Response to "Fantastic Outsiders"

Pricilla Kiehnle Warner's article on Villains and Deviants in animated cartoons was incredibly interesting as it emphasized the economic, logical reasons behind simple characterization in movies. I thought this offered a very interesting contrast to the general "racist, sexist" rhetoric one hears when discussing the problems with the lack of fleshed-out characters a company like Disney produces in its movies.

This article was particularly interesting to me because it assumes the stereotypes that are present in society and explains how Disney is forced to use those stereotypes because of constraints (in time and finance). I thought it offered a very interesting take on how animators use social psychology to ease their burden in production.

However, the issue with Pricilla Warner's argument (as Carl Hassan and Giroux would likely point out) is that Disney is a billion dollar company. Financial constraints should certainly not be an issue for them like they are for other, smaller animation studios. Disney should be able to spend whatever money is necessary to obtain the complicated animating tools that would allow for a full range of ethnicities and races to be portrayed (or animation that allows for plaid shirts, like an example Warner used).

As well, the issue is specifically with Disney is that it is reinforcing the very attitudes and images in children that Disney then has to adapt their animation to allow for. Warner claims that children have a certain view of the world and because of time constraints, Disney cannot flesh out characters in a way that can deviate too vastly from those engrained stereotypes. However, by not even attempting very hard to deviate from those stereotypes and create more complex characters, they are then reinforcing them amongst the children who are watching the movies. It becomes a circular, inescapable problem. Like Giroux said, Disney is raising these kids and it is raising children with an attitude of ambivalence toward their predisposed opinions. For example (though this might be a bit more extreme than what Disney is doing), if I met a child with racist tendencies I would first look at the parent, and in this case that "parent", Giroux argued, is Disney. I would then try to do everything possible to reverse those racist tendencies. Disney is taking what the attitudes given to them and reinforcing them even stronger.

I love how Priscilla explained that "creators present villainous characters who illustrate the appearances, motivations, and behaviors of figures who threaten the cohesiveness of integrated social groups." This showcases that Disney is trying to raise their child to explain the consequences of "deviance." But when the "deviance" has become too connected to physical appearance, I think it becomes an issue. If we showcase evil manifesting in a broader turn of ways, then maybe we can craft children who disassociate evil tendencies with outer characteristics.