Monthly Archives: July 2019

Cartoons

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Cartoons are another major staple in American pop culture. From Mickey Mouse to Big Bird, the Muppets to She-Ra, everyone can easily recognize a character within three seconds flat. France’s very own Émile Cohl created Fantasmagorie (1908), which is recorded as the first cartoon (via hand drawn animation, later known as cell animation). However, fast forwarding to the present, the 21st century, we have undergone change. An evolution, if you will. Now, cell animation is more of a thing of the past. CGI and computers claim animation for dominance and with brutal force, starting with Disney-Pixar’s Toy Story, the first CGI animated film. Despite its lackluster marketing, the nostalgic film was an explosive hit for the mouse. Thanks to this movie, it managed to turn the heads of its competitors and made them realized that the times are changing. Like music, it was time for animation to transition and be digitized. Since the release of Toy Story, Disney’s competitors followed this trend like kids do with fads. Unlike mom jeans, bell bottoms, the gameboy, and the early gaming consoles, CG animation was here to stay and it continues to dominate the industry. Soon after Woody and Buzz made their debut, followed franchise rivals such as Shrek and Ice Age.

In addition to this transition, animation faces another issue. For years, a stigma has been established, that animation is only for children and only they can appeal to that particular audience. However, that stigma is incredibly false. With content like Bojack Horseman, Bob’s Burgers, South Park, Futurama, and Sausage Party, they prove the critics who’ve established this stigma wrong. Animation is not limited to just one particular audience or age group. It’s one of the many methods of storytelling. Saberspark elaborates more on this in his video essays below.

 

Remake Your World

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Piggybacking off of the reboots, remakes, and reimaginings post, Disney is an obvious culprit of committing this crime. Not only does this supplement the argument that Disney is running out of (original) ideas, but also committing to the lack of originality. As the old saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, but the mouse refuses to take that said advice, and we ponder the question: Why?

To provide one of the many answers to this massive pileup of remakes, Youtuber Saberspark elaborates on this massive controversial topic in his video below.

Comic Books

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Comics are one of the most highly recognized pieces of American pop culture. From Superman to Batman, Wonder Woman to Jean Grey, the list of classic characters goes on and on. The first comic book ever published in the U.S. was Odadiah Oldbuck in 1842. Almost a century later, Major Malcom Wheeler-Nicholson establishes DC Comics, and five years afterwards, Marvel Comics was founded (at the time, it first began as Timely Comics) by Martin Goodman.

As the competitive rivals, Marvel and DC, continue to build their empires with fresh ideas and (mostly) unique characters, they decided to expand the worlds they created on media platforms, primarily movies and television. However much to one’s surprise, both companies already lost that first milestone to United Artists as The Mark of Zorro (1920) became the first superhero film ever made. Like most, if not all superhero films, The Mark of Zorro was based off Johnston McCulley’s The Curse of Capistrano serialized in 1919 and later published under the film’s eponymous name in 1924. However, today, when one thinks of the word “superhero”, most likely the name Zorro won’t come to mind. Names like Wonder Woman, Superman, and Batman (the three together are known as the Trinity) will. Despite not holding the first superhero film achievement under its belt, Marvel, however, did beat DC to the cinematic jump by releasing Captain America in 1944, while DC took home the gold for the smaller screens in 1952 through Adventures of Superman.

With time going by faster and technology continuing to evolve, update, and improve itself, the comic companies kept producing more and more content based off their visual literary material they had already published. Shows like Teen Titans, Batman: The Animated Series, and Justice League captured the hearts of not only devoted fans of the original work, but also new audiences who aren’t familiar with the comics and even managed to turn the heads of some critics (who are usually hard to please, especially when it comes to getting higher recognition like an Oscar). What made these shows so special was not only did they come out at the right time, but they possessed very unique qualities that is very hard to find in today’s televised content (especially in animation):

1. Captivating Story: A story that is interesting, powerful, and appeals to both children and adults, morals/lessons kids can draw from

2. Strong Character Development: Characters that not only look like us, but also go through the same challenges/obstacles as we do (ex. Wonder Woman being the feminism icon, Robin adding appeal to younger audiences to balance the more mature themes of Batman), making them human and relatable so audiences can connect with the characters.

3. Good Writing: A well written script is the backbone of exemplary content. If the jokes fall flat, not cohesive, confusing or uninteresting story, odd pacing, or even continuity issues (referring to content’s timeline), then the content won’t last as long as the creator(s) have hoped, damaging their already established fanbase.

