All Cartoon Mothers Are Dead Because...
The subject of females out of the narrative picture in childrenās stories has come up a lot throughout my life. I would always hear the easy sexist assumption spill out of peopleās mouth mindlessly.
I think that assumption is just a product of a very long lasting trend thatās been bubbling up to embarrassing proportions over the course of the baby boomer generation. Weāre having to deal with the tail end of that.
I most definitely agree that women deserve a rightfully earned equal place by men and that balance should continue to be met. Even though I just did, that goes without saying.
The part of this battle that irks me, is when this bubbling fight boils over into unjust accusations. Because animation is a very important medium of artistic expression to me, one of the most personal accusations thrown around to me is the argument to the question āWhy are all Cartoon Mothers Dead?ā
I recently ran across this article on my oh-so-joyful Facebook feed, and wanted to finally give my answer to this reoccurring question.
Itād be best if you read the article so that you know that Iām directly responding to not only the assumptions the writer is drawing from, but also the specific attitude she expresses herself with. Because itās this attitude that I hear a lot from people, and I believe itās unhealthy.
http://m.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/07/why-are-all-the-cartoon-mothers-dead/372270/
Itās funny how Sarah Boxer wants to end her article on a āhopeful noteā and follows that note by saying Mrs. Incredible is the true hero because Mr. Incredible didnāt care about his family, and Coletteās rambling a in Ratatouille are a fantastic moment of pure rage and ring trueā¦
My shortest answer to why there are so many widowed fathers in cartoons is because most of the story tellers that are writing them are men and to tell a genuine and truthful story you have to write what you know.
Itās not some grand plot to smear women out of the parental picture. Itās the Sarah Boxer attitude in stories that distracts me whenever an angry woman gets to tell one and it just seems like one big āFUCK MENā message. It becomes preachy and mean. And to be frank, bratty and stupid.
When talking about how Nemoās father loses his wife and most children to a barracuda, Sarah Boxer mockingly adds āboo hooā insulting his loss. When Gru from Despicable Me finally becomes the loving father to the 3 girls, Sarah Boxer points an accusing finger at Gruās āevilā motherā¦ Whereās the compassion?
Every good story is presenting an emotional context. It seems like Sarah Boxer isnāt willing to understand that context unless there is a female AND the man is presented as a horrible person. Even if a good man is presented with some flaws, for example The Incredibles, she automatically jumps to the conclusion that only the mother is the true hero. When in fact, the story concludes with a lesson on the importance of team work.
Iām not proposing we donāt try new things. But letās not insult the greatness of classics while we do so. Thatās shallow and weak to abandon everything weāve gained from them.
I understand there are numerous equality battles going on in social constructs. And I understand they are sensitive subjects. But can you leave the imaginative and beautiful world of childrenās movies out of it? There is nothing morally wrong with any of the childrenās stories Sarah Boxer mentioned. In fact, they cover so many other valuable morality lessons that she ignores, and are the point of the story.
Demanding her single note, one sided agenda to be present in childrenās films sounds desperate at this point.
It seems like pseudo-feminists are trying to brainwash kids into believing them because not enough adults with developed brains buy into their imaginary and nonsensical war. Like that āJesus Campā documentary! The 'get them while they're young' approach is a popular tactic to flawed perspectives.
Now that Iāve expressed all of my irks, Iād like to end on a hopeful note by going back to what I said about The Incredibles.
One or the other is not better.
The truth here is, if we want kids to grow up learning about the world and people as they watch inspiring and engrossing movies, you canāt be expecting the artists who tell those stories to abide by black and white logic.
Iām always up for a new good character or story, Iām a movie junky! But thereās nothing more demoralizing to me than a calculated piece of family entertainment pulling your ego strings over your heart strings. At the same time however, thereās nothing more enriching than taking in a GENUINE piece of well crafted art. The ladder is the stuff that helps kids grow.
A movie in many ways is just an expanded extension of one friend expressing to another something that helped them grow a little or at least go about their daily life a little smoother. Or in the case of many children's stories, a cautionary tale or lesson learner, too.
Good artists are able to do just that to a multitude of people. Not just men, or just women. But both.
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