Author: Amanda Niles

Tokyo Godfathers was a movie I did not expect to enjoy as much as I did. It felt incredibly honest and sweet, with gorgeous animation and amazing storytelling.
The thing that really stuck out to me was how homelessness was handled as a plot point- in that it really wasn’t. It was a setting for them that created tensions perfect for the plot, but it never felt like a one dimensional tool.
The characters all had their reasons for being homeless; and it was not something talked about often between them, not something ruminated on more than it needed to be. We saw them have joyous moments between the difficulties, we saw them live their lives as they have to, and we eventually learned why.
For a film with three homeless protagonists, it felt positive. But not in a way that ignored the troubles of homelessness, but celebrated every aspect of that situation, good and bad. The tight family dynamics between the three of them felt very genuine because of the hardships we’ve seen. Everything felt organic in a way that can only be achieved by a lot of work and careful, mindful writing.
I’d love to know how the writer prepared to create this story, because it feels as though he had done ample research to do this story justice. I really appreciate that.

We’ve all experienced it. The cringe-worthy, loud, meme-emulating commercials and advertisements aimed towards younger people. I’ve always seen these and thought, ‘They are so out of touch. It must be a bunch of old people directing these.’

Which is, not in fact, true. The Linkedin article “Why I Miss Old People In the Workplace” highlights that in advertising specifically, younger people dominate the scene.

If there are young people pulling the strings, shouldn’t the content resonate with other young people?

It makes sense, but the products speak for themselves. Advertising is a tricky medium that combines art with a proposition. Visually, the aesthetic has evolved to be much more interesting. Content and argument wise, overall, they feel lacking. I can only assume it’s because the younger people largely in charge of these projects simply do no have the experience required to make advertisement less transparent.

Ironically, people in our age range tend to be as embarassing in “hip, new, relatable” in advertising content as some, but not most, older people tend to be in real life.

For Amy, Ashley and I’s podcast, we touched on many facets of body image representation and the problematic “normal” female image. In an article in Eating Weight Disord, Vol 10 titled “Thin is ‘in’ and stout is ‘out’: What animated cartoons tell viewers about body weight,” H. Klein and K.S. Shiffman provide insightful research and commentary covering three points: how prevalent is weight-related content in animated cartoons, has this prevalence changed over time, and what “types” of characteristics tend to be associated with being thinner-than normal or heavier-than-normal.

The results state that 88% of characters fell within the “normal” body range. Characters outside of the “normal” were more than twice as likely to be overweight than underweight (8.6%, and 3.4%, respectively). Females were more than four times as likely to be shown as underweight than men. Overweight characters were far less likely to be depicted as physically attractive than their normal-weight or underweight counterparts. Overweight characters were more than twice as apt to be shown as unintelligent as their normal-weight and underweight counterparts. Heavy characters were more likely to be shown to suffer from some type of physical disability when compared to their average-weight or thinner than-average counterparts. (113)

“The adverse effects of internalizing such messages about body weight have been shown in numerous studies that have linked them to problems like low self-esteem (23, 24), poor body image (25, 26), eating disorders (5, 27-29), and depression (25, 30), among others.” (114)

The study was incredibly thorough and provided much more information than I can discuss in one blog post, though the results speak for themselves. The positive representation, not just the inclusion, of overweight and underweight characters is incredibly important to the self esteem of younger viewers, which most cartoons are made for. Even cartoons not made for children usually end up being consumed by younger-than-intended audiences. Things like this are important to keep in mind, even when it’s easier to reach for a trope or stereotype.

Klein, H., & Shiffman, K. (2004). Thin is “in” and stout is “out”: What animated cartoons tell viewers about body weight. Eating Weight Disorders,10, 107-116.

My name is Amanda, I’m a Junior Recording Arts major. I love doing sound for animation, and I’m a big advocate for queer rights, intersectionality, and representation in the media. I’m the supervising sound editor for Pastel Circus Animation, where we are currently working on a show called “Super”, which features an interracial lesbian leading couple. I’m half Polish, and I go by they/them. I recently got into tabletop gaming. Moana and Steven Universe make me emotional.  I am very tired.