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Animation Culture and Discourse - (Acting for Animation)

  • penspeare
  • Mar 10, 2022
  • 15 min read

Topic Notions


Finland

Animation in Finland, upon a quick search online, looks like it'll be really, really difficult to do, but here are a few things for the time being:


Finland don't seem too big on their animation... I could almost count on one hand how many notable animations came out of there. Big yes to their heavy metal music, though I could look into animation for music videos here (for example, Lordi's more recent videos), and their comic books (The Moomins, Mr Lordi's artwork), and how it influences other things. I don't think it'll be enough to be honest, but we'll have a think about it.


New Zealand

Could also/otherwise look at New Zealand, but I'm not sure if they're much better in terms of sparsity regarding an animation scene:


France

(27/01/2022) I was lying in bed last night and remembered: what about France? Specifically Fantastic Planet. They have inspired so much in terms of cinema in general, and have a particularly weird and wonderful animation history that has heavily inspired so many current weird and wonderful animators and directors, so I could look into that.



Mexico

Mexico is another one because I love the culture they have for their dead, and how it is expressed through a lot of their artwork, and one of my favourite directors, Guillermo del Toro, hails from there.

I don't want to get too ahead of myself here before the first class for this assignment, but I want to at least have a few ideas or notions floating about first so I have something to draw from.


(27/01/2022)

I wanted to make sure what the specifics were on the topic before getting too dedicated to something, and I found out from the lecturers, Sarah and Yuan, during the introduction to the module that it could be, for example, "horror in Japan" or "female characters in Ghibli films" - of course, those are only examples, but it shows how specific we can get. In fact, specific is the way to go lest it becomes too broad. Perhaps something related to Finland would work! Though now I'm itching to look into something in France or Mexico, but I could go further and look into genres, or sub-genres, or concepts that inspired certain directors. Maybe these directors were inspired by each other.

I could look into, say, German Expressionism or gothic horror and how it inspires the likes of Tim Burton films, but I feel as though they've been done to death. Maybe something similar.


I had a walk and thought about the topic a bit more. The most recent country that came to mind was, of course, Mexico, so that lead to the potential topic question of: How death and/or the afterlife is portrayed through animation might be a good one, as that's something I actually quite enjoy looking into in general anyway. I've actually played around with that theme quite abit with other personal projects, so it would be nice to hone it in on a specific area. It's a fun (well) "what if?" topic, and I really enjoy looking into pantheons and mythologies.

I especially enjoy urban fantasy works that take a modern or current setting, but take myths and legends to exist simultaneously as if it's just normal. Basically, the world as we know it but with supernatural beings. Some of my favourite television shows take this approach, such as Being Human and Trese; the former is a flat share between a vampire, a ghost, and a werewolf (it gets a bit wild later on), then the latter is a crime thriller with the supernatural thrown in from Fillipino culture. In my opinion, after you throw the supernatural themes into the mix, the more mundane the rest of the setting, the better. Urban fantasy, as a genre, more often than not delves into the concept of the afterlife and Death (yes, that is a proper noun), which is still considered a taboo or at least very uncomfortable topic to deal with.



The lamp is genius poster design

The Lucas Arts/Double Fine (Tim Schafer) video game Grim Fandango is set in the afterlife, taking on the Mexican holiday Dia de los Muertos as a heavy form of inspiration.

"[Tim Schafer] went on to design the highly acclaimed Grim Fandango, a noir adventure game set in the Aztec afterlife featuring characters similar to the papier-mâché skeleton decorations from the Mexican holiday Dia De Los Muertos. Grim Fandango won many awards, including GameSpot's Game of the Year award of 1998."

- Wikipedia (I know, I know).




Pan's Labyrinth, having Alice in Wonderland comparisons,


"There are differing ideas about the film's religious influences. Del Toro himself has said that he considers Pan's Labyrinth "a truly profane film, a layman's riff on Catholic dogma", but that his friend Alejandro González Iñárritu described it as "a truly Catholic film". Del Toro's explanation is "once a Catholic, always a Catholic," however he also admits that the Pale Man's preference for children rather than the feast in front of him is intended as a criticism of the Catholic Church.[18] Additionally, the priest's words during the torture scene were taken as a direct quote from a priest who offered communion to political prisoners during the Spanish Civil War: "Remember my sons, you should confess what you know because God doesn't care what happens to your bodies; He already saved your souls."

