Craig of the Creek and Reflecting For All: Can Inclusion Be Misused?

Representation matters. Hollywood knows that now more than ever before. But Hollywood is also cunning and exploitative, as we all know. People of all sexes and colors want a reflection on screen, and if it’s diversity that sells then it’s diversity we’ll get. Inclusion in many ways has just become another thing for filmmakers to either exploit or embrace. It’s a war between being thoughtless and being thoughtful. People of all types are actually getting screen time whereas they would not have before.

To bring this all into familiar territory for us animation students, let’s have a look at Cartoon Network’s Craig of the Creek: a cute, harmless show that turns the local woods into a mini world of gest and adventure for the local kids to explore. It’s Recess meets Lord of the Rings, essentially. What has people tied up about it is the fact that the show was created by two white guys (Matt Burnett and Ben Levin) but its protagonist, Craig, and his family are black.

Hey Arnold! and Recess are similar cartoons to Craig of the Creek in that they follow the suburban, slice-of-life adventures of kids helping others or getting into trouble. Arnold Shortman and T.J. Detweiler are the protagonists of each show, respectively. Both are white males with a black best friend. Gerald and Vince are great, but would it really hurt to make “the black guy” the protagonist, for once? Black kids growing up wouldn’t have to keep relating exclusively to side characters. Matt Burnett says, “I think more inclusivity and media and representing people that we haven’t usually seen on TV is really exciting.”

Craig of the Creek’s creek is in a modest, middle-class neighborhood, where Craig is treated no differently than any other of the diverse kids. He’s a middle child whose mother, father, and grandparents care for him. There’s no commentary on race or on growing up black in America within the show, but Craig of the Creek isn’t that kind of show anyways. It’s an innocent, wistful trip back to childhood whose protagonist happens to be black. There is no one way to grow up black in America, and Burnett and Levin make Craig fun and relatable as any kid. Burnett and Levin are Steven Universe veterans, so rest assured no one will misuse representation. Besides, if it weren’t for white filmmakers representing other races, we wouldn’t have strong minority characters like Moana or Miguel. 

It is worth noting that the show isn’t two white men assuming the black experience. Burnett and Levin have gathered a diverse crew to ensure that black voices are being heard from the show through their boards and words in the script. “We worked hard to put together the team that would help shape the show, a very diverse group of voices to add something that we needed that we couldn’t do on our own. That was always our goal when we decided to create the show, to work with a huge range of people and get their voices heard on TV,” says Burnett.

Choosing to represent those of us cast in others’ shadows, whether it be women or minorities, is a bold opportunity that can break grounds. Other times, it can be hasty and underhanded. Two of Pixar’s last films feature major female characters who were both male until late in production: Cruz Ramirez in Cars 3 and Evelyn Deavor in Incredibles 2 (Evelyn’s change came so late that her male version was already fully modeled, rigged, and textured). The filmmakers explain that Cruz was made a female to seem like an outsider in the male-dominated racing world and Evelyn was made female to give her a stronger relationship with Elastigirl: two women cast in men’s shadows. These last-minute changes aren’t malicious or anything, but they aren’t exactly noteworthy either. They seem hasty. They do have thought and nuance put into why they made their decision to make the change, though, it’s not like J.K. Rowling coming out saying “btw Dumbledore was gay.” And at the end of the day, kids have a Latina racer and female supervillian. 

Everyone wants a character to relate to and it’s disheartening when you can’t find yourself anywhere. Craig of the Creek isn’t exploiting Black America; it’s embracing childhood and diversity. Every day ends with Craig and his friends running home just in time for dinner, and every credit sequence is an intimate, warm look at Craig’s family dinner table. Melodic indie rock plays as we see the whole family together, just eating, happy together. Levin likes this moment and says of it, “People have pointed that out, like, ‘this is so refreshing to see on television.’ We’re looking to show those little moments. They’re not big political statements, but they can mean so much to people.” As groundbreaking as it may be, I don’t think the creators would want their show to be remembered just as “the one with the black kid.” Luckily, I think they have just enough fun and creativity within the show for it’s legacy to be broader than that. There’s something for everyone in Craig of the Creek, and that’s what makes diversity endearing.

 

https://www.fastcompany.com/40551963/inside-cartoon-networks-racially-groundbreaking-show-craig-of-the-creek

https://nerdist.com/craig-of-the-creek-5-reasons-you-should-watch/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWVfw-0qv6c

http://blacknerdproblems.com/craig-of-the-creek-review/

 

11 Replies to “Craig of the Creek and Reflecting For All: Can Inclusion Be Misused?”

  1. This is such a relevant and ongoing concern that seems to be one of those issues that should have an easy answer but rarely does. As someone who takes diversity and representation as an important factor in deciding which films or shows I’ll watch, I find that the face of a person of color can very much sway my decision. As a result I can be lulled into the false sense of security that companies create by including a token character of color, someone to point to and say “hey, this one isn’t white!” (Even if the creators are). What happens is a complete lack of authentic characterization that can leave characters feeling flat and uninteresting. But as you pointed out, a POC is still POC representation, and perhaps exposure to a different culture for the first time. This all leads back to the fact that this is a more complicated issue than we may realize.

