours," Fort offered.
"Nah," Will said. "It'll take Armageddon to land Armadillo. If
you pull it off, you'll have earned the commission – and you're
welcome to it."
"The two of you will split it," Jeremy said. "Fair's fair."
Bull Artist
Fort did his research. Dale and Carol Landry had inherited their
small but picturesque ranch (which Dale, being a CFO, would
have admitted was the size of a rounding error compared with
some of the far bigger spreads nearby). The Landrys had a small
herd of longhorn cattle and, indeed, one bull in particular that
they were bumper-sticker proud of – as in, "My Bull's Smarter
than Your Honor Student."
Fort drove down to the Landry ranch on a Saturday morning.
He'd planned for the encounter to seem like a happy accident.
As he turned up the winding drive to the residence, he saw an
enormous longhorn bull standing by the fence, aloof from the
herd. "If pursuing Dale Landry hasn't worked," he thought,
"let's see if I can get him to chase me."
Knocking at the front door, Fort was in chess-player mode,
thinking several moves ahead. Carol Landry answered the door.
The game was on.
"Hi, there," Fort offered cheerfully, his bright smile and
personality on full display as the two introduced themselves. "I
hate to bother you, but I was passing by and caught sight of that

big bull of yours. If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to take some
pictures of him. He's pretty amazing." Then he added, "I always
believe it's best to ask permission – I wouldn't want you to
think I was up to anything fishy."
"By all means," she said. "My husband and I are very proud of
Big Buddy. He's won numerous awards." Fort could almost
swear that Carol Landry blushed. He thanked her, excused
himself, walked back down the fence line to where the bull was
standing, took a dozen digital photos, and then went on his way.
On the long drive back to town, Fort stopped by a bridge over a
modest brook that ran along the edge of some woods. He
watched the water sluice over colorful stones. It was hypnotic
and serene, belying the restive forces at play beneath the
surface.
Taking the Bait
"Hi there, remember me?" Fort inquired in a playful tone. Carol
Landry did indeed remember the polite young man who had
asked to take pictures of Big Buddy. She invited him in. It had
been a couple of weeks since their first encounter, and Fort had
a surprise for the Landrys. He handed Carol Landry an elegantly
framed photo of the impressive bovine.
"The pictures turned out so well, I thought you might like to
have one," he said, beaming. In truth, Fort was an above-
average amateur photographer. Even if it hadn't been part of his
scheme, he would have been proud of the photo, the way he'd
captured something essential about the subject – an impassive
stubbornness, black eyes like glass. Fort's pleasure with the
print radiated to Carol. "Wow, it's just magnificent, Mr. Knox!"
she exclaimed.
"Please. Call me Chris."
She angled the photo on an entry table beside a leather-bound
biography of the British explorer Henry Stanley. She continued
to thank him as he grinned and made his getaway. But he
wouldn't be gone for long.
As Fort headed back down the road, away from the Landry
ranch, a car came toward him over a rise. Behind the wheel he

saw the impassive face of Dale Landry, full of chiseled
concentration, entirely unsuspecting. (Of course, Fort had
Googled Dale and Big Buddy and had found a number of photos
of the two of them posed together, Big Buddy looking utterly
indifferent to the ribbons in which, judging by the size of his
grin, Dale was taking such pleasure.) Fort noted the make and
model of the car (Cadillac Escalade) so that he could ensure that
Dale would be home for his next "spontaneous" visit.
He let three weeks pass – three weeks during which Dale
Landry would see and appreciate daily the artful portrait of his
beloved Big Buddy and would hear from his wife (more than
once, Fort was certain) about the polite, thoughtful, generous
young man who had taken the picture and had it framed for
them. Time was his ally. It would be foolish to betray any
eagerness. Like rich tea, the ingredients of Fort's strategy
needed to steep.
Springing the Trap
By the time of his next visit, Fort could barely refrain from
congratulating himself as the Landrys' driveway came into view.
He was brilliant! He was positively clairvoyant! During the
intervening weeks, through "casual observation" (a term he
preferred to "surveillance") Fort had discovered that Dale
Landry typically came home by noon on Fridays. "Bingo!" Fort
said to himself. Not only was Dale's Escalade parked in front of
the house, but he and Carol were outside, each brushing one of
Big Buddy's hefty flanks.
"Dr. Landry, I presume?" Fort said, echoing, in a feeble British
accent, Henry Stanley's famous salutation upon finding the
elusive Dr. Livingstone.
"That's me," said CFO Landry.
"Dale," said Carol Landry, "this is Chris, the nice man who
brought us that wonderful picture of Big Buddy." Then, turning
to Fort, she said, "I'm very sorry to say I've forgotten your last
name!"
"Knox. Chris Knox, Mr. Landry." They shook hands.
"Well, Chris Knox, I'm real glad to be here to meet you. We

