Why we prefer Eastern European cartoons
Amid from Cartoon Brew recently posted about "Music Box with a Secret", which I talked about a few days ago. In the ensuing discussion, a poster named Nicholas wrote what I think is a pointed summary of the difference in characterization between the animation in the West and in Eastern Europe:
Well, my love for many of the Eastern European ( Read more... )
Well, my love for many of the Eastern European ( Read more... )
To me, it seems like the chicken-and-egg question - did these cartoons influence the culture, or was it the other way around - or (probably) was it a kind of positive feedback loop? There is indeed a cultural trend here in the West - talking about problems ("pain and suffering") is NOT DONE in polite company. Everyone asks "how are you?", and the only acceptable answer is "good". The idea is that if you put on a kind of fake happiness, that fake happiness becomes real. And so you get the American parenting technique of cheery deceit:
^ when that kid is older, he is going to smile, too. ;)
Ironically, the result of that relentless forced cheerfulness is a vicious callousness that can be seen everywhere in art and conversation, in which any tragedy can be the brunt of a joke. Because mockery is the path of least resistance - other feelings have not been given as much practice, and their expression becomes awkward. The Road Runner cartoons derive almost their entire humour from vicious schadenfreude. Even in more varied, recent animation such as 'The Simpsons', the default reaction is mockery - and when a character says or does something heartfelt, the show will mock them for it as often as not.
A brilliant commentary on this was done by Polish animator Alek Wasilewski in his short film, "Smile": http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/165898
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