Political And Social
A huge part of my influence on this project is historical events, such as the 1960's Civil Rights Moment as well as the Homophile equal right moment, including the stonewall riots. As part of my CoP essay studies, I looked into the representation and equal rights movement for trans women including the stereotyping of trans women. I wanted to move towards equal rights and positive representation from the begining of this project, because of my previous studies in that essay.
I became particularly interested in movements that took a stereotype and used it as a positive or in a sarcastic manner. Such as the 'Slutwalk' and the adaptation of the term 'Queer' in the LGBTQ+ movement as an umbrella term. Both examples have been seen as positives as well as negatives. The 'Slutwalk' promotes awareness about sexual assault and rape towards women, promoting that a woman never deserves to be sexually abused because of the way she is dressed - hence the theme of 'slut'. The protestors dress in provocative, revealing clothes as a statement that they're still not deserving of sexual violence - challenging the stereotype of a 'woman asking for it'. In cases of sexual abuse, countless times victims have been blamed for the attack because of what they were wearing, 'asking for it' because of their choosing in wearing such revealing clothing.Supports of the protesting however disregard the movement, as they claim it teaches others that the term 'slut' is an acceptance term to use for any woman. The same applies to the LGBTQ+ movement and the term 'queer'. Once a hateful term, members of LGBTQ+ argue that the use of the term only shows support for others to use the once abusive word, in order to stereotype further.
Cinematic depictions of POC have in previous years relied on stereotyping. The stereotype of a black woman is often aggressive, loud, sassy and/or physically violent and the same depiction often is the same for black men, however black men in cinema are often put into roles of criminals or aggressive characters. 'Moonlight' recently won the best film at the Oscars2017; the film focuses on a black gay character, who is shown at three stages of his life coming to terms and realising his sexuality as well as repressing it, in order to maintain what he is told to be what a man is meant to be. Moonlights characters are diverse and individuals, not stenotypes; male character cry, female characters are strong and independent and both genders show a level of vulnerability despite physical appearances. The film pushes a comment forward onto the pressure on young boys to become a stereotype of man and the harmful binary attitude we have towards them and what impact that can have on them as individuals. I loved this film, particularly it's depiction of sexuality of someone from childhood to adulthood. The main characters sexuality confuses him, making him uncomfortable around other boys and uncomfortable within himself; there's also a mention of him being called a faggot, where the main character has to ask what the word means because he's so unaware at that point. The main character isn't 'revealed' to be homosexual through a sudden sexual encounter with another man, like many films involving homosexuality tend to depict (such as Broke Back Mountain) - The main character homosexual as a child all the way to adulthood because that's what sexuality is, someone's identity and this character identity doesn't change because of his 'awareness' of it. The character grows up in a setting where he's constantly being challenged to be more masculine, as a result he represses his sexuality into adult hood in order to active 'manly-ness'. Moonlight makes a clear statement about LGBTQ+ rights as well as the hugely negative impact forced gender roles can have on children all the way into their adulthood. Moonlight challenges stenotypes, as a film that depicts black characters as emotional, independent and individuals as well as within itself as a story.
An influence on me developing this project was the idea of promotion of acceptance towards younger audiences, that cartoons are increasingly featuring more in children's animation (Steven Universe, Amazing World Of Gumball, Star Against The Forces Of Evil... ect). I wanted to create a film that showed younger audiences that being open about your identity and your individuality doesn't stop you achieving your goals and should never stop you, teaching at a younger age to recognise inequality they may face in the future.
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