Study Task 4 - Images, Examples and Theories

Following on from the previous task, I refined my poster by adding more images that related to my theme. This allowed me to start writing about the main differences I could spot. I separated the images by the decade they were created in. Whilst doing this I also compared the silhouettes of certain characters in my visual journal.

The poster allowed me to see where the changes in female character design began to occur. In the nineties, more cultures and races were explored, but the bodies and faces were still limited to the same, tall, slim form. From the 2000s onwards, while skinny characters were still being created, we began to see a wider range of body types emerge. The designs themselves were also more experiential and unique.

In class, we learned about the process of triangulation.


Jerome Vincent, an author for Medium, criticises the unrealistic body standards in animated films in his article, "The Unrealistic Body Image in Many Famous TV Animations" (2017). Films and television series that are aimed primarily at children will often be criticised if the main character is morally ambiguous or a potentially bad role model for younger viewers to look up to. Vincent argues however, that characters shouldn't only be criticised for their actions but also for what they say about positive body image, "this form of media can lead to eating disorders among kids who […] do not fit the unrealistic body image of their favourite princess". Vincent goes on to argue that directors and animators should be held responsible for creating these unattainable standards as the designs could be potentially very harmful to a young, impressionable audience, "these characters have an influence in our lives […] what do they portray about a healthy body image?". Catriona Harvey-Jenner, a reporter for Cosmopolitan shares the same concerns in her article "Disney Princesses get given realistic waistlines and - oh look - they still look great" (2014) where she praises the work of artist Loryn Brantz who edited images of animated female characters to look healthier and more realistic. Harvey-Jenner believes it's imperative for young girls that "a message of unattainable thin-ness isn't sent out as an image of the most desirable body shape" and rather designs should encourage healthiness over skinniness. Both articles provided examples mainly from films that came out in the 1980s and 1990s however there were cases for films that came out more recently, one being the live-action "Cinderella" (2015) film where actress Lily James, despite being naturally thin, wore an extremely tight corset which restricted her from eating solid food. It was so tight that many believed her waist had been animated.

Vincent holds the animators responsible for these artistic decisions, arguing that they shouldn't always follow what society deems acceptable at the time as this can lead to creating harsh biases against something that has been stigmatised, "because of the rise of the stigma against being overweight and obese, it is believed that being impossibly thin or having an incomprehensively thin waistline is socialy acceptable and aesthetically pleasing". He believes creators of such content should be more representative and instead should shine a more positive light on those who don't fit the mould, "it is hard for kids to understand what is healthy or not, but they can see what is stigmatized vs. socially acceptable".

However, should these controversial choices fall directly on the artist or are these decisions merely made because the outcomes are more aesthetically pleasing? An audience may argue that the designs for characters from the 1980s and 1990s, even if they aren't what young children should be looking up to, may be more appealing to look at. Even the silhouettes of characters from then to now are arguably more recognisable and portray more character than more recent character designs. Vincent admits that "one of the goals of the movie animator and director is to make the screenplay as aesthetically pleasing as possible".


Bibliography:

Cinderella (2015) Directed by K. Branagh [Film]. California: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

Harvey-Jenner, C. (2014) Disney Princesses get given realistic waistlines and - oh look - they still look great. Available at: https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/entertainment/news/a30901/disney-princesses-given-realistic-waistlines-look-amazing/ (Accessed: 3 November 2019).

Puckering, C. (no date) Artist Creates 'Realistic Disney Princesses' and the Pictures Are Amazing. Available at: https://twentytwowords.com/artist-creates-realistic-disney-princesses-pictures-amazing/ (Accessed: 3 November 2019).

Vincent, J. (2017) The Unrealistic Body Image in Many Famous TV Animations. Available at: https://medium.com/@jmvincent12/the-unrealistic-body-image-in-many-famous-tv-animations-80e02d0dbd1e (Accessed: 3 November 2019).

COP2 Weekly Update (Week Commencing: 04/11/19)

In class we were set two new study tasks. I found this a little overwhelming as I am struggling to find ways to incorporate the written essay into my practical outcome. So, I decided to take a break from my essay this week and focus on my paintings.

I continued to make my way through the decades; first looking at the silhouettes and then, using shows from the era as inspiration, designing characters that look as though they could have come from the same show. I am hoping to produce my own character turn arounds for this module so I feel drawing a range of character designs from different decades will help me.

Next week I will be attending the Manchester Animation Festival where I am hoping to collect primary research.

