Mystery Skulls Animated has been very important to me since I was in highschool. The engaging story line, the colorful animation that popped out and synched to every beat and of course--the music too. Watching the Mystery Gang navigate their way through haunted mansions, scary high ways and now a fight that has brought them all back together seems perfect.
A perfect continuation to something that has to me at least, been a huge part of my life since I was a kid.
So when The Future, a continuation of Freaking Out and Hellbent, was released I almost couldn’t contain my excitement. The video itself was engaging and as usual, left a perfect cliffhanger that fans of Mystery Skulls Animated are all too used to.
Yet as the credits began to roll, and a familiar name caught my eye--I couldn’t help but feel somewhat put off, and even disheartened. Disheartened because something that I held close to my heart for so many years and still do, had relation to a very concerning person who had in the past--hurt various people with very racist, insensitive and even transphobic remarks.
The person in question is Hailey Lain, better known as user SquigglyDigg on twitter and tumblr. Lain is a 2D artist and animator who has a distinct art style and is featured on various animation projects.
While her talent no doubt gives her the right to partake in certain, memorable animation projects, her past actions and attitudes toward specific groups do not. In fact, those past actions--such as racism make it difficult for people to identify with and support works associated with her.
So when specific industries, cartoons and animations claim they are supposed to be inclusive while representing all audiences, yet harmful creators are allowed to benefit from those productions, then it sends a harmful message to viewers of color.
That said--when looking specifically at fields of animation and shows that are supposed to be inclusive for all, there is an issue when controversial, primarily white creators get these opportunities to portray people of color, or even market toward audiences of color. We find ourselves in situations where a content creator is problematic, the show is problematic, or both.
When looking at some well known shows like She Ra, or Steven Universe-- they have gotten international praise for not only being marketed toward diverse audiences, but also containing diverse characters and story lines. We are able to multi facetted characters of color, queer characters, characters who deal with mental illnesses and disabilities, and all around characters that many can relate to.
However--that doesn’t mean the creators are exempt from critiques of racism because at the end of the day they are white or have grown up and lived with white experiences and with white privilege. That said, lived experiences will dictate how you see , portray and treat certain characters who are minorities--more so, characters of color.
Unfortunately, even among the most liberal creatives, not all portrayals or views of people of color are positive.
Take for instance Noelle Stevenson, a nonbinary animator and writer responsible for the Netflix rebooted series of She Ra. While Stevenson themselves is hailed for diversity and inclusivity, there have still been problems with their views and portrayals of people of color both on and offscreen.
A few months ago, Stevenson and their team were in hot water for a racist joke and depiction of a black character. The joke centered around one of the brothers of Bow, a main character in She Ra, and said brother’s name and occupation. According to Stevenson and their team, the brother’s name was Sow--with the depiction of him as a black minstrel and field worker. Sow, being a pun on his name because he liked to “plow the fields”, according to Stevenson and their team.
This was heavily problematic because such depictions of black characters as minstrels or field workers tie back to slavery and harmful Jim Crowe imagery. While Stevenson apologized and took responsibility, it still left a sour taste in the mouth of many of their fans.
While the show She Ra, itself is viewed as inclusive, there are still harmful portrayals of black and brown coded characters that tie back to racist tropes themselves. For instance, the portrayal of Catra as violent and even somewhat abusive to Adora can easily be seen as a nod to the brute caricature trope--a trope that revolves around making darker skinned characters abusive, aggressive and violent to white and lighter skinned characters -- especially white women.
In addition, Catra is quite literally portrayed as animalistic--another racist trope that is harmful to people of color.
On the other side, another black or black coded character - Lonnie - is portrayed as “loud, aggressive, commanding” (according to the show’s wiki), and just looking at a few clips of her character--this much is understood. The issue here is that again, these tropes of being loud, and aggressive are often tied to racist portrayals and depictions of black characters. Black characters, especially black women, are often portrayed as loud, aggressive and sassy to non-black characters.
On the other side, fans have even made it clear how Adora falls into the white savior trope toward the end of the series.
This all isn’t to say that She Ra is bad, nor is it to say that Stevenson is bad either.
It’s just a bigger emphasis on the fact that these fields, and these shows that are hailed as inclusive, have issues when primarily white creators get opportunities to partake in or even create said shows themselves.
Another example is Rebecca Sugars, the nonbinary and Jewish creator of the famous show Steven Universe. Another show hailed for its racial, body and gender diversity--there are still subtle hints of racism in the show that left many black fans uncomfortable.
For instance, the portrayal of Garnet relies heavily on racist stereotypes and tropes such as the mammy trope - the trope of a black character playing mother or guardian to nonblack characters. The mammy trope also encompasses a black character putting others' needs and feelings over their own, even if the situation at hand makes them uncomfortable.
“Garnet was mad at Pearl for tricking her into always fusing with her. Then they were trapped in a chamber that was going to crush them. In this situation, they have to fuse in order to save themselves but Garnet refuses to because she was still angry at her. In the end, they were forced to talk it out, for Garnet to understand Pearl’s reason for wanting to fuse with her and everything worked out well. The narrative focused so much on Pearl’s self-worth issues at the expense of Garnet’s right to be angry.” (Galemalio , 3 Examples of Racial Bias in Animation Storytelling)
Galemalio goes on to explain in depth just how Garnet is forced to put Pearl’s feelings over her own, and how this is the perfect example of a black or black coded character, having their feelings and emotions invalidated for the sake of coddling a white or light skinned coded character. The “angry black woman” trope is also introduced in the article.
