Animation Guild | We are 839 Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1021376
F E AT U R E Sito reminds that early "cartoons and comics all worked off the pop culture of the period," often gearing themselves to immigrants who may not have been able to read English and were therefore "heavy on ethnic culture because America at the time was a deep ethnic mix." Themes like the white savior fighting an evil foreign face may have diminished to some degree, as evident by both the live-action and animated Black Panthers, but Sito reminds that there was a time when Milton Caniff's WWII-era Japanophobic drawings for the U.S. Army's Pocket Guide to China were freely condoned by our government. Last year, comedian Hari Kondabolu's truTV documentary The Problem with Apu ignited a conversation about the long-time Simpsons character who both is voiced by a white man (Hank Azaria) and panders to the simpleton immigrant stereotype. Fox executives recently said it was up to the Simpsons producers to decide if they would end the character. The dialogue continues as awareness builds. Sito, whose resume includes Disney's Pocahontas and DreamWorks' The Prince of Egypt, is well aware of sensitivity issues that must be addressed and says "it's a consciousness raising process." INFLUENCING THE NEXT GENERATION Cinzia Angelini is an animation director who has given a TED Talk on the importance of using the medium to highlight diversity and also discuss more serious topics, like her project Mila about child victims of war. She says she hopes the success of films with diverse storytelling will help this cause. "Big studios are responsible because they're educating; they're influencing young generations," she says. "They need to push the envelope because they are educating the future … they have the ability to risk." She also says, as animators, the onus is on us to learn about different cultures and not assume that you're only capable of designing for people who share your background. Angelini says we are "fortunate that we live and work in Los Angeles where all kinds of people live and exist. So it's not that hard within your network to find people who can give you real perspective of how somebody of this race or this religion react to this situation." Meanwhile, Damil Bryant, a storyboard artist at Bento Box Entertainment, says that the minorities and women on staff need to speak up and not be afraid to push back on stereotypes that others might not see. He explains that this could mean covering "something that's going on now like police brutality, but making the person that's getting beat up not black." For monsters and other nonhumans, he says he makes a point to "exclude race." "I like to use reference and how other shows and movies have done it in the past," he says. Bryant says he's seen this awareness in younger artists, especially because he says the trend toward streamlining and simplistic designs "give more opportunity to work on a style." "[Big Studios] need to push the envelope because they are educating the future... they have the ability to risk." - Cinzia Angelini Courtesy of © Disney 26 KEYFRAME