Psychology in Animation - outline 01
November 28, 2007
Theresa Chen

1. Since the creation of the moving picture, animation has been a universal form of communication and entertainment.
2. Animation targets a wide range audience. There is a general relation people have to animation that goes beyond the simple fascination of a moving picture. Our ability to relate to animation lays on a psychological level.
3. Animation has been utilized by many artists in the past to communicate ideas and promote opinions. This often takes the form of self evaluation, social criticism, or propaganda and advertisement. It is because of the characteristics of animation that this works well.
4. Our ability to manipulate the characteristics and techniques of animation is what makes animation relatable on a more personal and direct connection.

1. Throughout modern history, animation has been used as a form of analysis and promotion of ideals.
   1. Animation has universally been used as a form of propaganda, often taking comical characters and placing them in situations where they have to make a choice for national pride.
      1. The SNAFU cartoons were meant to raise morale amongst the troops in Europe during WWII. The protagonist, Snafu, was a bumbling, friendly, every-day man enlisted in the forces. His situations addressed the situations the soldiers had on the job, such as keeping quiet about military information and doing your part for the good of the whole. It took very real situations and very serious issues about military protocol and exaggerated them into a comical sense in order to teach a lesson without dropping the morale with the dangers of the consequences. The scenarios were grim in their consequences (Snafu dies in a few of them) but because it was presented in a comical language, the weight of its demoralization was less felt. Also, the roles of good versus bad were plainly stated through the way the characters were drawn. Snafu was rounded cute. Hitler was sharp and menacing.
      2. North Korean propaganda animations take on a similar task that the previous American SNAFU cartoons did. People are frogs, wolves, and insects to make the situation less grim and more comical. However, the message itself is very serious and somewhat worrisome for those who see it from an outside perspective (one tells children to bomb american tanks). The purpose is the same as it was in America though. Take a serious issue, make it more comical, and then teach a lesson with it. In one short, the North Korean frogs had to stop the South Korean insects from stealng their crops. The frog on duty was proper, the insects more crude.
   2. More often seen in Europe and sometimes seen in Japan, Animation has often been used as a form of social criticism. Where the public speech is monitored, people have found ways of communicating opinions on social issues through animation.
      1. This use as social criticism is not seen in America due to the influence of Disney's industrialization of animation. However, some exist within the art community. The Hubleys, for instance, were one of the first to talk about issues such as birth control within an animation. They also created animations discussing humanity's destructive nature.
      2. In Japan, one of the most acclaimed animators, Osamu Tezuka, created an animation that commented on modern Japanese society. After western influences were forced upon the country, a sharp change arose which covered many of the traditions and features that defined Japan as a country.
      3. Barefoot Gen (Hiroshima, before and after)
      4. Fantastic Planet (European - lots of subtle metaphors. Many interpretations)
   3. Use as self-evaluation - more often seen in Japan
      1. Chiaki J. Konaka's work (writer of Ghosts in the Shell and LAIN)
      2. Satoshi Kon's work (Paprika, Millenium Actress)
   
   
2. Psychology within the technique – how to get the viewer to care
   1. Self perception
      1. Abstract imagery
         1. Games – EA’s uncanny valley for realistic computer graphics vs. cartoony games
         2. Scott McCloud – Iconized characters create more association
      2. Character motion
         1. Looney Toons, Disney, etc. – exaggerated comical motion
         2. Japanese anime – exaggerated comical facial expressions
   2. Perception of events
      1. Use of time continuation
         1. The slowing/freezing of time – Barefoot Gen
         2. Removal of time’s linearity – Perfect Blue
      2. Transitions
         1. Creating linearity within disjointed scenes – Millennium Actress
         2. Mimicking intended emotional response – Paranoia Agent
   
   
3. Popular Animation and its use of technique
   1. America
      1. Iconize characters
         1. Shrek – Fiona
         2. Family Guy
      2. Exaggerated motion
         1. Looney Tunes
         2. Madagascar
   2. Japan
      1. Iconized anime faces – create stronger emotional expressions
         1. Naruto
         2. Sailor Moon
      2. Use of motion
         1. Tend to be more realistic, relying on subtlety
            1. Spirited Away – Chihiro tapping her shoes
            2. Cowboy Bebop – slightly lanky movements
         2. Use of simplicity
            1. Rurouni Kenshin – a slash of a cut, a pause, then an effect
            2. .Hack//Sign – the dramatic pause
   
   
4. Psychology as the subject – Satoshi Kon’s work
   1. Found mostly in Japan due to their history.
      1. American animation was influenced by Disney so it became a form of comical entertainment and stayed that way.
      2. European animation is mostly done by independent artists. This makes it hard to keep record and makes it difficult to have progression in concepts (due to difficulty in mass distribution in a consumer culture).
      3. Japanese animation has been isolated to its own country for a long time and only recently exported to the West in mass. Studios are kept small but structured enough to allow artistic exploration while maintaining connection with the general consumer public.
   2. Individual identity
      1. Paprika
      2. Perfect Blue
      3. Millenium Actress
      4. Ghosts in the Shell (Mamoru Oshii)
   3. Social identity – Paranoia Agent
   4. The perception of reality (i.e. the merging of dream and reality)
      1. Paranoia Agent
      2. Millenium Actress

1. Animation is the media most connected to our human perception.