Since the creation of the moving picture, animation has been a universal form of communication and entertainment, targettinga wide range audience. There is a general relation people have to animation that goes beyond the simple fascination of a moving picture. It 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. Our ability to manipulate the characteristics and techniques of animation lays on a psychological level. It is what makes animation relatable on a more personal and direct connection.

Throughout modern history, animation has been used as a form of analysis and promotion of ideals. Universally, Animation has 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. The SNAFU cartoons of the United States 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 ones 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 conclusions (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.

Likewise, in modern day, North Korean propaganda animations take on a similar task that the previous American SNAFU cartoons did. Animations teach locals to defend their country against American and South Korean invaders through the use of simplistic and comical characters. People are frogs, wolves, and insects to make the situation less grim. 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.

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. 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 US 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.

In Japan, due to the events of WWII, there have been a lot of social commentary animation regarding the bombings of Hiroshima and the chaos of war upon a country. Barefoot Gen looks at the life of a young civilian and the struggles he had to go through b/c of a war he was not involved in. The question about why the government didn't surrender earlier and had to wait until two atomic bombs were dropped was raised in this animation. One of the most acclaimed animators, Osamu Tezuka, created an animation that commented on Japanese society after the war. 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.

European animation is often done by individual artists and small studios. Its use as a social commentary is often buried under layers of metaphors and symbolism, making the interpretation heavily reliant on who, where, and when it was made. Fantastic Planet originated in Czechoslovakia, but had difficulty being published there so moved the production to France. Due to the strong use of metaphors and symbolism, many interpretations of the movie have been made. In America, it was thought that this was a commentary on our presence in Vietnam. However, given the locations in which this film was made, it is likely it was a commentary on the government in Czechoslovakia during the time of its creation.

The use of animation as a form of self-evaluation has mostly centered around Japan. This is likely due to their rapid change in culture and self-identity that resulted from the aftermath of WWII. The westernization that followed created a sharp shift from the old generation to the new, causing cultural identity change. Chiaki J. Konaka is the writer of Ghosts in the Shell and LAIN, two animations that talk about personal identity in the midst of the rapid-changing technology of today. In Ghosts in the Shell, the main character's humanity is questioned because her body has been altered so much she has become more machine than human. In LAIN, a little girl questions existence between the real world and the cyber world. Her conclusion is that we exist through memories. If there are no memories of a person, then it is like s/he never existed. Paprika and Mellennium Actress are two of Satoshi Kon's movies that talk about personal identity. Paprika delves into the human subconscious through dreams and analyzes a person's desires and fears and image of his/herself. The main character, Paprika, is a 2nd personality to a psychiatrist and the question of her actual existence comes up several times within the movie as the boundaries between the dream world and the real world start to merge and the two characters begin occupying the same space. In Mellennium Actress, Sayoko retells the story of her life through the different roles she's played in movies as an actress. In each role, she analyzes herself in her never-ending quest for a man she fell in love with at the age of 14. Who she actually is and the characters she plays become merged in the telling of her history.

Creating a connection between viewer and viewed is where psychology is used most in animation. The subtleties within the technique and the narrative are key in this. The ability to create empathy for the characters within an animation relies on the believability of their existence and our ability to relate to the characters.

The ability to perceive oneself within the animation creates a psychological connection between the viewer and the characters on screen. Iconic characters draw the generalization of the human features that we most identify with. These are then exaggerated so they become the focus on a character's physical appearance, reflecting their inward personality which we immediately relate through our understanding of icons. For instance, the overbite is often used to create simpleton characters, like with Goofy from Disney and several of the dwarves of Snow White. Big eyes reflect innocence and beady or narrow eyes reflect ill intensions.

Iconic characters create a relation but it is the motion that makes them believable. The way they walk or act creates personality that we relate to as viewers. The use of realistic motion makes iconic characters more believable, such as with modern Disney films, where the characters designs remain cartoon in style, but their motions are carefully studied. Lilo and Stitch, for example, have exaggerated eyes and heavy lower torsos, but the movement of the hula dance was carefully studied and mimicked to make the weight of their movements convincing and the characters believable residents of the cartoon-rendered island of Maui.

On the opposite end, exaggerated motion also creates relation to the viewer. The motion fits the character stereotypes, such as with Looney Tunes. In a compare/contrast setting where different characters are together, the identity of each through their motion is seen.

Emotional states also have their place in animation. Japanese anime tends to use simplified, exagerrated factial icons to explain emotions. Universal understanding of these icons helps people perceive the character. The sweat droplet next to the eyes can represent confusion. Blood coming out of the nose represents perverseness. A snot bubble means sleep. People have also used these expressions when trying to represent their own emotions in graphic form in modern communication.

The use of abstract narratives and visuals also creats connnection. (watch Paperrad.org to finish this paragraph. Backgrounds in Tell Tale Heart)

Our perception of the events within animation also take part in creating empathy in animation. While the flow of time is a constant factor, our perception of it is not. Length of time and the linearity of time are factors which can be changed. What may span hours can feel like a few minutes. What may be seconds can span for an eternity. What may seem like a logical sequence of events may not be how we remember it. In Barefoot Gen, in the scene where Hiroshima is destroyed by the atomic bomb, the animator chose to slow time down, freezing it in places in order to give the full effect of the destruction that took place. Bodies melted in slow motion while mothers moved in inches to protect their children and others have no choice but to stare at the sudden horror. Perfect Blue plays with the linearity of time in order to allow the viewer to understand the feeling of loss of place Mimi feels during her acting role in a drama series. She wakes up in bed several times to find certain events had happened, or that she had thought they already occurred but wakes to find herself in the process of completing that action. The fear and paranoia she feels, we understand it through this lapse in time.

