The Great Animation Debate - A Mission Statement

        The Great Animation Debate, as I call it (though nobody else does), is something that resonates with me a great deal. It's also something that bothers me a great deal. This really worked its way into the forefront of my mind when watching 1976's superb Secret of Mamo, a feature-length adaptation of the long-running manga and anime series Lupin III. Not a great deal into the film, we are introduced to femme fatale Fujiko Mine. This is her first scene:

Send the opinion police after me, because I wasn't offended by this.

        Someone else in the room commented on how vile and creepy this was. "Oh, for Christ's sake," I thought. It's only a pair of tits. Actually it's only one tit. We've all seen them before. These ones just happen to be hand-drawn. And before you ask, they don't start bouncing all over the place, inflating, lactating or being squeezed by tentacles. They're just breasts, because, you know, women, you know, have them, and sometimes, you know, bare them when they, you know, shower.
        Now I'm all too aware of the problem that surrounds the portrayal of women in the media - animated and videogame related especially: as well-endowed but otherwise one-dimensional sex objects who exist solely to be rescued or beaten to death with a baseball bat post-coitus.

Because there's absolutely nothing else programmed into those games.

        But we're getting beside the point. As I say, I'm all too aware that there is an over-sexualised and lecherous representation of women across the board. And, of course, Anime can be one of the main offenders. Just mention the word hentai to anyone, and short of having a brain hemorrhage they'll probably shower you with their last mouthful of coffee. The problem, however, is that any instance of nudity in animation is instantly considered hentai - and this view goes unchallenged. There are countless live-action films featuring nudity that is not considered offensive, but animation simply can't get away with it. It's this extremely narrow view of animation as a perverse and low-rent medium that sticks in my craw, as they allegedly said in the Old West.

        This brings me onto my next point. See, it's not just this issue with nudity in animation that gets to me. The disavowal of animation as a viable medium for 'serious' or 'mature' content, at least in the west anyway, is one of the greatest crimes being committed against art at the moment. Western animation studios seem reluctant to produce anything that isn't computer generated (but don't even get me started on CGI), immaturely offensive, or aimed at schoolkids. Don't get me wrong - Japan isn't flawless for its animation. There are heaps of seriously bad anime works out there. But at least they're willing to try something other than comedy or fantasy, eh?
        Looking at serialised works, the east has Samurai Champloo, Ghost in the Shell, Cowboy Bebop, Noir... And that's just the obvious. The west offers up The Simpsons, South Park, Seth MacFarlane's shows, Archer. Once again don't get me wrong - The Simpsons used to be the funniest thing on TV. South Park is hilarious. I can laugh at most things by Seth MacFarlane in a fairly empty way, as with Archer. But what do they all have in common? They're comedies. Allegedly comedies, in Seth MacFarlane's case. And most are pushing the offensive envelope. Sure, there's drama here and there but it seems to me that western animated series are comedies and that's that.

Currently the funniest thing on't telly.

        At this point I'd like to invite any of you to prove me wrong by providing me with examples which break the mould. Remember, I'm generalising. Though not without reason. And furthermore...

        We find ourselves on the subject of animated film. Once again we see an east/west divide in content and genre. Now I'm not going to start listing examples here because there are far too many, and this entry will become a mess of italicised text. Whilst Japanese animes cover an extremely diverse range of genre and subject matter, from character drama to thriller to epic fantasy, western animation is kettled into the pigeonhole of fantasy and adventure. Of course our major western animation studio is...you guessed it! Disney Pictures! And they are BRILLIANT. The Aristocats and 101 Dalmations are my particular favourites - milestones of animated fiction. And there are so many Disney Classics! From its inception, Disney has made timeless (if racially insensitive) masterworks.

Pictured: A timeless masterwork.

        BUT! Thinking about every Disney film I've ever seen, the stars are either talking animals or humans who befriend talking animals or talking objects that should be inanimate. There is always adventure or full-blown fantasy. I can't recall a single one that has focused on humans and any realistic drama without adding a wisecracking dragon. Actually, did the animals in Pocahontas talk? Maybe not, but a tree did. In recent years, Disney has become paired with Pixar Studios, making beautifully written but ugly-to-look-at CG films in the same vein. And Dreamworks isn't far behind, farting out charmless rip-offs of Disney/Pixar's latest hits. I said don't get me started on CGI. Don't get me started on Dreamworks animations either. Their sneering, reprehensible excuses for films can fall by the wayside. But I digress. The point still stands that all these films fall within high-concept genres and are blighted by the dreaded happy ending. Because we're too obsessed with learning obvious lessons and living happily ever after.

How adorable of you.

