I thoroughly enjoyed the presentation by James Parris. His humor and passion for animation, as well as its potential impact on the world, made him a great speaker.
His claim that he wanted his film Pink and Blue to be “a drop in the Ocean” was very inspiring. It reminded me that efforts that may seem small can contribute to change greater than one could imagine. I like that his film showed the toys’ role in this segregation between “masculine” and “feminine activities”. They refused to cross the so-called line between the two, until one day this occurred by accident and they discovered there was no harm in this.
James brought up a real life occurrence that showed the importance of talking about issues in gender. A boy’s father was going to buy him a playstation controller, and the boy just happened to pick out a sparkly purple controller. His father wouldn’t have it, and made a scene in the checkout line. James said that that moment was going to remain with that child forever, and I couldn’t agree more. Parents have a huge impact on their child’s self image, even before the child is old enough to realize this. In order to help the next generation of children have more confidence, we must take a look at the generation who will raise them. If we can combat ignorance surrounding issues like gender roles, and give less authority to conventions, we can anticipate a generation of children who are more comfortable with themselves. The slightest bit of encouragement for children to express themselves can be a drop in the ocean that will bring upon a wave of change.