  2. While I never watched Craig of the Creek, its heartwarming to know that animators in the industry want to have POC be represented in their stories (and I hope it extends to other “minority” representation that we’ve discussed in class). Its funny when you mention the last minute gender swap of Cruz and Evelyn, I’m trying to imagine them as male characters: would the message/climax of the story have the same impact? For me, as a women of color, I don’t think it would of. (Like you mentioned in your post) The fact that these women were, in one way or another, combating with hegemonic masculinity of their society was relatable for me and made the story that much greater to me as a viewer.

  3. Wow I had no idea that Pixar switched those characters from male to female so late in the production. I agree with Mariah that I don’t think these stories would have had the same impact if the characters had stayed male. Not only that, but I feel like the message of the films might’ve even been different altogether. I wonder why it took them so long to decide to switch the characters to female, and how much of that decision was just an attempt to capitalize on the current awareness of feminism.

  4. I really like what you said about Craig of the Creek being primarily a show about a kid’s adventures, and he just so happens to be black. I often go back and forth on what I would like to see in terms of representation of black people, but in the case of this show I find it refreshing to see a black boy as a main character without it being obviously stereotypical. There are times when I would like for there to be a focus on a main characters ethnic identity in certain shows or films, but I think that this show does a good job of focusing on Craig’s adventures without focusing so much on his identity as a black kid.

  5. I’ve personally never seen Craig of the Creek and your blog post makes it sound like something I would be interested in watching. I find it really interesting that two white men decided to have a black protagonist but I personally feel that show creators like this must be in the entertainment industry. They might not have the personal experience to back up everything but they are inclusive of that particular minority in the creation of the show. I feel like the industry is moving in the right direction of not having sterotypical characters being showcased, and how creators are willing to make the step into having a story based around a different minority than their own. The most interesting thing to me about your post is how the ending credits are always about the reunion of the family for dinner. It makes the show feel very wholesome and gives a warm feeling to the audience.

  6. We’ve talked before about how we live in a transition age of media representation, where there’s new content being released that include minorities where it didn’t before. I think it’s cool that we’re getting different shows addressing that representation in different ways, and even if Craig of the Creek may not be the black character representation people want, I think it’s certainly going in the right direction. I’d love to see a show where the main character’s ethnic culture is more ingrained into the show overall, but I think it’s also good to have other shows like Craig of the Creek to create that variety of representation that white culture has taken for granted for so many years.

  7. I honestly didn’t know Pixar added those two characters last minute. But the more I think about I’m like.. yeah that makes sense. Those two characters both felt rushed compared to the rest of the cast. Like I am glad they changed it because it makes the most sense story-wise. I have never really watched Craig of the Creek before but it looks like a cool cartoon. I feel like you did an awesome job showing that this is an amazing cartoon, whose protagonist is black. It’s important to have a main character that people can look up to and identify with. It’s great that we have more and more diverse main characters that kids can look up too.

  8. I was just having a similar conversation with a friend of mine who is white. He talked about will it ever be okay for him who is a white male to create main characters that do not fit his race, gender, sexuality, etc. Like the creators of Craig go the Creek, I think if you listen to other voices and get information then you can do it in a respectful manner because you never want to misrepresent a group of people. There’s always some kind of research done to anything you create. Especially, now when the creators are a good portion of white cis males, it’s important for them to create content that shows accurate diversity.

  9. This is really interesting in the scope of what we talked about in class in regard to representation being “too subtle” or “not subtle enough”. The perspective of the show-runners on the decision of making Craig’s race not as the central drive of his character, but rather as a part of him that is simply a facet of who he is and what his life is. One of my personal beliefs is that this kind of normal integration in characterization is far more beneficial for audiences looking to see themselves in media, or it has been in my own experiences. I feel as though this expansive look into a modern show and the perspective of those who are in the creative team behind it fuels my continuing belief in this method of diverse characterization.

  10. This question you’ve brought up is really an important relevant query in the discussion of racial representation in animation or in media in general. I definitely agree that there will be critics on either side. Because Craig is treated the same as anyone in the community and not defined by his skin color, it allows black children watching to feel like their skin color is normal and not different but then that makes you question whether or not the truth about the African American experience is glossed over. I definitely feel like the creators of Craig in the Creek are taking a step in the right direction by taking input from people of color for their show and that the way they have taken it in a respectful manner and haven’t pretended to know the “african-american experience” is a plus. In my opinion, while it would be amazing for an African-American creator to create a show like this, I also think people that have the right intentions who have the means and opportunity to produce something like this should be able to.

  11. I’ve never seen Craig of the Creek before but you sold me on it! Definitely going to watch it ASAP. I agree with Micah and Shivani that it’s a great way for POC kids to grow up seeing characters who are in no way hindered by their race. While it’s important to educate about injustice, of course, kids also need a source of inspiration and a view of what a world without racial prejudice would look like. I think we should get excited when non POC show creators feature POC characters. Not in a way where we make them out to be heroes for doing what should be a normal thing, but when critics getting angry about white people writing an experience that’s not their own, they are more than likely discouraging other writers from featuring non white characters, which is, at the end of the day, a good thing (as long as those characters are being represented with honestly and respect).

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