truly do love the picture you took. This old bull is almost like
family. So, thank you very much."
At Carol's insistence, they went inside for iced tea. "So, tell me,
Chris, what do you do besides photographing large farm
animals?" Dale asked. Fort told Dale that he worked in sales for
Specialty Fleet Services.
"Really?" Dale exclaimed. "That's a heckuva coincidence. I'm
with Armadillo Gas & Power, and you folks have been chasing
my business for years." After explaining that he worked a
different territory, Fort offered a morsel. "We provide our
customers with lots of data, very customized. Because of that
we tend to focus on really large accounts. I'm not that familiar
with Armadillo Gas, but maybe you don't need the high level of
service we offer. Maybe we're a little more expensive than what
you've got now."
Fort noted the slight flaring of Dale's nostrils – so interesting
how people really do start to look like their pets. "Well, I gotta
run," he said. "But, hey, I'm real glad you liked the photo." He
drained his iced tea, said his thank-yous, and left.
Dale Landry called first thing Monday morning – just as Fort
figured he would. But Fort didn't return the call. Instead, that
Friday, he brought the Landrys a calendar with photos of prize
longhorns. "This is so beautiful," Carol said. But Dale seemed
preoccupied, mostly asking Fort questions about "this online
service-net thing you do."
Fort also engineered a couple of other encounters (too many
might have aroused suspicion). Camera in hand, he ran into
Dale Landry at a livestock auction one beautiful Saturday
morning. And in the middle of the following week, Fort went to
watch his nephew play a Little League game, and there was
Dale, watching his own kid – Dale, Jr. (nicknamed Little
Buddy!) – play second base for the other team.
Every time he spoke with Fort, Dale seemed more agitated and
more curious about SFS. Fort tried hard to contain himself. He
couldn't help thinking that Dale Landry was so accustomed to
being pursued that he seemed kind of lame as a pursuer. Fort

was invariably nonchalant, often redirecting their conversation
away from business, as though that was the last thing on his
mind.
On a day when Dale had left two messages before lunch and one
after, Fort figured it was time to call back. He'd barely gotten
out "Hey, Dale" when the Armadillo CFO cut him off. "I'd like
to see that demo again," he said. "Can you and Will Meyers
come over here sometime tomorrow and run me through it?"
Time to Cut the Bull?
It was a happy day when Armadillo signed its contract with
SFS. So pleased was Jeremy Silva with Fort's performance that
he sent an e-mail to the entire sales team (subject line: "world-
class bull") describing Fort's every maneuver. Jeremy wisely
credited Will with having paved the way for what Fort finally
achieved, making it easy for Will to be gracious toward his
cocky colleague.
But some at SFS were less delighted than Jeremy and his team.
Copies of Jeremy's e-mail made their way through the company
and, eventually, to the ethics review board. Now Jeremy was
forced to defend Fort from the very ethics process he had
initiated.
"Look," said Sam Williams, holding up a printout of Jeremy's e-
mail in praise of Fort's tactics, "what if somebody sent this over
to Landry? How do you think he would feel about SFS? He'd
feel like we made a fool of him – and his wife! And he'd be
right! So, I think we have to ask ourselves, as an organization,
when does a so-called smart sales strategy cross the line to
become deceitful? Does this sort of thing put our relationships
with clients at risk? Does it damage our reputation? The code
requires us to deal honestly with customers and other
stakeholders. Is this honest?"
Jeremy sputtered, "Where's the harm? Nobody got cheated.
Nobody paid a kickback. Armadillo is getting a better service
than it had before. And Fort didn't violate a single item in our
ethics code. When all this happened, Landry wasn't even a
customer of SFS!"

