Tag: art

Cartoon blog 45: Representation in creators vs representation in characters

Hey here is something that never happens to me. When I’m watching a show like Breaking Bad, I don’t say to myself : “Wow, this is so good, I wish there was an Indian character to represent me in the show.”

I respect representation as long as it comes from the author, or the auteur depending on whether they have an original vision or not. I’ve heard arguments especially for popular intellectual properties that if there is no representation then the show runner, the writers, the director, the creator, etc, must be racist.

Let’s say there was an Indian antagonist, a brutal bad guy, should I be offended that the representation is wrong?

I firmly believe that we should let the people tell good stories. I’ll enjoy good honest stories because it will reflect the human experience accurately without any required filters. And since I happen to be human, so I can relate.

But forcefully inserting characters just to show you are progressive makes me cringe.

OK let’s say representation becomes a requirement for the creative work, for storytelling, how would the creators know what they define as representation is objectively correct or is proportionate to the actual real human population of the world?

And if the studio starts conducting surveys to dictate what characters the author should and shouldn’t use in a story, it stops being true characters, and start becoming ingredients in a product, NOT a work of ART.

Seth Godin beautifully said that ART is what Humans make, well if the ART is flawed, doesn’t it make it more HUMAN?

I’ve said it before I’ll say it again ART is all about how people feel when they create it and how they feel when they enjoy it. If you want real representation I vote for representation of creators, not artificial extracts included in a Art made into a commodity.

If you are fighting for representation, STOP FIGHTING, START CREATING. Create so much and so creatively that they can’t ignore your voice.

Bonne journée.

cartoon blog day 38: you didn’t expect that 2/2

(Please read the part1 of this post from the day before to get some context)

If we all come from a single point of origin, I can hardly believe the argument “We are all the same” but I can stand behind “We are all connected”.

First of all, think physically, you are not in a bubble even if you are not surrounded by people all the time. Think about the device you are reading this blog on. Can you imagine how many people were involved to get this product in your hands? 

OK let’s leave the physical for the moment, you actions are determined by your programming from people you have encountered which in turn will influence the way people people see you, creating a cycle. Figure out if this cycle is what you want in life, you can always break it. 

When people say “CHANGE THE WORLD”, as monumental as it may seem, they actually mean : “Change the perception others have of you”. Become the change you want to see in the world and I am not the first person to say this. If you want to become a writer, just start writing and start sharing. 

Bonne journée.