The use of transitions, the jumping between scenes, also aids out perception of events. The causes and effects of life make jumps through time which animation mimics through scene cuts.In Millennium Actress, Sayoko connects the different movies she's been in through transitions. Even though the scenes are in completely different eras of Japanese history and her age changes drastically each time, she manages to link them all to a chase of a man she met when she was 14. Each time she moved, she was running after him. Through these jumps in time, she was able to emphasize the strong emotion she had for this man, each life having the same goal. An interrupted but still connected flow helped to obtain a sense of suspense, which Paranoia Agent Also used to create an emotional response. In the series, scenes would cut in and out in fast reptition in order to create a feeling of suspense or panicked excitement.

The techniques meant to create a psychological connection between viewer and screen can be seen in modern animation. Different regions have different styles, but the use of technique is similar. For instance, in America, animations have emphasized the use of iconic characters and exaggerated emotions. In the Dreamworks picture, Shrek, Fiona is the only realistic human main character. When the studio first created her, they believed they had made her look too real so reduced the quality, wanting her to look more iconic so she could match the other characters more. Likewise, in TV shows such as Family Guy, characters are kept iconic to make a comical connection amongst the family characters. The iconic renderings allow for strong emotional expressions that are universally understood. Looney Tunes and Madagascar take advantage of the exaggerated movement, stretching bodies beyond proportion in their fast actions. Meanwhile, Disney movies rely on realistic movement to contrast the iconic renderings.

In Japan, the use of iconic characters and exaggerated motion is present, but there is an addition of other techniques. The main design emphasis of Japan's iconic characters is the eyes which create strong emotional expressions that have a wide range of associations.In Japanese animation, motion is also exaggerated in some productions, but the trend tends to lean more towards realistic. For realistic motion, Japanese animations tend to rely on subtleties to convey character and place. In Spirited Away, the animators make sure to pause the scene in order for Chihiro to tap her shoes before heading out the door. Cowboy Bebop, a space cowboy animated series, the characters are kept real through their lanky, sometimes tired movements. When using exaggeration, although the stretching of the body is used in some places, the Japanese exaggerate through simplicity. In the series, Rurouni Kenshin, like in many action anime, a fight scene can be depicted by a frozen or black frame, sudden slash marks over top, a pause in time, then a dramatic effect, usually of the destroyed object being separated into pieces. On the other side of simplistic exaggeration, in .Hack//Sign, the dramaic pause is used to create a sense of contemplation and personal indecision.

The use of psychology as the subject has been restricted primarily to Japan, which is likely due to the contrasting histories. American animation was influenced by the slapstick entertainment use it originated with and stayed that way until Disney revamped it in his movies. However Disney also regulated the creation of it, causing another rut for animation within America. European animation was mostly done by independent artists as a form of social commentary. It was an easy medium for small groups or individual artists to explore ideas. However, as a disadvantage, b/c they were primarily individuals, it was difficult to have a centralized idea progress past one generation of animators. However, Japan's culture is one of structure and organization. But with the artistic exploration that animation allowed, combined together, studios were kept small so that ideas could be explored while maintaining a structure to allow continued exploration in future generations.

Of the topics within psychology, the definition of personal identity is explored the most. Satoshi Kon is probably the most famous animator for exploring psychology within animation. Through his movies, he explores the loss of identity within the division between dream and reality. In Paprika, a character's dual personality occupy the same space, creating a confusion as to who is real. In Perfect Blue, Mimi loses her self-identity when she starts playing roles that are not who she wants to be. Someone mimics her online and she sees more of the real her in that person than she does in herself. In Millenium Actress, the actress' identity gets lost in the many characters she plays as she twists her role in the films to incorporate her ongoing romance. Outside of Satoshi Kon's work, Mamoru Oshii's film, Ghosts in the Shell, explores a woman's self-identity in contrast with technology. Her body is artificial and she questions her existence as a human being because of it.

Satoshi Kon also explores the psychology behind social identity in his TV series, Paranoia Agent. This series explores the subcultures of Japan and the use of images to identify and hide behind. When the identities start to take over their lives and they desperately wish for an escape, Shounen Bat appears and knocks them out. However, Shounen Bat himself is an image and becomes another social escape, the high topic of gossip and paranoia amongst the citizens. He is an image created by Mimori, a designer who created the hit toy character, Maruchan. Both images take over the city through fanaticism and although the image of both are defeated, there is no lesson learned. The story repeats, but this time with a cat character similar to Hello Kitty. This was Satoshi's way of exploring the need for cultural identity in a modern Japan.

Personal identity and social identity are just one level of psychology explored through animation. The visual techniques of animation help blur the boundaries between reality, dreams, the abstract, the surreal, and the iconic in order to delve more into human thought. Through technique, it aids in our ability to connect with the characters and the stories being told. We relate to the characters more because we feel a general connection to them. In their motion, we allow ourselves to believe in their existence and with their manipulation of time, we begin to feel what the characters are feeling. It is a psychological connection that has been used in history and continues to be used in modern day.