researchproject-representation

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Some Concluding Thoughts

Looking back on the week’s research as a whole, I find myself feeling both frustrated but hopeful. It seems, my favorite genre of media is – much like most other things – totally dependent on money and profits. I strongly believe that art is about telling stories that can transform the audience and make them think. But the reality of the situation is that they have to also make art that sells. Companies have figured out over time that art which people would choose to see more often than not is art which they agree with already.

Larger corporations that have higher budgets need far more people to see their works in order to be able to turn a profit out of their productions. Due to this high risk, it makes sense to play safe, and go with the majority of a population would like to see and believe. From this perspective, some amount of censorship and loss of representation is a necessary evil in order for artists to be able to make any money from their work. This is likely why the majority of representation from marginalized group comes from indie artists who have much less to lose by taking that risk.

Looking at present-day media, however, there has been an increase in LGBTQ+, colored, feminine representation in Western Animation such as Steven Universe, The Dragon Prince, and She-Ra. In addition to this, there have been some incredibly popular Japanese animations such as Yuri! On Ice, which not only had a racially diverse cast, but also explored a homosexual romance without enforcing any gender-roles in the relationship. This goes to show that change for the better is possible, and that the “general public” is happy and willing to watch and support these shows. I am hopeful that the future will see a far more diverse and multicultural cast of characters in all forms of media.

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How do we get a Good Representation?

Looking at the stories behind good and bad representation, it seems as though the reasoning behind it is generally the same. These shows are always made with the general consensus of the public in mind. The groups that generally need the representation – being marginalized already as it is – are never seen as “profitable” to represent, since the majority of the population might already have negative or disagreeable views of the character. But in the end, this only serves to further marginalize the group, because now they have lost an important platform through which their voices can be heard, and through which they can gain confidence in themselves and their identity.

Of course, the animation industry attempted to solve this problem by creating an odorless environment without any particular race or culture being represented, however, much like the Simpsons, the “default” person is generally perceived to be predominantly white, and the same problem occurs again. In addition to this, it has been seen time and time again that inclusion of representation that is otherwise rare can open a piece up for a far greater number of criticisms than the piece would normally receive: both from dissatisfied people from that minority, but also from that outside of the group, who are not accustomed to it. Diversity, however, is necessary for the political and educative goals of representation (Shaw, Adrienne 10).

That said, a good representation of marginalized communities can serve to help us all put faces to the vacant name of the minority, and can forge communities of support, allowing them a platform to speak up and be heard. In terms of profits, it seems to me that this could also mean a far more dedicated (but perhaps more critical) audience, that will continue to discuss not only the show but its impact on their lives for a far greater amount of time. In the age of mass media influence, in which trends and social media can make or break a show, having a strong and dedicated fan base can take a show a long way. As seen by more and more indie streaming websites funding such shows (such as Netflix and Rooster Teeth), perhaps there will be a general trend towards more and more realistic media representation for marginalized groups in the future.

Shaw, Adrienne, "Identity, Identification, and Media Representation in Video Game Play: An audience reception study" (2010). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 286. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/286

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Race in Anime

While there is far more representation to be found in this media in terms of sexuality and gender, often it continues to reinforce previously known stereotypes especially pertaining to male dominance. However, this is reflected far more in the fans and fan culture than it is in the medium itself. The western idea of censorship and homogenization in order to appeal to the masses can also be seen in anime in this sense. Seen ever since the popularization of anime in the west, there has been a trend in anime towards fewer and fewer cultural references. This lack of any specific culture or cultural reference is referred to as “cultural odor-lessness”

In order to achieve this disengagement from Japanese culture, many different techniques are used. Often, unless the genre is more Slice-of-life (which, as the name implies, is a genre which concentrates more on day-to-day drama), the settings tend to be either fantasy or more western. The characters themselves racially have grown to represent a generally white population, rather than an authentic Japanese one. On the instances that other races are present in anime, there presence often comes alongside fair amounts of stereotyping both by the producers and – perhaps as a result – the fans as well.

In this case, there is certainly a largely negative impact as a result of both the lack of representation and the stereotyping. In addition to this, however, it has created a certain Japanese fascination with the West, and western attitudes, as well as likely influenced the Western fascination with Japanese culture: both which can be – but are not necessarily negative results of this. It seems, however, that once again, the representation (or lack thereof) is nearly always dependent on the (paying) public’s views on that marginalized group.  

Fennell, Dana, et al. “Consuming Anime.” Television & New Media, vol. 14, no. 5, Sept. 2013, pp. 440 - 456. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1527476412436986#articleCitationDownloadContainer doi:10.1177/1527476412436986

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LGBTQ+ representation in anime

While same-sex marriage is still illegal in Japan today, in Japanese cartoons (anime), there is whole subgenre for those looking for homosexual or lesbian stories or representation. Even in mainstream anime, there are often some queer characters present. There are a range of different types of characters and perspectives, too: some queer characters keep their sexuality as much of a secret as possible, while others flaunt it openly, and actively embrace the queer community. That said, queer romance is still often referred to as “the forbidden love” and is often treated as a great taboo – as it is considered one by the majority of religious people in Japan even today.

There are essentially two types of audiences this sort of representation can have an impact on. On one hand, homoerotic fiction – especially low-budget works – are often made and consumed in order to explore these queer feelings. Many people who enjoy this type of content were able to discover their own sexualities and found a community of like-minded people that empowered them thanks to these types of works. In addition to this, there are people who simply gain a better understanding of their relationships with other woman or men.