"Technically speaking, maybe not," Sam said. "But the story of
what Fort did is now an official source of motivation for our
sales force. God forbid, but will people be out in the field trying
to top him? The whole thing has me thinking that maybe the
code of ethics has a blind spot in it."
John Humphreys, Mildred Pryor and Zafar U. Ahmed
Does the SFS sales team deserve an ethics reprimand or a clean
bill of health? Four commentators offer expert advice
WHEN I was young, my father, a lifelong sales executive,
proudly showed me his three-by-five card file, a rich trove of
personal facts about each of his prospects: their children, their
hobbies, their illnesses. "In the end," he told me, "people buy
from their friends." He would spend a portion of every sales call
asking about customers' personal lives. He took them to
baseball games and helped them find the best summer camps for
their children. He became their friend. And boy, did he sell!
In the SFS case, "Fort" Knox raised the "friendship strategy" to
high art while, in my estimation, crossing several ethical lines
along the way. I side with Samantha Williams on this one. Fort
should have his hand, and probably his face, slapped publicly.
However, I think Jeremy Silva deserves even greater
opprobrium for his e-mail in praise of Fort. But more about that
in a moment.
I believe it's permissible, even desirable, to share interests and
passions with a prospect. ("I have always wanted to know more
about bull semen. Tell me about it.") Where Fort went astray
was in deceiving Dale and Carol Landry about why he was
photographing Big Buddy. Such behavior would have been
borderline if he "ran into" them at a bull exhibition, but Fort
crossed an ethical line by intruding into the Landrys' private
lives. His repeated violation of their personal space makes the
deception particularly distasteful and objectionable.
How far can you go in developing a common interest with a
prospect? The ethical principle here is from Immanuel Kant: It
is improper to treat an individual merely as a means to an end.

A salesperson cannot feign an interest or manipulate a prospect
just to get the sale. If Dale or Carol were involved in a charity,
Fort could volunteer for it or contribute to it as long as his
altruism was genuine and did not evaporate once the sales
contract was signed. Likewise, he could participate in activities
that would bring him in contact with the Landrys as long as his
interest was somewhat sincere. One of the salesperson's most
ecstatic moments, of course, is to find that a longtime friend has
suddenly become a sales prospect.
I'm never surprised when salespeople like Fort push the
envelope of acceptable behavior. They get paid – and paid well
– for making sales. The incentive structure, particularly in a
time of recession, makes this an unavoidable ethical hazard and
a prime ethical risk for many kinds of companies.
What appalls me is Jeremy's behavior. His e-mail shows that he
doesn't understand that such risks must be managed. By baldly
describing and praising Fort's deception, Jeremy has
jeopardized the company. In an era of blogs and forwarded e-
mail, there's a good chance his will be posted on a sales blog or
sent to Dale. Can you imagine his bull rage on reading it? He
might launch a vendetta against SFS, damaging its sales for
years to come.
Moreover, as Samantha warns, Jeremy's e-mail encourages
every SFS salesperson to try to top Fort's ruse. Deceptive
strategies will inevitably erupt elsewhere until there is a public
airing of the company's manipulative behavior. Jeremy's kind of
"praise" has done significant damage in several well-known
cases. For example, in the early 1980s, after top managers at
E.F. Hutton praised a branch for its creative new ways of
managing cash flow, check kiting spread across many of the
brokerage firm's branches. Hutton never recovered from the
scandal.
I think Sam and the ethics board should publicly reprimand
Fort. Jeremy's e-mail has made that necessary. I doubt Jeremy is
salvageable.
Kirk O. Hanson