"In regard to whether or not the fantasy underworld was real or a product of Ofelia's imagination, del Toro stated in an interview that, while he believes it is real, the movie "should tell something different to everyone. It should be a matter of personal discussion". He then mentioned there were several clues in the movie indicating the underworld was indeed real"





Brainstorming page. Also a halfway decent visual representation of how chaotic my actual thought process is

Death and the Afterlife

So I've essentially geared myself toward D/death and the afterlife as a theme, but I'm still not entirely sure what my specific topic question is. I put together a collage of media (although not all of them are strictly animated) where the themes and motifs are heavily inspired if not is the central theme is death. Some of them are purely aesthetic choices, where others are dealing with death as a real life difficult topic translated onto screen, or as a setting:



"Spirited Away" (2001) train scene where Chihiro/Sen travels to pay a visit to the witch Zeniba

"Death and Life" (1915). Oil on canvas by Gustav Klimt.
"Klimt makes of it a modern dance of death, but unlike Schiele, he introduces a note of hope and reconciliation, instead of feeling threatened by the figure of death, his human beings seem to disregard it."

Death Personified

Since ancient times, humans have tried to make sense of the world through the use of personification. Before science helped them along, they told stories of gods, monsters, and supernatural entities based on concepts, states, and the general world around them that they could not, at the time, obtain the knowledge to properly explain. Death is no exception.


(09/02/2022) Talked to Yuan between 3pm-4pm.

Death as a metaphor:

  • in Japanese animation

  • Pom Poko

  • Spirited Away

  • in Mexican animation

Death presented on screen:

  • Film noir

  • Gothic horror

  • German expressionism



Mythology



In Media

Animation
Death Personified

  • Grim from The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy (dates). Playing on the making a deal with death/the devil, two children win a bet with the Grim Reaper into making him become their best friend forever.

  • Death from Soul Music (1998), adapted from the Discworld series of books by Terry Pratchett. Death embarks on a self-discovery type journey to help him forget everything as he comes to terms with being unable to do anything about the deaths of his daughter and son-in-law. He is later re-united with his granddaughter, Susan.

  • Death from The Midnight Gospel, a fictionalised version of death positive mortician, Caitlin Doughty, being the subject of Clancy's interview for the episode Turtles of the Eclipse. Doughty, as Death, describes how embalming began as a corporate measure and started the myth that corpses are extremely dangerous. She discusses her death positive outlook in terms of accepting it simply as another stage of life that one should be present in

  • I was browsing Reddit there about the episode, and someone pointed out the tarot deck representation throughout the episode. I hadn't realise before, and now I feel silly but I want to re-watch this episode a lot more now.

  • The Midnight Gospel Tarot, by user "LeM4t", 2020. Via Reddit. Available at: https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMidnightGospel/comments/g8by3x/the_midnight_gospel_tarot/ [Accessed 03/02/2022]

  • The Midnight Gospel Tarot, by Bonnevialle, V. 26th April 2020. Via Facebook. Available at: https://www.facebook.com/bonnevialle/media_set?set=a.10157635108822144&type=3 [Accessed 03/02/2022]

  • Hades from Disney's Hercules (1997), based on Hellenistic mythology. He is painted as a villain in this animated film, as well as the animated series prequel.

  • Available at: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/EverybodyHatesHades?from=Main.EveryoneHatesHades [Accessed: 09/02/2022]

  • Moundshroud, albeit more subtly but the clues are pouring all throughout the film in The Halloween Tree (1993), adapted into a screenplay by Ray Bradbury (who also narrated it) from his novel of the same name. Unlike the book where he plays a more neutral role similar to the dutiful Death of the Discworld series, this Moundshroud is more antagonistic and, although not quite villainous, there is somewhat more sinister vibes applied to him to dress him in a more villainous light. He owns a "Halloween tree" on his property, and has the power to take the children on a journey through time anywhere in the world at the click of his fingers to learn about death and cultures surrounding it. It is heavily implied that the titular tree harbours souls that "live" in the lit, carved pumpkins it sprouts, rather than the traditional hourglasses. Presumably, once the flame goes out, that person has passed.