On the other hand, there are several stereotypes that this genre of media creates and reinforces. For example, despite their being two woman or two men in the relationship, often one of the characters take on the “masculine” role, while the other tends to be far more “feminine” reinforcing the heteronormative Japanese gender roles in the process. In addition to this, these relationships are sometimes sexualized to fulfill the reader’s fetish for homoerotic content. This fosters a community of people whose beliefs against same-sex rights and marriage are simply reinforced by seeing these types of representation.

Even in Western culture, there is a rather large group of fans who tend to fetishize same-sex couples of the other genders, despite being homophobic themselves. This tends to create a toxic environment for what might have otherwise been a supportive community for people to explore and express and thus gain a better understanding of themselves and their sexualities. That said, on net, it seems that this sort of representation – when not over-sexualized – can serve to empower marginalized communities. This is because the source material itself is not generally outright reinforcing any negative stereotypes, and at the very least, creates a platform for questions about these stereotypes to be discussed and actively refuted.

Nagaike, Kazumi. “The Sexual and Textual Politics of Japanese Lesbian Comics: Reading Romantic and Erotic Yuri Narratives.” Ejcjs - The Sexual and Textual Politics of Japanese Lesbian Comics: Reading Romantic and Erotic Yuri Narratives, Electronic Journal of Contemporary Japanese Studies, 30 Sept. 2010, japanesestudies.org.uk/articles/2010/Nagaike.html.

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Race Issues in the West

Looking further back into the history of censorship of representation in the United States, it seems things like this have been happening since the founding of the animation industry. As we explored earlier, censorship often occurs because corporations are concerned with reaching as large an audience as possible, often thus reflecting the views of the public of its time in its media. Even one of the oldest animated characters – Betty Boop – has undergone massive changes in order to appeal to the generally racially-minded perspective of their audience.

The original character of Betty was written to be a curvaceous woman of color. She was a woman who was, in some ways, sexually empowered due to this. That said, however, it was no accident that she was written to be a woman of color, and also deeply sexualized by the animators. Certainly, it’s no surprise that her “lose” nature was deeply rooted in the general public’s opinion of people of color and natives. About a decade into the airing of Betty Boop’s show, there was a certain “overhauling” of her character, which led to her becoming slightly less promiscuous. Of course, now she was no longer objectified as much, but she also lost a large deal of her character in the process. In addition to this, her skin tone reduced drastically, so she looked much more like the average white woman of the time. This new Betty was a homemaker: almost the “ideal” for a woman at the time (Did I mention that she was also made to look more white now, by the way?).

Sadly, it seems as though either way there is no winning. Personally, I feel as though in both cases, the issue was that these characters were no made to seem like a real person, but rather, they were created out of the pre-existing notions within the predominantly white, male, workers in the animation department. Perhaps it would have been better had there been some inputs or perspectives taken from women – especially women of color. That said, since the animation studio was far more interested in appealing to the majority at the time, they likely simply were not prioritizing an accurate representation at all. Without a change in these priorities, there will never truly be much change in this sort of representation. Even today, many animated shows (such as Steven Universe and Adventure time) have been greatly censored due to concerns about audience appeal; However, now, it is more of a concern about international audiences – mainly China – not airing the show entirely.

Hendershot, Heather. “Secretary, Homemaker, and 'White' Woman: Industrial Censorship and Betty Boop's Shifting Design.” Journal of Design History, vol. 8, no. 2, 1995, pp. 117–130. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1315978. Accessed 17 Apr. 2020. Teitel, Nico, and Eric Thurm. “How the 'Suitable For All Ages' Standard Leads to Censorship Worldwide.” Vice, 10 Sept. 2019, www.vice.com/en_us/article/59nmqx/how-the-suitable-for-all-ages-standard-leads-to-censorship-worldwide-v26n3.

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Censorship of Sexuality in The United States

In the United States, Censorship is largely in the hands of Media Corporations. A popular media company will tend to avoid content that will offend their general demographic and sponsors. Often, this will lead to a loss of diversity, and thus of representation for minorities. In the 90s, a Japanese cartoon (anime) known as “Sailor Moon” rose to popularity in the West. This popularity was largely due to the dedicated cult – following the show had already acquired, as there were many fan-made subtitled or dubbed-over versions of the show, making it more accessible to a western audience. However, once the show was officially licensed and mass-produced for western audiences, there were several changes to the characters and thus the story by the license – holders.

At the time, it was said to have been a move in order to allow the show to be more easily understood and palatable for (the generally white, straight, religious) parents and children across the country. Most famously, a queer couple that was seen actively flirting and going on a “dating competition” was re-written to be cousins in order to “excuse” their behavior. The original following of the show, however, was acutely aware of the changes being made and spoke out about it. There was much protest and campaigning to companies for a more accurate portrayal of the original characters, which created more awareness of the censorship, thus creating a community that became in some ways a platform for queer people to feel more comfortable and accepted.

In this case, because of the nature of the community around a show, I feel as though the censorship of representation did not have as much of a negative effect as it could have. Instead of suppressing an already largely misunderstood minority, their voices became heard for likely for the first time in many of their lives. While the cult-following of Sailor Moon was not without fault, they fought for representation when the queer community needed the most, and thus in their own way, were a form of positive representation, teaching young fans everywhere (or, at least those who were in the know about these incidents) that their identity is worth protecting and fighting for. Instead of seeing representation on a screen, in a fantasy show, we were able to see representation in real life.

Close, Samantha. “Moon Prism Power!: Censorship as Adaptation in the Case of Sailor Moon. .” Journal of Audience & Reception Studies, vol. 14, no. 1, May 2017, pp. 264–281. Participations, https://www.participations.org/.