Justice League/Justice League Unlimited (2001-2006)

Spider-Man (1994-1998)

Young Justice (2010-Present)

As for movies, both popular publishers established a reputation and left an impression amongst fans and audiences that still sticks with them today. After successfully raking in billions at the box office through their Infinity Saga story arc (Iron Man to Avengers: Endgame), Marvel has left an overall positive impression. People can generally agree that Marvel knows what they’re doing with their materials and how to tell their stories on the silver screen. DC, however, left people feeling quite the opposite with flops like Suicide Squad and a seemingly endless debate on Batman v Superman. Despite these releases,  Warner Bros., one of the major five film studios (now four since RKO no longer exists), who owns the entertainment rights to the DC characters, now understands how to make good comic book movies using their characters: stop trying to copy Marvel’s formula. After the successes of Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Shazam, WB has gave fans and audiences hope as they have started regaining their trust in making better quality films. Now with Wonder Woman: 1984, Matt Reeves’ The Batman, and Black Adam scheduled to be released in the future, fans both old and new are left feeling curious, optimistic, and excited for DC’s future that seems to be shining as bright as Green Lantern’s light.

The Downfall of Cartoon Network

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Cartoon Network, a member of the cartoon trinity, has been an iconic staple in the world of televised animation. It even is credited to sparking the cartoon renaissance by taking the treasure that competitor Nickelodeon has decline twice, Adventure Time. However, like all networks, change occurs. Whether it be in leadership or in its arsenal of content, the Turner owned network has made some questionable moves and shifted in a direction that the 90s kids never would have thought it would go. Youtuber Saberspark explains why the network has started to decline in his video essays below.

 

The History of the Cartoon Trinity

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Cartoons have been around for eons. They first started on print, and eventually blossomed into the creative moving visuals that we commonly see today. Long before we began to cut cords, cable laid down the foundation of television. It was the earliest platform we can recall and it it still exists today, hanging on by a mere thread due to the rise of the internet and streaming services (in addition to their relatively cheaper prices). Within each package that every family had contained three powerhouses of children’s televised entertainment: Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, and Disney Channel. Youtuber Saberspark thoroughly explains the history of the cartoon trinity (and their downfall) in the videos below.

 

Trailers: Are we right or wrong about them?

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Trailers, whether it be for a movie or a tv show, will leave an impression upon its intended audience. As the famous saying goes, “Don’t judge a book by its cover”, the similar thing can be said about trailers and their corresponding movies/shows. Half of the time, it’s easy to detect good content from the bad. Yahoo Movies even knows this. Their criteria listed can too, be applied to other forms of consumer content. According to Yahoo Movies, if the content fails to generate (positive) buzz or hype, reviews are withheld from the public until the day before its release, no press screenings, constant reshoots, lengthy delays, or even if the trailers themselves reveal too much vital information about the content, then it’s a sign of a bad performance.

However, even if the trailers doesn’t generate hype, does it mean that they are bad. They are very capable of manipulating our thinking on the topic, our hopes on the show/film. Doug Walker, under his famed persona, the Nostalgia Critic, once again provides new insights and poses questions on trailers that we may have never posed to ourselves and our peers.

Sequelitis

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After the success of the first film, where everyone has now gotten comfortable and familiar with the characters they were introduced to and learned about, and the director/creator thinks that the story cannot be completely told in a single film, a sequel is the result. In fact, even after one sequel, the story can still remain incomplete. Marvel has concluded (for now) the adventures of the Avengers in April’s release of Endgame, the fire once breathed by the dragons in HBO’s staple series, Game of Thrones, has been extinguished in their eighth and final season, and to put the cherry on top of 2019, the Star Wars franchise is closing their saga through the ninth and final sequel, The Rise of Skywalker, coming this Christmas season.

However, with this in mind, we must ask ourselves “Is a(nother) sequel really necessary?” In order to find out the answer that satisfyingly pairs with that question, we, the consumers must remember or review (if you have forgotten) the content that was already made (aka the prequels). The Toy Story franchise, for instance, is a series that most, if not all, people could collectively agree that had a nice, solid ending at the third installment, yet Disney, fueling its cash cows by serving us that nostalgic feeling we endlessly crave as if it were a drug by releasing Toy Story 4. NBC’s reports argue that not only are audience tired of sequels, they are tired of horribly made ones. The films released this year from February (How to Train Your Dragon 3) to June (Shaft) as seen in NBC’s bar graph are all part of franchises of their own. The first (left) half of film titles have done well due to their high ratings on Rotten Tomatoes, while the right half severely underperformed.