FORT'S ACTIONS were unethical. Aggressive sales tactics are
often celebrated, as they should be. But deceiving a current or
prospective customer is always unethical. Period, case closed.
Don't get us wrong: Secrets and deception are a necessary part
of business competition. No business would want competitors to
know the truth about its strategic plans, for instance, and
outright deception of competitors is completely ethical in many
circumstances. But there's a big difference between deceiving to
compete more effectively and deceiving to trick a particular
customer.
Our plain-and-simple rule for avoiding this kind of lapse?
Deception is never allowed in a customer relationship. Any
company that hopes to build long-term value for shareholders
has to earn its customers' trust. A conman can nearly always
make money on a one-off deal. But only a trusted adviser can
succeed with a customer over time.
It shouldn't have taken a visit from Samantha to make Jeremy
realize that circulating a description of Fort's sales conquest,
including all the little deceptions he perpetrated, was highly
irresponsible. When that e-mail comes to Dale's attention – and
eventually it will – SFS will be embarrassed and wounded. By
hitting the "send" button, Jeremy demonstrated that he does not
understand the policies and behaviors that build long-term
shareholder value. By itself, Jeremy's e-mail reduced the value
of the company.
Ironically, had Fort used what he already knew about Dale in a
completely ethical, forthright way, he would have been nearly
as effective at winning Armadillo's business in the short term
and far more effective at not losing it in the long term – which
may well happen.
There's nothing wrong with a salesperson's cultivating an
interest in bulls or ranches or cattle shows in order to forge a
bond with a prospect. Fort could have invited the Landrys to be
his guest in the SFS box at the Amarillo rodeo. He could have
introduced himself to Dale – immediately disclosing his
position at SFS – and asked permission to take a picture of the

prize bull for his own photography collection (later sharing the
photo with the Landrys). And arranging to run into Dale at the
local Little League field was completely legitimate.
Because of the short-term bias built into the structure of most
sales commissions and incentives, great sales personalities like
Fort will always be tempted to resort to subterfuge and tricks.
The immediate reward is certain, and the long-term
consequences probably aren't even tracked. But what kind of
future can SFS possibly have with Dale? After the subterfuge is
revealed, how will any SFS manager look someone from
Armadillo in the eye and even pretend to offer trustworthy
advice?
The CEO of SFS should immediately fire Jeremy, discipline
Fort, send an e-mail to all employees firmly asserting that
deceiving customers or prospects is not the SFS way of doing
business, rewrite the ethics code to specify that "deceiving a
customer or prospect is always a violation of company policy,"
and meet personally with Dale to let him know what has
happened (before he hears about it from others).
At this meeting, the CEO should tell Dale everything SFS is
doing to make sure that this kind of deception doesn't happen
again and offer to release Armadillo from the contract and to
refund any setup costs already incurred. If the CEO is sincere in
his apology, perhaps Armadillo's business can be saved
(although that should not be the objective of the meeting).
SFS should pledge never again to initiate a faux relationship but
instead to forge genuine, trusting, collaborative relationships
that benefit customers and SFS alike.
Don Peppers and Martha Rogers
LIKE HIM or not, you have to acknowledge the style of the man
with the Midas touch. Although Fort's methods may look shady,
he certainly achieved a positive outcome – one that satisfied
both parties.
At first glance, some people might conclude that this was not an
admirable display of persuasive technique but rather the darker
side of manipulation. Indeed, many people confuse persuasion

