Animation Is a Medium Not a Genre

In recent years animation has been constantly disrespected. The disrespect comes from people calling animation a genre instead of a medium. This statement is highly disrespectful because it vastly underestimates the narrative complexity and the variety that the medium of animation presents. Within the medium, there are Disney shorts, anime, and even dark sci-fi comedies like “Rick and Morty.”

To say that animation is a medium is to say that one can not tell the difference between “Death Note” and “Ratatouille.” Animation has vast potential for a variety of different stories with complex themes and riveting narratives. The animation work that these hardworking people do should be treated with the rightful respect that it deserves.

Why the Blatant Disrespect

Furthermore, part of this massive misunderstanding is the fact that this medium was originally created to entertain a child-like audience. This meant that a lot of animation was very narratively simple. Most of the early animation was for children, but much like the comic book industry, things changed.

Just like how comic books got darker during the 1980s and 1990s, animation became more mature as well. In the modern age, there are animated television shows like “Bojack Horseman,” that discuss subjects like drug abuse, mental illness, and many darker things as well. The whole medium has grown up, so it isn’t fair to view animation as if it were still in the 1940s.

Disproving the Lies

Those who dismiss animation and its diverse storytelling potential are mistaken. The people that dismiss this art form as “juvenile” are missing out on some of the greatest stories ever made. Not just stuff like Disney either, there is narratively complex and mature animated content that is being made in the modern era.

Moreover, stories like “Fantastic Mr. Fox” and “Bojack Horseman” are shining examples of adult themes and narrative complexity. “Bojack Horseman” is about a man trying to get his life together and epically failing time and time again. He is comfortable in his self-pity and uses the people around him for self-gain. He is a horrible person and nothing about these facts changes because he is an animated character from one of the best well-written TV shows of all time.

Why does this even matter?

This matters because there are millions of workers in the animation industry. Disrespecting the industry and the art form means you disrespect them. They have bad labor conditions already and don’t need people disrespecting their jobs as well.

The animation industry is famous for crunch times and poor labor conditions. These people’s great art deserves more respect.

Anime

There is an animation made outside of the American context. One of the most famous forms of animation made outside of America is Anime. Which are adaptations of Japanese comic books called manga. Anime itself has some of the most narratively complex stories out there. There are so many great anime, even stories whose themes are diametrically opposed to one another, like “Neon Genesis Evangelion” and “Gurren Lagann.”

Ultimately, the point is that if cameras didn’t exist and there was only animated content then humanity could still enjoy narratively complex stories with a lot of variety. Animation is made by incredibly talented individuals that don’t get a lot of breaks. Their work should be respected and enjoyed. It must be reiterated that there is a tangible difference between “Gurren Lagann,” “Rick and Morty,” and “Spirited Away.” Animation can tell a multitude of stories using different styles and perspectives. Some things can be done easier in animation than on camera or with CGI. Once again animation is a medium, not a genre.

Written by Kenneth Mazerat

Sources

Comicon: “Animation Is A Medium Not A Genre”: The Rise of The Great Adult Animation Boom by Tito W. James

Guilfordian: Animation: a medium, not a genre by Gray Stanback

TheGuardian: BoJack Horseman review – what will we do without him? by Stuart Jeffries

Featured and Top Image Courtesy of Tasayu Tasnaphun’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License

First Inset Image Courtesy of PunkToad’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License