The Value of the Unreal

So I was talking to my friend, who for the sake of kicks and giggles we shall refer to as the Delightful Picnic. Somehow our conversation turned to the topic of animation vs. live action and which is of greater value. I'm going to reiterate some of Delightful Picnic's points. I hope he doesn't get mad at me if I don't convey them word for word. I'm not perfect but I hope to get his meaning across. But if I get it wrong he can berate me later. Even if I do mess up Delightful Picnic's intent there are other people who genuinely think the things that I am going to bring up.

Delightful Picnic said that a story presented to him in live action form would have more meaning and a greater impact on him than if it were portrayed in an animated format. Now for me being a glass is half empty kind of guy I look at that statement and reword it. To me it says animation is inferior, it is not of the same value as live action, animation is not something of merit.

I disagree with those sentiments. I don't value animation over live action, I believe either medium is capable of greatness and value. I also think that each medium is just as capable of failure. Now there are some stories that I think can only be told through animation. But with the advent of computer animation there are a lot of previous impossibilities that are now shattered. A Spider-man movie would have been super corny without a computer generated Spidey capable of web slinging through New York. Lord of the Rings wouldn't have been as good without augmented images. (True there was a earlier Lord of the rings which was animated and it was terrible, a fact which may seem to contradict my point here but let me go on.) And the fact that live action is now relying more and more on computer animation, and incorporating it into their story telling process is, I think, quite telling. It's indicative of the value of animation. Of that which is not real.

This was another one of Delightful's arguments. He said that something that isn't real isn't believable. "Because it's not real it's not going to be able interact with me, a real person."

The point that I'd like to make is that if you automatically dismiss all of animation and it's potential value just because it's animation, well that is doing a disservice to your self and animation. Animation is capable of evoking just as strong of an emotional response as real people. A good story is a good story no matter how it's packaged. To think differently is snobbish elitism.

I believe one of the reasons Delightful and people like him think the way they do is as follows. "Kids like cartoons. I watched cartoons as a kid. Cartoons are for kids, I'm not a kid anymore. I can't like cartoons anymore. I'm supposed to be an adult and like adult things with more mature themes." While a lot of animation is aimed at children that does not mean that animation aimed at adults is not good just because its animation.

Now I've mentioned before that I'd like to be a writer. Specifically I'd like to write books in the fantasy genre. That genre is not just fiction but its a very unreal type of fiction. Fantasy stories are about worlds that are very far removed from our own. Yet I feel that if those stories are told well they can grant us insight into the human condition. I believe they can reach us in a very deep, personal, and meaningful way. Fantasy fiction and animation have a lot in common. So when someone minimalizes animation I feel they are also attacking the Fantasy genre, and in a broader sense imagination itself.

I know it's a kind of slippery slope argument I'm presenting but somethings really are a slippery slope. The first time mankind looked out across creation it set his mind afire with wonder. It is that fire that has lit the advance of civilization. The day that fire goes out is the day humanity ceases to be human. Dreams make the waking hours bearable. I think the best way to live one's life is with you head in the clouds so long as you keep your feet on solid ground.

Animation is very conducive to the imagination. And the wonders of the imagination are a feat not to be missed.