        Let's compare and contrast this with Japan's most influential and well-known animation studio: Studio Ghibli. Yes, a great deal of Ghibli's works are fantasy and adventure films, but there's just something else to them. For one, they still make lovingly crafted 2D animation. Aside from that, there's a certain subtlety to even their most fantastical work that sets it apart from what we're offered over here. One can't help but notice intricate discussions about family, society and all kinds of concerns seamlessly interspersed with plotlines as opposed to the moral anvils that Disney drops on the proverbial head. Endings range from the sickeningly happy (Laputa's characters waving and laughing having learned from each other), to the bittersweet (Princess Mononoke is a brilliant example), to the outright tragic. And you should know which title I'm going to drop here. Grave of the Fireflies is the ultimate in heartbreaking, believable tragedy. If you haven't seen it, go and watch it now. You'll see what I mean. Said film's other strength in this argument is its lack of fantastical elements - this is a straight-played, realistic tragedy. It saddens the heart and wrenches the guts. It could well be the most powerful film I have ever seen. And it's animated in two dimensions. That's what I'm getting at.

"MOAR"

        My final point. If you've read this far, I seriously salute you. Go ahead, send me a message to tell me that you did and I'll send you something nice in the post.
        My final point in this is in direct reference to Pinwheel Arts' manifesto. It's right at the top of this page. Animation is not a bad word. But the mainstream treats it like it is. At best, animation in the west is subordinate to live-action. It shouldn't be. We should not be bound to high-concept genres. We should not have to resort to zany talking animals voiced by comedians. We should not have to pander to this vile division between good and evil, and the dimwitted need for everything to end happily (something that rarely happens in real life).
        I want to see animation on the rise. I want to see reality hand drawn. I want to see emotion conveyed through twitches of the eyes of real people that you could have brushed past a few hours ago. I want to see depth - a gray and grey morality for once. I want something to end badly, how about that? I want a female protagonist with small breasts and tasteful dress sense. I want some non-sexualised nudity. I want every trait of live-action film to be accepted in the world of animation. I want the boundaries blurred.

        You know what I really want? An animated western that deals with the political implications of eastern expansion. But I can't imagine anyone else is going to do that so I should probably think about doing it myself.

Roots

        Good evening. Welcome to the Pinwheel Arts blog.

        Erm.

        How does one introduce a blog? Welcome to... sounds ridiculous. It's not an event or a place. I don't know. Does it matter? Maybe not. The point is, this is the beginning of Pinwheel Arts and you saw it first.

        So what is this blog, and indeed, Pinwheel Arts, all about? Getting my work active and out there is the short answer, but I know you'd much prefer the roundabout backstory.
        I graduated from a Foundation Degree in Film & Television Production at the Northern Film School in the summer of 2010 and since then haven't got anywhere. There have been visits to the Jobcentre, an intermittent bar job in an awful establishment, countless bottles of wine consumed. Of course there was my opportunity to work as lead animator on The Mind's Wood - a lovely short film directed by the very talented Dave Bond, which utilised a blend of live action and classic stop-motion, something I liked very much.

Sizeably weirdly, though in a good way.

        Aside from this one thing, however, I was very much stuck in a serious hole until traveling to America to teach at Camp Ballibay this summer just gone. I could talk so much about Ballibay; the wonderful folk I met, the sense of self-worth it instilled, the degree to which I was inspired by everything about those two months, but that is for a different time, maybe a different entry in this blog.
        It was there that I was reintroduced to stop-motion animation and began heading a stop-motion unit during the last two weeks of camp. It rekindled my interest in animated fiction, in particular a script I had written several years back entitled Shell of Light (again, we shall learn more in the future). The time had come to go further with this art form, and maybe even allow it to overtake my decade-long ambition in live-action film. So after settling back into the rhythm of Wooler and getting back on the Jobseeker's, I began. Pinwheel Arts was born and will only grow from here.

        Right then, this blog. This blog will deal with upcoming projects; revealing what's going on behind the scenes, gaining the interest of others (or so I'd hope), getting what's going on in my head out as some visual art. Telling stories. And of course I'll treat you - though I use the word 'treat' tentatively - to some general discussion on animation, gigs, music, gaming, anything I feel like rambling about.
        And that's that. This is Pinwheel Arts. There are projects in development, and they will be rearing their heads soon. In the meantime, I will embed once again the teaser for Shell of Light. I know you have all already seen it but right now it's all there is to offer up. That won't be the case forever.

        The breeze begins to blow and the pinwheel is turning.

        JBN Johnston

Night Bus (Shell of Light teaser) from Pinwheel Arts on Vimeo.