Modern Animation Is Right To Confront Our Collective Generational Trauma

thegamer.com:

The themes our media encapsulates change as the people behind it grow and go through different life experiences. As millennials and zoomers begin to make their mark on games, film, literature, and television we see an exploration of society that reflects the environment we grew up in. Many of us were raised by parents who found themselves in stronger economic situations, able to purchase property and build careers without the looming threat of global warming and the changing political climate brought upon by terrorist attacks, wars, and a general uncertainty that showcased how worse things were getting.

Despite the outwardly wholesome appeal of animation, it has shown itself to be almost uniquely equipped to creatively present stories that deal with, and build off, these collective traumas. The weight we carry around with us is a necessary building block to establish before exploring how films like Turning Red and Encanto touch on the ways we aren’t always beholden to our legacy. We deserve to stand out on our own while asking people to recognise the trauma we’ve been through caused by those we love and the world we have no choice but to live in.

Related: Matt Braly Interview - A Deep Dive Into The Amphibia Finale

Art we consume is right to make this association clear, and it feels like a natural consequence of younger creators finally being given a chance to shine in an industry that has long been dominated by white privilege. There has never been enough room for creators who are queer, POC, women, or come from other marginalised backgrounds. It’s their time to shine now and make their stories known, while heternormative creators from the same generation can stand alongside them and find common ground while telling