  • Not strictly Death or the Grim Reaper, but the Ferry Person in Toby Fox's video game Undertale (2015) is a subtle yet obvious nod to the ferryman, Charon, of Greek mythology, transports souls to the underworld or afterlife.

  • Different manifestations of Death in various episodes of Cartoon Network's Adventure Time

  • Fan theory that Prince Charming is the Grim Reaper; take with a pinch of salt: Available at: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-6096039/Snow-White-fan-theory-suggests-DIES-end-Disney-classic.html [Accessed: 03/02/2022]

The Afterlife as a Place

  • In Corpse Bride (2005), although there isn't a personified Death, the afterlife is present and it is made a point to make it "more lively than the Land of the Living", so is visually more vibrant, colourful, and the residents are, ironically and of course figuratively speaking, full of life and the happiest they could be.

  • In Coco (2017) [...]

  • "Coco also took inspiration from Hayao Miyazaki's anime films Spirited Away (2001) and Howl's Moving Castle (2004) as well as the action film John Wick (2014)."

  • However, it was met with controversy when:

  • "In 2013, Disney made a request to trademark the phrase "Día de los Muertos" for merchandising applications. This was met with criticism from the Mexican American community in the United States." and:

  • "In 2018, news outlets discovered that Disney Pixar had failed to disclose that producers for Coco had based the character of "Mama Coco" on María de la Salud Ramírez Caballero from the Purépecha village of Santa Fe de la Laguna, "a town of Purépecha potters in Quiroga, Michoacán.""

  • Disney/Pixar's Soul (2020) has protagonist Joe Gardner travel through the film's version of Limbo or the afterlife.

  • Soul met controversy, however, as it employs the racially insensitive trope of turning black characters into creatures, similarly to what happened to The Princess and the Frog (2009), and Spies in Disguise (2019):

  • "Ultimately, beautiful animation, strong voice acting, charming writing and easy-to-digest existential philosophy make Soul a compelling watch but does not make up for Disney’s inability to truly center a Black hero with agency." - Subliminal Storytelling Flaws Hold Soul Back From its True Potential, by Fryer, A. 29th December, via The Post Athens. Available at: https://www.thepostathens.com/article/2020/12/soul-film-review-disney-pixar-subliminal-storytelling-jamie-foxx [Accessed: 02/02/2022];

  • "Who thought it was a good idea to put a white woman in the body of a Black man? And not just any woman, but Fey, who earlier this year requested that episodes of her show "30 Rock" be pulled from streaming services because of blackface? The same show that still has episodes featuring brownface. Hearing her "trapped" in Foxx's animated body just felt insensitive, especially after this year." - Pixar's Soul is Getting Rave Reviews, But it Left Me Cringing Up Until the Very Last Minute, by Acuna, K. 26th December 2020, via Insider. Available at: https://www.insider.com/pixar-soul-movie-review-2020-12 [Accessed: 02/02/2022]

  • This article is interesting as it talks about representation in animation in general alongside Soul: https://www.insider.com/pixar-soul-harmful-black-stereotypes-tropes [Accessed: 03/02/2022]

Screencap from episode 7 of the animated adaptation "Soul Music". Death receives a goodbye kiss on the cheek from his granddaughter, Susan.
"I know it's ridiculous [...] I suppose you haven't got a kiss for your old Grandad?"

Personifying Death to have a Discussion

I'm very interested in taking an art therapeutic approach to many things in life which, of course, includes the concept of death. Art, and with particular emphasis on animation, helps us to manifest thoughts and feelings that we may otherwise struggle with articulating in a basic way. How can you empathise with a concept? Especially one that is considered taboo, or too morbid to even think about? If we cannot find the words, we find an alternative. We utilise anthropomorphism. We personify these concepts. We can talk to and relate to a person, and create the conversations we need to have to better understand ourselves, our thoughts and feelings, as well as the world around us.

