The Secret of Kells That Should’ve Been Kept
The nominees for the 82nd Academy Awards have been announced, and while most were expected, the one sore thumb that stood out was a previously little known – at least in the United States – Irish/Belgian/French film called The Secret of Kells. It is notable for apparently edging out Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs for the nomination. It is also notable for the fact that it hasn’t been released yet United States, which is usually a requirement.
All you need to say to me is “new animated movie”, and I’m going to take an interest. Add “French” to the pot and I become really interested – much to do with my borderline francophilia, and for the mere existence of Gobelins School of Image, which regularly produces stunning animated shorts for the yearly Annecy International Animated Film Festival.
So I’m watching the trailer, marveling at the fluid animation and the non-traditional animation style, which literally looks like a picture book come to life.
Then, about 32 seconds in, I find something else notable about Kells.
Enter Brother Assoua. Not to be outdone by Japan, or most recently Australia, the film – made in Ireland – throws a nice blackface caricature my way. Almost as if to spite me. I was interested. I was really interested. Why the hell did that have to happen?
I wouldn’t have batted an eye if there were no people of color in the film, because I’m used to it. Had I even thought about it, I could’ve justified it through the fact that there were not many – if any – dark-skinned people in medieval Ireland. Pretty sure there aren’t many now. I could’ve enjoyed the movie – provided the plot was any good – with no second thoughts.
But no. No.
Here’s my open inquiry to the nations of the world. What part of the message – that blackface is fucking offensive – is getting lost in translation? And since they speak English in Australia and Ireland, thereby nullifying the language barrier as an excuse, is it a matter of them just not giving a damn? Perhaps it is a thumb at the nose of so-called “political correctness” – a favored buzz word for people to criticize as justification for doing socially irresponsible things.
With regards to Kells, there is a lot of room for stylistic interpretation of different ethnicities. Darker skin, thicker lips? Par for the course. No problem. But bright red lips that occupy a third of Assoua’s face leave no room for interpretation.
Undoubtedly someone else – with more clout or recognition – will raise this issue again, as The Secret of Kells climbs its way to mainstream attention. At that point I hope creator Tomm Moore will have some sort of acceptable justification for such objectionable art direction.
Perhaps the most disappointing thing about all of this is that The Secret of Kells looks to be a gorgeously well-produced animated film.
Very well said and I agree with you. I’ve posted anonymously because I work for someone, shall we say, ‘involved’ in the film (white, of course, and apparently oblivious to the fact that this is offensive).
Honestly oblivious? Because I could almost forgive that. I just find it hard to believe that anyone could be unaware that it’s offensive in our age of mass information.
And what’s the obsession with exaggerating Africanesque features? I mean, in light of the fact that the other characters don’t HAVE lips AT ALL, and are as pale as the background to my website, it wouldn’t take much to let us know that Assoua was of some African origin.
Could you provide any further insight?
I refuse to believe the artists of this film are uneducated about the history of black minstral depictions in art. It really calls into question the character design.
Yeah I’m sure they’re not. Instead they’re making excuses about how it’s just artistic license or how the social dynamics in Europe are different and so it doesn’t carry the same meaning as it would in the U.S. Some high and mighty justification for what they know to be inappropriate.
This movie is beautifully made, though I am not particularly engaged by religious iconography, and I am giving this opinion from the standpoint of a person in a pretty racist area of the USA and who knows racism when he sees it, and I know you can be racist even if you don’t want to be, like me, but I digress…
The Swastika I didn’t even find any problem with, though some ignorant or illogical people who wish to hand over any symbol of any peaceful movement to any thief of said symbols may have such a problem, and with all the love I’ve got for Buddhism I have to say taking the symbol back is essential…
But check out my little website for a different shot than is on here, plus a poll on whether the picture there is racist or not. When I saw this image, where the dudes mouth is shut and his lips and nose are literally almost encompassing his entire face and are insanely red like clown makeup, well it wasn’t a big leap to the logical conclusion, it’s purely racist, at the deepest level…
I can’t believe people either don’t notice or don’t care.. I am NOT a politically correct person and I actually do care, because this is a CHILDREN’S MOVIE..
click my name for the website, it’s no ads just a free site to show the most racist picture….
As an Irish guy abroad, I would love to be able to show this movie to people and say, "look, we can actually do things!" But because of this I have to hold my tongue.
What excuse do they have? Cultural difference isn't really an excuse for anyone over the age of twelve. Even presuming that these artists have existed in a cultural vacuum, far removed from a long established history of racial degradation, would that allow them create one anew.
As you say there is a lot of room for interpretation of various ethnic characteristics, and it's not an entirely bad design, but those lips are unforgivable. Stylised features are one thing, but where in real life have the animators found inspiration for those?
Thanks for your input, Jont. You raise a good point. They were exposed to enough to racial stereotypes to be able to come up with such an image, so we can't assume that they were somehow selectively unaware of the meanings associated with it. So I wonder, do they just not care, or do they think it's funny?
Come on guys, this is ridiculous. EVERYONE in the movie is a caricature. There are way bigger things to get offended over than this, especially when the movie itself isn't trying to be racist in any way, nor are any of these characters (including the African guy) being portrayed as unintelligent or inferior. Isn't that what's most important?
"Everyone in the movie is a caricature"
Even if that were true, what you don't understand is that this particular caricature has a history – one associated with the shaming and invalidation of the black aesthetic. Look up "blackface" for a better understanding, and you'll find that because African-Americans were not allowed in films, white actors painted their faces pitch black with bright red lips and then acted like buffoons – their interpretations of how black people acted, or a way of presenting black people mockingly for white people's amusement.
It is not just about caricature but about how black people have been represented historically in the media, and it has almost always been bad.
In this case, it is about knowing better. It is well established that this particular "caricature" as you call it, is symbolic of a painful past for African-Americans, and to use it NOW is to either be woefully ignorant of that history, or to plainly make a statement that you don't give a fuck about it.
If they wanted to make a caricature who happened to be African, that's fine, but as I said:
"There is a lot of room for stylistic interpretation of different ethnicities. Darker skin, thicker lips? Par for the course. No problem. But bright red lips that occupy a third of Assoua’s face leave no room for interpretation."
This image specifically invokes the blackface tradition. It is not merely a caricature.
There is so much more I could say on this matter, about the "neutrality" or "normativity" of whiteness, and how the black aesthetic does not fit within the Western beauty standard. That is to say that those features commonly associated with darker people are seen as ugly, inferior, or in the case of blackface, something to laugh at.
Can you even imagine what that feels like? Based on your willingness to dismiss this issue, I would guess not.