I actually find it difficult to recall my childhood but there are a few memories that are so vivid, that if by chance I happen to recall them, it is virtually like as if I am reliving those moments again. One of those memories include one afternoon in 1995 (when I was 5 or 6 years old), where I was watching "Lion King" on VCR tape.. I literally remember the feeling of my heart bursting (ok that's unscientific so let me put out my definition of it: the feeling of massive weight of all kinds of overwhelming emotions squeezing the heart so hard that it is virtually impossible to maintain composure ) when Mufasa (who is the main character's father) dies. I actually remember crying my eyes out for probably the first time ever over a movie. No animated movie till date ever had that effect on me again for 23 years the way Lion King did.
In March 2018, I watched "Coco" which is an animated film. The best way to describe what I felt about this movie is to say that I am just very thankful that I had no company while watching this film. Simply because it was that afternoon in 1995 all over again. Only this time I was a 28 year old sobbing and not a 5 year old. The film deals with the very relatable theme of how though family can drive you crazy sometimes, ultimately they are the ones who have your back no matter what. The climax scene of this film is supposedly one of Disney Pixar's finest moments in cinema. Personally, it was a "heart burst" moment for me. But other than the beautiful story, the grand visual spectacle, this film has this tremendously charming simplicity about it. A lot of this has to do with the fact that the setting of this film is a small town in Mexico.The smattering of phrases of Spanish like "Chamako" (meaning male friend) , "Aye Aye Aye muchacho" (meaning boy), the focus on the mexican custom of honouring ancestors, even the fact that the characters were Mexican and were pronouncing names like Del A Cruz, Hector, Miguel with that distinct accent and not in a way that we would see english speaking countries pronounce the same and most of all. It really struck me how used to we are to see characters of certain colour, accents in mainstream english movies. It actually is little wonder that while those of us who have exposure to english movies/cartoons/music etc can pronounce names prevalent in english speaking countries with relative ease, while we can't pronounce japanese or russian or french names easily
It's really great that Disney Pixar did such thorough research on Mexican traditions and customs that they gave no room to anyone to criticize the depiction of Mexican culture while opening the doors for the rest of the world to marvel at it. Unsurprisingly, Coco won the Oscar for the best animated film in 2018. In his acceptance speech the Director of Coco - Lee Unkrich proclaimed the following,
"With Coco we tried to take a step forward towards a world where all children can grow up seeing characters in movies that look and talk and live like they do. Marginalized people deserve to feel like they belong. Representation matters."
Interestingly enough, Michelle Obama tweeted almost the exact same thing when Black Panther was released. I really can't help but wholly agree with the sentiment that representation matters. I myself liked Black Panther which possibly is the only all black cast movie that I have seen. Personally, my liking for the movie had more to do with the fact that I was amazed at the representation of the immensely strong and courageous female characters in the film. Though I am not a big movie or sitcom buff, I have been a dedicated fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe which has produced 19 superhero films from Iron Man to the recent Avengers Infinity War in the time span of 10 years. Superhero films almost always relegate women to secondary characters but it has really been heartening to see the evolution of female characters in the MCU. It is great for once to see female play such strong, substantive characters like ass kicking fighters like Valkyrie in Thor Raganorak, Okoye in Black Panther, Gamora in Guardians of the Galaxy and a formidable supervillan like Hella (played by the magnificent Cate Blanchett). I specially like the representation of Shurie who plays T'Challa's sister as a brilliant scientist in Black Panther and a very non glamorized Tilda Swinton who plays the character of Ancient One - Sorcerer Supreme of mystic arts in Doctor Strange.
This kind of representation in mainstream films helps removing stereotypes of sections of people who are generally represented in a very uni-dimensional way (if at all they are indeed represented), not taking into account the complexities and uniqueness inherently present in every human. There is a reason why I personally consider the representation of strong female characters in mainstream superhero MCU movies refreshing. If you talk about coverage of women in the media, it almost always has to do with obsessive and nauseating coverage of what they wear in events like a celebrity wedding, or a Met Gala or a Cannes Film festival event. While there isn't technically anything wrong with covering that aspect, it feeds into the notion that appearance is the only aspect worth noticing and covering about a lady that ultimately permeates into shallow, stereotypical representations of women in pop culture which further influences a generation of young girls. Of course one might argue that there are so many films that pay worthy tributes to representation of women and various communities like LGBTQ, or communities of colour etc. However it really is important to note that it makes a hell of a lot of a difference when worldwide giant franchises with the clout and influence like Disney Pixar and now an MCU has, portrays sections of people with great responsibility and dignity. Just recently, the news came out that a victim of clerical sex abuse has said Pope Francis told him God made him gay and his sexuality “does not matter”. Agree with the guy or not, when you have the most influential head of a religion showing this kind of acceptance, this is when there is truly a hope of change in attitudes towards marginalized and stereotyped sections. Similarly it would be really great if all the media giants who have an immeasurable influence on pop culture reflect on their role. In this regard, I think MCU has upped their game and, I for one really look forward to seeing their first central female superhero movie - Captain Marvel when it comes out next year...
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