Galemalio also goes into detail about how white fragility and white women’s tears play a role in hurting black women and black coded characters.
That all said, Garnet as a character was written through a white gaze in a way that enabled her to coddle and play mammy to nonblack coded characters. Whether we discuss her relationship to Steven, the tension between her and Pearl--it’s important to realize that a white author wrote her through a white, unintentional racist gaze.
Galemalio also briefly discusses the issues with the human zoo episode, and how this perpetrates racist and colonist ideologies that have hurt black and brown people for years.
Again, similar to the above regarding Noelle, Rebecca Sugars is not a bad person or creator, nor is Steven Universe a bad show, given many are still attached to it and feel validated by the characters and depictions.
Yet, that doesn’t exempt Sugars or Stevenson from their whiteness, and it doesn’t excuse them from extremely harmful and racist tropes.
Both creators are seen as diverse, given they are both queer/nonbinary , in Sugar’s case Jewish, and are hailed as being extremely inclusive and progressive with their works--which they are--but that doesn’t change the fact that they grew up with whiteness, and lived a white experience with specific privileges over black people. This bleeds into their portrayals and views of black characters and other characters of color.
This is important to note because there are these ideas that white lgbt+ and or women, are exempt from accusations of racism, and this sometimes gives them platforms and opportunities to enter specific fields that have traditionally barred out people of color. When they enter these fields and spaces, they’re able to portray people of color in ways that may seem marketable as inclusive but in reality, are not.
When white creators, no matter how progressive they are, don’t check their own privileges and biases, they get chances to produce harmful content of people of color, while actual animators, cartoonists and creative of color in general--are excluded from these specific fields and don’t ever get a chance to portray themselves in positive lights.
When white liberalism and progressiveness is seen as the new norm and acceptable form of feminism in leftists animation circles, then there is no longer a chance to call out acts of racism in ways that make a positive impact, nor is there a chance to uplift creators of color.
That is the main issue at hand, and it remains a prevailing problem that we must address.
Now let’s look at all of this again--from Hailey “Squigglydigg” Lain, to Noelle and Sugars, and narrow the two main points I’ve made.
First, we can go back to Hailey “Squigglydigg” Lain and her racist opinions yet the fact that she has the privilege to work on a series that was dear to the hearts of many people of color. This brings to mind the issue of the racism that festers in animation communities, and the fact that harmful, racist and problematic white animators are allowed to have platforms that allow them to produce content that is supposed to be inclusive to all--yet their actions make it hard for marginalized fans to relate to said series. And this calls to mind how harmful it is in general for problematic white creators to be given opportunities for “inclusive” industries while creators of color are ignored.
The same point can be used for Sugars and Stevenson. No--the two are not intentionally racist like Squigglydigg, and unlike Squigglydigg--both white creators made an effort to apologize or at least address their racist past. So while the point of racist animators being given platforms into the fields of animation still stands to an extent, I’d like to focus more on how--even if white content creators are nonbinary, or in general queer or are part of some marganlization--that doesn’t mean they are exempt from racism or unable to be harmful toward people of color in their portrayals. Both Sugars and Stevenson have had their brushes with racism-specifically antiblackness, and though they apologized, the point still stands.
If you are going into a field where your creations are supposed to be viewed as inclusive and diverse, then it is important that, no matter what marginalization you are a part of, to check your own biases. Because being nonbinary, or in the case of Rebecca Sugars, Jewish or having any other form of oppression or identity does not exempt you from racism - specifically antiblackness.
That said--it’s important to push for shows that highlight black characters and characters of color, created by people of color--especially black people. More importantly, there needs to be more pressure on the animation industry to hire black animators so they can tell black stories. Two other black centric shows, Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts and Craig of the Creek--are amazing and showcase black talent and actors, but are created by white people
While a lot of black people feel represented by such creations, there is a glaring fact that black animators and cartoonists aren’t being hired to tell our stories or to showcase our creations that represent us. Unfortunately, that privilege is only ever given to white creators.
The same can be said for things like Avatar the Last Airbender and Legend of Korra--wherein both are hailed for representation of Asian cultures yet were not written or created by actual Asian people, on top of that, many Asian fans have pointed out the racism, orientalism and erasure they felt regarding Avatar’s representation.
The animation industry has set a type of standard for shows to be inclusive, regarding ethnicity, gender, sexuality, body types, etc., however these stories are only able to be told by white creators. And in some cases, these white creators have racist, problematic histories that offend fans of their creations and make it difficult for marginalized audiences to enjoy.
Hopefully in the future, with talented writers, cartoonist and animators who are black and people of color, who have stories to tell--we can see more diversity and true inclusivity in fields of animation. We won’t have to worry about our favorite series being ruined animators who had racist histories that were never addressed. We won’t have to worry about white marginalized creators refusing to check their own biases and privileges in ways that end up making them negatively portray people of color.
Until then, it’s important to boost work specifically made by people of color--especially black people. This can be via webcomics, original stories, small scale animations, etc.
We are close to true diversity and inclusivity, so when the time comes for black content creators to finally have platforms, we must make sure we give them as much support as we do white content creators.
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