Since ancient times, humans have tried to make sense of the world through the use of personification. Before science helped them along, they told stories of gods, monsters, and supernatural entities based on concepts, states, and the general world around them that they could not, at the time, obtain the knowledge to properly explain. Death is no exception.



(17/02/2022)

Lecture with Yuan this morning on Narratives. I was discussing with her last week about how personification of Death as the Grim Reaper can help people have these difficult conversations. This conversation is brought up in The Midnight Gospel, as well as Coco, the former using personification methods, and the latter conveying death as a place you go after you reach a certain state, i.e. the state of death. We have Death the person, and death the state of being, and being in that place.

Anyway, the lecture was on narrative techniques and methods, and I mentioned how sometimes the narrator, when coupled along as being a character within the narrative, shares their hidden feelings with the audience, almost as if the audience is that character's therapist. Unable to articulate to other characters within the narrative for whatever reason, they speak directly to the audience, whether simply verbally or inviting us into their heads. They verbalise their thoughts and feelings, while usually showing us creative visuals to illustrate what they are trying to articulate.

I mention this because I remember bringing up art therapy regarding this topic, and how media is often used as a tool of escapism and, in turn, can be therapeutic for both creators and audience. The personification of certain concepts, in my opinion, can also be used to aid this process, especially when they are difficult to articulate. I also mentioned something similar during the lecture, how narration from a character can be, essentially, used as an expression of deeper feelings that said character would not otherwise verbalise to other characters. I think this can fit well with the topic in some cases.

The Midnight Gospel, although not strictly narrated, the premise is of Clancy who uses a multi-dimensional device that takes him (or rather, as an avatar) to anywhere in the universe to interview whomever he encounters for his inter-dimensional podcast. One of his interviewees happens to be Death. In the episode in question, Turtles of the Eclipse, Caitlin Doughty, a real-life mortician with her own YouTube channel, dons the personification of death. Before she reveals herself, she actually asks Clancy to describe her form, so that she can manifest. She asks him, "what is death to you?", which would give it a more personal touch. Clancy eventually opts for a somewhat humorous depiction, albeit built upon the traditional aesthetic for a grim reaper.




References and (Potential) "To Read" Lists

(Note: A lot of these references I'm just dumping in, particularly on or around the 27th January just to give myself a starting off point to come back to later on to potentially take a deeper dive in. Can't make sand castles until there is sand in the sandbox, after all. I'll probably delete some of them later too)

Death and the Afterlife References and Reading/Watch List

(I'm separating these from the references for the time being. I'm not sure what my topic is just yet (it's 28th January as I'm typing this), but these articles may be interesting or useful, plus I thought it was getting a bit cluttered up there)


"Returning to one of the original questions posed in the introduction: why the need to produce and watch afterlife utopias? In addition, do Dyer’s ‘utopias as emotional experience’ seek any purpose beyond escapism? Writing about US cable television and ‘image fiction’ (postmodern writing and filmmaking produced from the 1980s onwards) in the early 1990s, David Foster Wallace (1993: 173) bemoaned:

'the reason why today’s imagist fiction isn’t the rescue from a passive, addictive TV-psychology that it tries so hard to be is that most imagist writers render their material with the same ton of irony and self-consciousness that their ancestors, the literary insurgents of Beat and postmodernism used so effectively to rebel against their own world and context.'"


This is escapism straight up from the truth of death. It reminds me of a comic strip where Life and Death are personified, Life asking Death why he is hated so. He responds with, "because you [Life] are a beautiful lie, and I [Death] am a hideous truth", which suggests people's desire to ignore talking about death. Running away from death is taken literally in The Halloween Tree (1993) where Pip steals his jack o' lantern (his soul) from Mr Moundshroud, who is heavily implied to be The Grim Reaper, or the embodiment of Death. This iteration of Death takes a rather cold approach towards the children for the most part, however, he is simply trying to take care of his cosmic duties.

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