Dear film industry,
IN THE BEGINNING:
Historically, African Americans have been represented in animation as shameless and often derogatory stereotypes; from an offensive portrayal of a savage native to a female who loyally serves her masters, while they are unabashedly refereed to as the household’s “mammy.” The specificity of the way these characters were often animated is directly taken from the era when white singers performed in “black face.” These animated characters have dark faces with a large white or pink area around their mouth. This exaggerated portrayal of an animated character was many times presented in what was intended to be a humorous portrayal.
Throughout the history of mass media animation, white characters, whether they were humans or otherwise, dominated the storyboards that made up these movies and short form presentations. The voices, which are such a crucial part of creating and fulfilling an animated character, were always recognizably Caucasian, while diverse voices were far and few in between, and in many cases, as exaggerated and stereo-typical as the actually animated drawing of the character.
Historically, African Americans have been represented in animation as shameless and often derogatory stereotypes; from an offensive portrayal of a savage native to a female who loyally serves her masters, while they are unabashedly refereed to as the household’s “mammy.” The specificity of the way these characters were often animated is directly taken from the era when white singers performed in “black face.” These animated characters have dark faces with a large white or pink area around their mouth. This exaggerated portrayal of an animated character was many times presented in what was intended to be a humorous portrayal.
Throughout the history of mass media animation, white characters, whether they were humans or otherwise, dominated the storyboards that made up these movies and short form presentations. The voices, which are such a crucial part of creating and fulfilling an animated character, were always recognizably Caucasian, while diverse voices were far and few in between, and in many cases, as exaggerated and stereo-typical as the actually animated drawing of the character.
FILM:
African American leads in animation were non-existent until essentially 2009 when Tiana became the first African American princess in Disney’s The Princess and the Frog. Prior to that, we rarely heard the sound of African American voices, let alone a realistic execution of their speak, unless it was the typical comedy sidekicks or secondary characters. The only true element that made Donkey from “Shrek” African American was the global awareness that Eddie Murphy was voicing the character; otherwise, there is nothing in Donkey’s character that celebrates African American culture. Ironically, once again, it is the voice of Eddie Murphy for Mushu in Mulan, that is the only thing that defines the African American nature of the character. Likewise, African American actor Samuel E. Write voiced Sebastian from The Little Mermaid, while Marty from Madagascar was the easy-to-recognize Chris Rock. It’s hard not to deduce that this tradition of the black sidekick started with the infamous, stereotypical Crows from Dumbo, all of which were voiced by black actors, with the exception of the lead crow who was voiced by Caucasian actor, Cliff Edwards.
The voices of the Crows in Dumbo stand out as a sad reminder of the critical racial issues plaguing this country. The leader of the crows, who was voiced by a white man, is blatantly named Jim Crow, an all too obvious and audacious reference to the Jim Crow laws of the 1880s. The movie “Dumbo” was created in 1941, a short decade before the US government addressed the legality of the Jim Crow laws.
African American leads in animation were non-existent until essentially 2009 when Tiana became the first African American princess in Disney’s The Princess and the Frog. Prior to that, we rarely heard the sound of African American voices, let alone a realistic execution of their speak, unless it was the typical comedy sidekicks or secondary characters. The only true element that made Donkey from “Shrek” African American was the global awareness that Eddie Murphy was voicing the character; otherwise, there is nothing in Donkey’s character that celebrates African American culture. Ironically, once again, it is the voice of Eddie Murphy for Mushu in Mulan, that is the only thing that defines the African American nature of the character. Likewise, African American actor Samuel E. Write voiced Sebastian from The Little Mermaid, while Marty from Madagascar was the easy-to-recognize Chris Rock. It’s hard not to deduce that this tradition of the black sidekick started with the infamous, stereotypical Crows from Dumbo, all of which were voiced by black actors, with the exception of the lead crow who was voiced by Caucasian actor, Cliff Edwards.
The voices of the Crows in Dumbo stand out as a sad reminder of the critical racial issues plaguing this country. The leader of the crows, who was voiced by a white man, is blatantly named Jim Crow, an all too obvious and audacious reference to the Jim Crow laws of the 1880s. The movie “Dumbo” was created in 1941, a short decade before the US government addressed the legality of the Jim Crow laws.