Study Task 1 (Week Commencing: 28/10/19)

This week we discussed building a rough set for when we start production. I was intending on making an updated Gantt sheet for this extra task however we instead had a group meeting where we weighed up the pros and cons of this extra task and decided it would be better to revert to our original plan of just making one set which would be used for the final animation. I still made an updated sheet and marked off where we were to make sure the team was still on track. I also fixed any mistakes that were in the first one.

In class I learned about lip syncs and what remapping is. I also had a lecture on sound and it's importance in animation.

I then worked on updating my blog as next week I will begin production.

COP2 Weekly Update (Week Commencing: 28/10/19)

At the beginning of the week, we had a lecture on writing an introduction and were set our fifth study task.

I stayed behind to add sound to my looping animation. I found a cartoon blink noise to add to the eyes in the background, and as we were advised to listen to sounds that could be used for other actions, I searched for footsteps walking in snow to use as the cat walked across the carpet. The last sound I added was a cat happily purring.



Link to Animism Animation

I feel as though the purring may be too loud as it seems to overpower the rest of the animation. The blink is also very harsh and sharp, and the footsteps seem too loud. I will ask my peers for a second opinion but I feel as though as the weeks go on I will go back to this and refine it.

Nearing the end of the week, I continued to work in my visual journal. I started by looking at characters from the 1980s. I painted their silhouettes on one page and then designed and painted my own characters inspired by the original designs on the other. I also updated my blog posts.

Study Task 3 - Reading and Understanding Texts

Part 1

This task involves finding a text and analysing it in various stages. First, I have to skim read the text. Then, re-read the text, finding additional information that relates to my theme. Finally, I have to read the text thoroughly, and repeat these steps until I understand exactly what the author is trying to say.

One of the books I found in the library was titled "Women, Feminism and Media" by Sue Thornham. I decided to read the second chapter of the book, "Fixing into images" as this focused on how women have been portrayed in the media.

Step 1: Skim Reading

- exploitation
- the male gaze
- feminism
- two roles: sexy and mother
- women in advertising
- equality
- what is 'image'?

Step 2: Re-Read

I feel the author is trying to convey a sense of understanding for the lack of representation of women in media as these characters are often created by men to fulfil men's needs.

Step 3: Read Thoroughly

- "visions of women are contaminated by male-defined notions"
- "inaccurate stereotypes that damage women's self-perceptions"
- "entertainment programmes in all types of format emphasise the dual image of woman as a decorative object […] and marriage-oriented passive person"
- "their sense of identity bound up with a sense of 'woman as image', forever unattainable"


In chapter two of "Women, Feminism and Media" (2007), Sue Thornham, a British film professor, is arguably trying to communicate a sense of sympathy for the unrealistic standards women have been held to, by exploring the way in which women in media have been categorised, "inaccurate stereotypes that damage women's self-perceptions"(pg.23). An argument Thornham raises is how, due to the lack of representation of women in the industry in the past, men have distorted this idea of what the image of woman should be as the stories were told from their perspectives. Thornham quotes Rita Felski here, saying "visions of women are contaminated by male-defined notions" (pg.23). Thornham uses similar examples of this, to really demonstrate how women who look to these warped ideals as role models, may be left with a sense of unfulfillment, "their sense of identity bound up with a sense of 'woman as image', forever unattainable" (pg.43).

This theory surrounding the way in which women are portrayed in media has been explored before. Feminist and film theorist, Laura Mulvey named this concept 'The Male Gaze' and argued that as most films are told from a man's perspective, this could often lead to sexist overtones. A teacher on SlideShare called Mr Smith explains this by writing "events which occur to women are presented largely in the context of a man's reaction to these events" (slide.4). By exploring this concept, this may allow the audience to recall similar instances where the male gaze is present in day to day life, such as film posters. Many examples of movie posters have been shared when debating equality in media, particularly those that have been designed in a way that only the actress' body is shown, while her face is cut off. Comedian Marcia Belsky first brought attention to this when she made a blog on Tumblr dedicated to posters and promo art that featured women's bodies called "The Headless Women of Hollywood" in 2016.

Within animation, the same issues occur. In Thornham's book she references "Mass Media: The Image, Role and Social Conditions of Women" (1979), explaining "entertainment programmes in all types of format emphasise the dual image of woman as a decorative object […] and a marriage-oriented passive person" (pg. 24). As times have changed, women in animation have arguably become more diverse and inclusive, however there are still cases where young children are looking up to models with standards that are unattainable.


Part 2

Then in class we were briefed on the second part of this task, which was to write a summary or create a research poster relating to the themes of the text. As I had already written a summary, I decided to create the poster for this next task.

