ImperatorSage

People admiring celebrities isn’t a new notion. History is filled with accounts of people idolizing certain individuals, whether for their physical looks, social status, special abilities, etc. This idolization can and has propped celebrities up on pedestals, creating this idea that celebrities are above others. Hollywood and other entertainment industries are the most prominent examples of this, and the internet has only further perpetuated this.

Celebrity worship has been seen with Jennifer Lawrence, Will Smith, Leonardo Di Caprio, and more recently, Keanu Reeves. Despite upholding celebrities to a high status, people often project certain qualities on these people and then tear them down as soon as their images of said celebrities are broken.

Why do you think people display such attitudes towards celebrities? With the internet being used as an outlet for toxic behavior, how do you think this could change, if at all?

It’s widely accepted that people who create or find something, whether a painting, a computer, a car, a book, a scientific discovery, etc. should receive credit for it. Yet in the online world, this seems to only go so far for artists, specifically illustrators and animators.

The internet and social media sites are rife with people posting art without crediting the artists. Many try justifying this by stating that "people can look up the art themselves" or they’re giving the artists "exposure." None of these hold water, as it’s been proven that most people do not go out of their way to search the artists. Exposure doesn’t mean anything if people don’t know who the artist is, let alone care enough to find them. It also certainly doesn’t mean anything to the landlords whom artists must pay their rents to.

If a scientist published an academic paper online, and say, a college student plagiarized it and tried to pass it off as their own, I doubt many would oppose that student being punished and ridiculed for doing so. Yet if an artist protests a person for reposting their art without crediting them, that artist is labeled as "sensitive" or "greedy".

I find this double standard to tie into inherent laziness in internet users, but also a possible broader sense of people not seeing art, particularly illustration, as a legitimate profession. There are millions of artists all over the world who make a living off their art; the foundation of Hollywood is based on this (as well as nepotism and debatably cyclical abuse, but that’s another discussion) yet trying to enter an art industry can be met with mockery. Many people only see the final product, and not the hours and hours of work that go into artistry, whether it’s music, animation, painting, sculpting, or illustration. They assume it’s effortless and that artists only do it as a hobby, not for income.

Why do you think this societal stigma is so prevalent, especially in this era where digital media is so widespread and exposes more people to more artforms than ever before? What about art carries such certain connotations that separate it from other fields and professions? How do you think this could change?

Despite its innovations and endless creativity, animation has and continues to be dismissed by general audiences as only suitable for children in the U.S. While there are many historical and industry reasons for this, animation has proven itself to be a legitimate medium just as any other, whether in the U.S, France, Japan, and through other platforms such as Newgrounds and YouTube.

Companies such as Netflix and Sony Pictures have shown to be investing heavily in animation and trying to globalize productions and creative voices in the medium, with Spider-Verse being the most recent example. Even Japan has recently been recruiting more foreigner animators, and South Korea and China are starting to prop up their own animation industries.

On the other side, you have Disney live-action remakes/retellings which may be perpetuating the notion that animation is inferior to live action. General audiences, especially adults, can often be insecure about watching cartoons, and seeing them as live action seems to deliver the idea that realism makes these stories more mature.

How do you think animation will be perceived in the future in the U.S? Do you believe the perception will even change at all? If so or not, how?

The Internet is rife with communities encompassing various topics and mediums, ranging from niche comic-book properties to history buffs. Animation has spawned different communities within the realms of anime, western animation, online independent animation, etc. The most known, or vocal at least, seem to be on Newgrounds and YouTube, in which the latter consists of YouTubers reviewing cartoons. What are the aspects of these communities who dedicate themselves to discussing cartoons? What types of people are involved, and how do they view and treat the subject matter they name themselves after?