with manipulation because they have never considered the
difference between the two. Persuasion is all about relationships
and, therefore, the long term. If the outcome is not pleasing to
both parties, the relationship eventually crumbles. Manipulation
aims to satisfy the needs and wishes of only one party, with no
regard for – and often at the expense of – the other.
The tactics that the "brilliant" Mr. Knox employed are carried
out, to varying degrees, by sales reps and businesspeople on a
daily basis. It's just that we don't often hear about them. Sales
professionals are, by nature, particularly creative in the pursuit
of results. Bear in mind that they experience more callous
rejection in a fortnight than most of us do in a very bad year.
Keeping one's ego intact can be a challenge. In most companies,
stars like Fort come with certain idiosyncrasies that are
tolerated when they accompany above-average success. Our man
Knox used his special skills to strike up a rapport, in the first
instance, with Dale's wife; then he ended up with the holy grail
– a strong third-party referral by the time he engineered the first
meeting with her husband. The salesperson's dream!
Having established a relationship – something his predecessor,
Will Meyers, failed to do – Fort then played on Dale's ego-
driven nature through a combination of logic and emotion,
eventually enticing him to take the bait. Challenging
Armadillo's suitability to become a customer of Specialty Fleet
Services was an especially good move, helping Fort turn Dale
from quarry into pursuer. Fort's failure to return Dale's phone
calls troubled me a bit, because it undercut the polite,
thoughtful nature that he had taken the trouble to establish (and
that was so prized by Carol Landry). But he redeemed himself
by showing up at the Landrys' house with yet another present.
Fort pursued a strategy of reciprocity to good effect: I give you
something; you may give me something back. What did Fort
want in return for the photo of Big Buddy? An audience with
Dale. That's what he got. He didn't coerce Landry into
considering the services of SFS. He simply got Dale's attention
and let his persuasive skills do the rest. There is a clear

difference between persuasion and coercion, and Knox didn't
cross that line.
Should Fort be hauled in front of an ethics board? I say let him
off with a warning that focuses on his having concealed from
Dale the knowledge of Dale's position at Armadillo. But given
that this sort of thing happens often enough in business and that
the client was enticed to buy, as opposed to needing to be sold
(an essential requirement for ego-driven people like Dale), I'm
comforted by the fact that both parties ended up with something
valuable. Dale got an arguably superior product for his
company, and SFS got a solid new customer.
As for Jeremy, he should be hauled in front of the company's
Idiocy Review Board for sending an ill-advised, potentially
damaging e-mail. Some best practices are better left to oral
history.
James Borg
Reprint R0905B
AHVS392 A03: READING REVIEW
KEEP IN MIND THAT IT IS ALWAYS FAR MORE
DIFFICULT TO FORMULATE SENTENCES ABOUT THE
CONTENT OF A READING THAN IT IS TO UNDERSTAND
THE INFORMATION/ IDEAS WHEN READING IT. AND
REPRODUCING THE INFORMATION/ IDEAS IN YOUR
OWN WORDS IS WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO IN THIS
ASSIGNMENT.
OUTLINE / HEADINGS:
1) Summary
2) Main Points
3) Sources
4) Reading Experience
5) New Knowledge
6) Questions
7) Terminology
DETAILS:

1) Summary: Summarize in a paragraph or two, the article /
book / reading as a whole
2) Main Points: What is (are) the main point(s) made in this
reading?
2.i) If applicable, what is a secondary point made by the author?
2.ii) If applicable, what ideas/interpretations/theoretical
frameworks is the writer countering, challenging or
augmenting?
3) Sources: What kinds of sources does the author draw on?
3.i) Are they academic; popular; oral; personal? Written, visual,
aural?
3.ii) If academic, are they anthropological, historical or
literary? Are they primary documents (archival texts, or from
material culture, like art objects) or secondary documents? Are
they written or oral, archival, daily media, other?
3.iii) If applicable, how is this approach different from
earlier/other methods of study you are familiar with, in this area
or discipline?
4) Reading Experience: How did you experience reading this
essay/article?
4.i) ... in terms of its writing style
4.ii) ... in terms of how convincingly the argument was
presented and backed up
4.iii) What would your main critique of the article be, on both
positive and negative sides?
5) New Knowledge: List 3 things you learned that you did not
know before
6) Terminology: List 3 foreign or technical - /discipline specific
terms you found in this article and give their definition
7) Question: Formulate a question you would like to ask the
author if you met him/her
informally, say at a café or at a friend's party
Readings for each week will be posted on the CourseSpaces.
Length: 2-1/2--3 pp. double or 1-1/2 spaced, Times New Roman

12 point, margins 3⁄4 all around.

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