When Disney Studios released The Princess and the Frog and introduced Princess Tiana, it was a step forward, albeit rather late in the game; but a main character was African American, and she was a woman. Still, this revolutionary achievement did not come without criticism and controversy. Many viewers were disappointed that Tiana’s storyline didn’t address grounded, genuine racial issues in an obvious manner. Furthermore, it is ironic that the first black female lead of an animated movie ends up spending very little time on screen as a black woman. Early in the story, Tiana kisses a frog, and rather than him turning into a prince, as in the traditional story, Tiana turns into a frog. Tiana remains a frog for the majority of the movie, and only returns to being a black woman at the very end.
TELEVISION:
But this doesn’t end with movies, these trends also continue into television. Doug specified race and diversity, through bright colors like orange, green, blue, and purple. The main character, Doug, and his family were the only characters that were beige, and therefore easily assumed to be Caucasian. All the other characters in the series were bright blue, green, purple, or orange. The creators of the show intentionally did this to portray the differences in race to their typically very young audience. The creator of Doug explained that Doug’s best friend, Skeeter, was intended to be an African American character. Yet other than that explanation, Skeeter has no other physical, or cultural characteristics that associate him with the African American culture in a clear way.
Doc McStuffins on the other hand, makes a concerted effort to culturally define their characters. The series centers on a young African American girl, Dr. Dottie “Doc” McStuffins, who is a vet, and runs a hospital for stuffed animals. The series allows this fresh, young African American doctor to be portrayed not only as a lead, but also as a young black woman with ambition and a desire to further knowledge of medicine. The specificity of how she is realistically animated, and speaks, stands out as an admirable role model for the series very young audience.
But this doesn’t end with movies, these trends also continue into television. Doug specified race and diversity, through bright colors like orange, green, blue, and purple. The main character, Doug, and his family were the only characters that were beige, and therefore easily assumed to be Caucasian. All the other characters in the series were bright blue, green, purple, or orange. The creators of the show intentionally did this to portray the differences in race to their typically very young audience. The creator of Doug explained that Doug’s best friend, Skeeter, was intended to be an African American character. Yet other than that explanation, Skeeter has no other physical, or cultural characteristics that associate him with the African American culture in a clear way.
Doc McStuffins on the other hand, makes a concerted effort to culturally define their characters. The series centers on a young African American girl, Dr. Dottie “Doc” McStuffins, who is a vet, and runs a hospital for stuffed animals. The series allows this fresh, young African American doctor to be portrayed not only as a lead, but also as a young black woman with ambition and a desire to further knowledge of medicine. The specificity of how she is realistically animated, and speaks, stands out as an admirable role model for the series very young audience.
WHY ANIMATION SHOULD BE UTILIZED MORE:
Animation is a medium that is accessible to all ages, and is more than often targeted specifically at kids. It allows a great opportunity to expose and illustrate critical social issues, whether serious or taboo. It opens all the doors to change minds, inspire and educate all of us. In the 1950’s cartoons were for children. Twenty years later, there were cartoons for adults and cartoons for the whole family to watch. But animation has come so much further; it is no longer a cartoon for one specific audience, but a viable medium for global thought and social change.
Sources:
Stereotypes in Animation Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64AQ3BzhWKI
The Crows in Dumbo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzhDbAiWRRs
The Princess and the Frog Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQBy6jqbmlU
Doug Theme Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hygi3PlZI0Y
Doc McStuffins Theme Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PopMSJFa0og
Animation is a medium that is accessible to all ages, and is more than often targeted specifically at kids. It allows a great opportunity to expose and illustrate critical social issues, whether serious or taboo. It opens all the doors to change minds, inspire and educate all of us. In the 1950’s cartoons were for children. Twenty years later, there were cartoons for adults and cartoons for the whole family to watch. But animation has come so much further; it is no longer a cartoon for one specific audience, but a viable medium for global thought and social change.
Sources:
Stereotypes in Animation Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64AQ3BzhWKI
The Crows in Dumbo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzhDbAiWRRs
The Princess and the Frog Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQBy6jqbmlU
Doug Theme Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hygi3PlZI0Y
Doc McStuffins Theme Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PopMSJFa0og