2/ Cultural Representation Research

Key Cultural Representation Research:

• https://oxfordre.com/communication/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228613.001.0001/acrefore-9780190228613-e-122 discusses data which shows the disparity between different races and their representation and the effects. It was eye opening to me in how it brough my attention to the invisibility of Native Americans.

• One of my favourite reads so far has been discussing racial representation in children’s books as it is a similar medium to animation and draws many parallels. “Race Representations in Children’s Picture Books and Its Impact on the Development of Racial Identity and Attitudes” by Jenna Wilson has been integral to the direction of my essay, by addressing the extent at which children can be influenced about race, and at such a young age. It comments on when a child’s own personal identity forms and when they can start recognising that of others, and the Colourblind theory. 

   I had a look into what is currently on offer to children and families in regards to books that are tackling race and culture, there is a list here: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/09/22/books/23racebooks.html. 

• It introduced me to the Group Threat Hypothesis. The article here https://www.psychologicalscience.org/news/science-of-racism-explained-in-new-set-of-research-articles.html discusses that science also supports the idea of the Group Threat Hypothesis, the notion that the colour blind theory does less good than bad and that the more that white individuals integrate with people of colour in a positive way, “the less threatened they feel” and “the more invested they become in the well being of those groups”

• Wilson mentions White Gaze, saying that questionable multi cultural texts could only be seen positively with a White Gaze, and that people of colour would not see a text so positively. The White Gaze portrays another race to be full of differences which are not to be embraced. This leads on to the Assimilation Theory which is the concept that for multi racial people to fit in, they must forgo their native culture, and that to be British or American, is it to be white. It also speaks about how the publishing industry is predominantly white which is why the stories that are told are mostly white dominated, this is paralleled to the white dominated industry of animation. This article https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/xwjeaq/black-women-in-animation-careers discusses black women in animation, a striking quote being “women and people of colour do not have an equal creative voice” under former chief creative officer John Lasseter. I hope to explore how and if studios are progressing with the times in regards to diversity. For example, PixarShorts have released Purl, a commentary on women in the male dominated animation industry. This is a part of the studios increase in diversity behind the scenes. 

   

   

  • Other sources read this week:

   

  https://deadline.com/2016/12/women-animation-guild-23-percent-of-union-jobs-1201876154/,

 https://www.npr.org/2019/04/17/709644139/pixars-sparkshorts-set-out-to-ignite-more-diversity-in-animation?t=1566943360078,

 https://www.npr.org/2019/08/25/754160144/hair-love-uses-animation-to-bring-a-story-of-natural-hair-in-black-families-to-l,

 http://theconversation.com/why-its-so-important-for-kids-to-see-diverse-tv-and-movie-characters-92576

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/zmwq3x/why-diversity-on-screen-is-important-black-panther .

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-ca-mn-coco-latino-culture-20180222-story.html

• https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/news/a41509/female-animators-diversity-industry/  To discuss cultural representation in animation without getting the insight from the people potentially making it, or a part of it in some way. In the previous npr article it said that ‘diversity points’ will make you money... has putting diversity into the spotlight made it a money making novelty, a racial quota to fill, or is there sincere action for change?

• Whilst recognising progress its important to understand what one is trying to improve on, http://scalar.usc.edu/works/birthofanindustry/race-and-ethnicity-in-animation and https://www.ferris.edu/HTMLS/news/jimcrow/links/essays/vcu.htm  discuss the harmful racial stereotypes in animation. I felt it was really important to educate myself on some of the history of this huge problem, and the longevity of it. The fact that the Race Relations Act only came in in the 1960s astounds me. It's important to understand differences in black racial stereotyping through history, from the Sambo to the Mammy because it allows you to recognise the fact that they have existed in such recent animation films from big pocketed studios.
•  Then you can understand how hard it is to dismantle this inherent racism.  This article https://www.cracked.com/article_15677_the-9-most-racist-disney-characters.html helps disect some examples of racist characters that were used in Disney films. This ranges from the more obviously stereotyped ‘black’ Crows from Dumbo, to the subtle white washing of Alladin, in comparison to the brown skinned, ‘ethnic looking’ villain Jafar. 

• Pocahontas is a good example of a cultural story that has been taken and twisted from a traged into something more digestible for children’s eyes. As Bodenner says “European conquest of the Americas is not children’s entertainment.” I think this highlights that although it is important to tell cultural stories, it is doing a disservice if the only way you can do that is by removing all of the stories heart and integrity- in which case, find a story that is suitable for children. Bodenner, C (2015) ‘Does Disney’s Pocahontas do more harm than good? Your Thoughts’, The Atlantic, Available at: https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/06/pocahontas-feminism/397190/ 

• https://www.flare.com/identity/boston-straight-pride-parade-gay-rights/ Chung mentions the profound positivity that the film Crazy Rich Asians provided to her and so many other Asians around the world.

• https://theconversation.com/why-its-so-important-for-kids-to-see-diverse-tv-and-movie-characters-92576 Another article confirming that negative portrayals can and will affect children’s self esteem in regards to their race. 

• I am keen to explore in my essay the idea that hate, and racism are learnt. The book The First R discusses the position parenting has in race dynamics and contrasting opinions on when we become aware of race.