Why is this so? If you were to disregard the opinions from critics and fans of these franchises, you can draw one of the many conclusions that the movies on the right half of the graph just wasn’t appealing and pleasing to the general audience. The list of reasons goes on and on as to why sequels keep getting pumped out every year. Primarily for the money, but for some film franchises, it’s due to an incomplete or expanding story. Popular (and entertaining) film critic Doug Walker, infamously known as the Nostalgia Critic on YouTube, goes more in depth on this topic below.

Shonen

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Many people may be familiar with the following names: Naruto, One Piece, Dragon Ball Z. These listed names are part of the shonen sub genre. Shonen is one of the most popular sub genres of anime. This sub genre in particular contains high-action, often humorous plots that feature male protagonists and themes of martial arts, robots, sci-fi, sports, horror or mythological creatures.

The camaraderie between boys/men on sports teams, fighting squads, and the like are often stressed. Protagonists of such manga often feature an ongoing desire to better themselves and often face challenges to their abilities, skills and maturity, where self-perfection, austere self-discipline, sacrifice in the cause of duty and honorable service to society, community, family and friends are stressed. Anime expert Dorrie from YouTube channel Get in the Robot breaks down the origins of the Shonen sub genre below.

Realism in Anime

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Similarly to comics, realism also exists in anime. The reasons why these specific tropes exist and are commonly found in this genre is because they pay homage to Japan and its cultural ties. And with that being said, those ties are reflected in the content.

Hetalia, for instance, tells an often over-the-top allegory of political and historic events as well as more general cultural comparisons. Characters are personifications of countries, regions such as Hong Kong and micronations with little reference to other national personifications. Both positive and negative cultural stereotypes form part of each character’s personality. The character roster is massive and far from complete, but the main cast is primarily the countries which made up the Axis powers and Allies of World War II – Italy (North Italy in particular), (Western) Germany, Japan, United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia, and China.

Note: The playlist below contains two versions of each episode (English and Japanese w/English subtitles). Click on the playlist icon on the top right corner of the video to select the version you wish to view.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uV-GcYwCy-U&list=ELcKv4x9LmD7A&index=5

 

For anime fans who weren’t history buffs during their school, but gravitated more towards science, then the anime, Cells at Work, suits this audience perfectly. In addition to satisfying the typical anime criteria (moments of comedy and drama), this show in particular provides strong educational value about the human body and how it functions. Australia’s doctor, Dr. Hope, who has also broke down the medical scenes in the MCU, provides yet another in depth analysis and a doctor’s perspective on the show.

 

 

Realism in Comics

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People view comics from the most common angles, thinking of usually only the basic traits that could potentially draw new audiences in. Imaginative, creativity, unique story, well developed characters. The major trait that sometimes doesn’t get taken into consideration is realism. The fact that the characters are relatable in more ways than one is a major element in connecting with readers.

Matt Murdock, also known as Marvel’s infamous Daredevil, is a lawyer by day, vigilante by night. For those who are interested in crime dramas like CSI, and the comic book genre, then this crimson catholic crusader suits this specific mix perfectly. Below, an experienced lawyer breaks down the law scenes and their accuracies in Marvel-Netflix’s Daredevil (2015).

On the other hand, what we don’t always see or pay attention to in comics is the fact that the protagonist(s) break the law in order to serve justice. DC Comics’ Red Hood is the prime example. After dying a tragic death at the hands of Batman’s primary enemy, the Joker, he is revived back to life due via Lazarus Pit. Hellbent on getting revenge on the clown prince of crime, he now goes by the name as Red Hood. Rather than sticking to Batman’s no killing morals, he obeys his own and develops his own sense of what justice is, ending the lives of criminals with a bullet to a vital organ. Below in the next sets of videos, a lawyer keeps a broken law count of both the Batman and the Joker, and the hypocritical points of the Sokovia Accords that played a major role in Marvel’s The Avengers.

 

For those who are in the medical field, they will more likely gravitate towards Marvel’s Doctor Strange. Stephen Strange is a world-renowned surgeon who one day gets into an accident, leaving him with many injuries, especially on his hands. let alone being lucky enough to survive the incident. Later, he then met the ancient one and began his journey to recovery and mastery of the arcane arts to soon then become sorcerer supreme. However, Stephen isn’t the only person who needed a medic! Below, Australia’s own Dr. Hope analyzes the accuracies of the medical scenes in the Marvel Cinematic universe (MCU).