Social and Political Commentary Through Animation
This week we examined how animation has been used as commentary on social and political topics. Within these topics, messages can be delivered through moving image as things such as propaganda, subliminal messaging, documentaries, personal experiences, etc.
Activity
Our task for this week:
Research and present an argument for an animated work you consider tackles any issues of equality, diversity or social injustice (150-200 words)
I decided to do this research on the Netflix series Arcane. The article by Perdhana and Kusuma (2023) highlights how various characters in Arcane struggle, benefit from, and work through social injustice, by closely examining various frames from the episodes. Yet I realised quickly that the, arguably, main two characters of Arcane weren’t discussed directly at all, Vi and Jinx. Within the story, they are the two characters immediately introduced as victims of the social injustice against the lower class of Piltover, suffering the loss of their parents and forever traumatised. They continue to suffer within the system of social injustice throughout the story. While every other character is explored through how they interact with the inequality, many even enforcing it for their own benefit, Vi and Jinx’s stories are the most profound because they are the most realistic depictions of victims of the system throughout the series. They care not for the system they are victims of. They show little interest in fighting against it or using it for their own benefit. Vi wants to save her sister and regain some of her lost childhood. Jinx in the first season wants to find reassurance that she isn’t broken, and in the second wants to walk away from her broken self. Even when pushed to interact with the social injustice they live in, they either reject it or merely go along with what the narrative forces them into.
Perdhana, P.D, Kusuma, A.S. (2023) ‘Representation of Social Inequality in the Netflix Series Arcane (Semiotic Analysis of Roland Barthes Model)’, Proceeding ISETH (International Summit on Science, Technology, and Humanity), pp. 1654–1668. Available at: https://proceedings.ums.ac.id/iseth/article/view/4558.