I looked at female designs from the 1980s to the 2010s. I also wrote a list of sources, such as: books, articles and films I could look into, as well as trips I could attend to gather primary research.

Overall I felt the first part of this task was more helpful than the second part as I prefer writing my thoughts down over creating something visual.

Bibliography:

BBC Three. (2019) These film posters of headless women are going viral, again. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/article/42cae8ac-5ca6-4672-93b3-d3235f0f384a (Accessed: 20 October 2019)

Ceulemans, M. and Fauconnier, G. (1979) Mass Media: The Image, Role and Social Conditions of Women: A Collection and Analysis of  Research Materials. Paris: Reports and Papers on Mass Communication.

Felski, R. (2000) Doing Time: Feminist Theory and Postmodern Culture. New York and London: New York University Press.

Lanquist, L. (2016) Women's Faces Are Often Missing From Movie Posters. Available at: https://www.self.com/story/womens-faces-are-often-missing-from-movie-posters (Accessed: 20 October 2019).

Smith, M. (2009) The Male Gaze Laura Mulvey. Available at: https://www.slideshare.net/fleckneymike/the-male-gaze-laura-mulvey (Accessed: 20 October 2019).

Thornham, S. (2007) Women, Feminism and Media. Edinburgh University Press.

Tumblr. (no date) The Headless Women of Hollywood. Available at: https://headlesswomenofhollywood.com/ (Accessed: 20 October 2019).

University of Sussex. (no date) Prof Sue Thornham. Available at: http://www.sussex.ac.uk/profiles/166435 (Accessed: 20 October 2019).

Wikipedia. (no date) Laura Mulvey. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Mulvey (Accessed: 20 October 2019).

Study Task 2 - Writing a Research Question

For this task, I needed to write up a prototype question based on the themes I mentioned in the previous task. The main themes I am exploring are history and society; specifically how society's standards have changed over time. My first proto-question is:

'How has the portrayal of women, in animation, evolved over the last fifty years?'

Based on the feedback I have received, I am continuing to refine this question so that it isn't too broad, as I need to be wary of the word count.

My second draft is:

'How has the portrayal of women, in animation, evolved within this generation circa 1989 - 2019?'

Something I realised while looking at animated films and shows, and also something that was mentioned within areas of my research so far is that the main change began to appear in the nineties. So, I decided to change the question once more so I can compare the designs that came before the nineties to the designs that came after.

My question is now:

'How has the portrayal of women, in animation, evolved within this generation circa 1980 - 2019?'

I am going to focus on character design in my visual journal. At this point in time, I am hoping to produce some character turn-around sheets comparing previous character designs to the more diverse and inclusive designs of today.


Update:

The final question is:

'How has the portrayal of women, in western animation, evolved over the last forty years?'

Study Task 1 (Week Commencing: 21/10/19)

At the beginning of the week, I began looking into potential musicians that could provide a score for our animation, as by this point, the animatic had been made so I roughly knew the length of the piece. I ended up talking to a student called Luke Bryan who seemed interested in our project. He sent over his showreel and I sent our animatic. We discussed inspiration and the timescale, and he has started to work on the main crow's theme.

I also continued to work into my crow turn-around by adding colour and testing this colour against our colour palette, using the concept art for the old background.

I struggled with the 3/4 perspective as I wasn't sure exactly how short or rounded his beak would be, nor could I picture exactly how his tail and wings would sit. So by the middle of the week, I worked on the 3/4 pose specifically until I was happy with the proportions. I also sent each turn around to my group chat so they could give me any advice or tips on how to make it more consistent.

Once I fixed the beak and wings, I added the colour and sent this to my team again for any last adjustments.

Nearing the end of the week, I shaded the crow and tested these tones on the original concept art as by this stage, the latest background art wasn't finished yet. Once I have a copy of the new concept art, I will add my characters to that just to double check that the characters and background blends seamlessly together and doesn't look too out of place.

Throughout the week I also worked on a dynamic pose sheet. By this point, the director had sent an updated animatic and I noticed that the beast's eyes at the end are yellow. I included this detail on the sheet and asked if the team preferred the yellow eyes or normal eyes. They agreed that the yellow eyes looked more haunting and creepy so we decided to keep them.

So I went back to the wolf turn around and changed the eyes here too.

Next week we will begin to look at building a replica set so that the 2D animators can start animating as soon as possible and don't need to rely on the 3D set builders. This step was only considered this week so it doesn't have a place on the original Gantt sheet. So I will also look at updating the Gantt sheet next week.