Can Cartoons be used to influence our way of thinking?
Cartoons have been around for a long time but the ones we often see today are those that are animated. Animated cartoons have been around since the 1900’s with Fantasmagorie considered as the first. When thinking about cartoons the first thought that would come to mind is how whimsical they can be with their exaggerated motions, but a closer look at them we can see that they are trying to influence the viewer.
We can look at cartoons roughly in the 1930’s to 1940’s in which they would depict some offending and racist views. In many of those cartoons, African Americans would be often portrayed to have big lips and in demeaning positions. In many instances, they would also be shown to be extremely comical and unintelligent. These types of cartoons were aimed at children who could have been influenced to think poorly of African Americans. The cultivation theory could be applied to this scenario because cartoons at that time often showed this type of persona thus influencing the audience to associate the cartoon persona of African Americans with the real world. As the theory says its a gradual change over time so it wouldn’t have been immediate. The impacts would have likely shown when those children were older or ten years later around the 1950’s to 1960’s.
Looking at the qualities of persuasive messages we can see that those cartoons apply some of them. For example, these cartoons heavily relied on the humor aspect to keep it in the minds of the viewers. Another thing about these cartoons is the repetition of the message and how simple it is. The image of the cartoon African American is relatively simple and with it being used in most racist cartoons it stuck.
Now fast forward to today and we take a look at the cartoons being shown, we can see that they are trying to subtly influence the audience to think a certain way. Looking at the cartoon Steven Universe we can see it trying to push the message of ‘its okay to be gay’. Steven Universe focuses on the relationships of the characters throughout the overall storyline. The majority of the characters are seen being or have been in a gay relationship. They are also shown to be treated normally and are respected by the other characters. The show even had an episode dedicated to the marriage of a gay couple.
Similar to the cartoons of the past this show uses the same qualities of persuasion. A simple message that is constantly repeated throughout the cartoon and some scenes specked with humor. If we apply the theory of Cultivation it would be assumed that in the future there would be a change in how gay couples are perceived.
Steven Universe is only one of many cartoons that have taken to show more characters who are gay or are in a gay relationship. For example in the cartoon Adventure Time with the relationship between Princess Bubblegum and Marceline. With such a large emphasis on the idea of equality in regards to gay couples, the future for them seems to be bright.
