ISSN: 2222-6990
Open access
The use of cultural representation is becoming more evident in contemporary animation and has developed its own circle of aficionados. The intensification of criticisms on the use of cultural elements in contemporary animation is most apparent after the release of the feature-length motion animation – Mulan, in 1998. It has been set as an exemplification of an erroneous attempt for cultural adaptation in an animation. However, Nikelodeon’s animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005-2008) succeeded its predecessor, Mulan, from critical criticisms and controversies related to cultural adaptation despite displaying distinct visual cultural elements which were immersed in its animated features. This paper delved into reviewing the exploits of cultural representations that are integrated in the arts and storytelling of an animation production and attempts to synthesise the findings comprehensively. The synthesis reveals that although the elements used in an animation may have distinct visual cultural elements, the adapted intricacies and ‘shifts’ in animated visuals and storytelling have trawled meaningful transcultural audiences.
Agnoli, F. M. (2019). Building the transcultural fantasy world of Avatar. Animation Studies (Special Issue: Transnational Animation). https://journal.animationstudies.org/francis-m-agnoli-building-the-transcultural-fantasy-world-of-avatar/
Agnoli, F. M. (2020). Animating race: The production and ascription of Asian-ness in the Animation of Avatar: The last Airbender and The legend of Korra. [Doctoral dissertation, University of East Anglia].
AllPosters (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.allposters.com/-sp/Mulan-Movie-Group-Original-Poster-Print-Posters_i8758081_.htm
Anjirbag, M. A. (2018). Mulan and Moana: Embedded coloniality and the search for authenticity in Disney animated film. Social Science, 7 (11). https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci7110230
Balodis, J. (2012). The practice of adaptation: Turning fact and fiction into theatre [PhD]. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/60917/
DiMartino, M., & Konietzko, B. (2010). Avatar: The last airbender – The art of the animated series. OR: Dark Horse Books.
Galvao, A. (2018). Using ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ to Explain Why Cultural Appropriation is Wrong, but Morally Permissible. Retrieved from https://talkiesnetwork.com/2018/03/25/using-avatar-the-last-airbender-to-explain-why-cultural-appropriation-is-wrong-but-morally-permissible/
Hall, S. (1997). The work of representations. In S. Hall (Ed.), Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices (pp. 16-74). SAGE Publications Ltd.
Hayes-Roth, B., Doyle, P. (1998). Animate characters. Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems (1), 195–230. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010019818773
Hayes-Roth, B., Maldonado, H., & Moraes, M. (n.d.). Designing for Diversity: Multi-Cultural Characters for a Multi-Cultural World. Retrieved from
https://hci.stanford.edu/publications/2002/Design4Diversity/Design4Diversity.pdf
Hutcheaon, L. (2006). A theory of adaptation. New York/London: Routledge.
Hutcheon, L., & O’flynn, S. (2013). A theory of adaptation. Routledge.
Langfitt, F. (1999). Disney magic fails “Mulan” in China; Cultures: The Americanized version of the famous folk tale is all too American for Chinese movie audiences. The Baltimore Sun. https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1999-05-03-9905030250-story.html
Lioi, I. (2009). Framework of development for schemata in computer design for animation (Master’s Thesis). Retrieved from
https://etd.ohiolink.edu/apexprod/rws_etd/send_file/send?accession=osu1245432626&disposition=inline
Mughal, H. A. (2019). Support at Work and its Relationship with Employee Performance: Critical Insights for Early Scholars. Annals of Contemporary Developments in Management & HR (ACDMHR), 1(3), 16-21.
Nieuwboer, M. E. (2019). Representation of Mexican culture in animation films for children: An analysis of Coco and The Book of Life [Master’s Thesis].
https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/383777
Perdikaki, K. (2017). Adaptation as translation: Examining film adaptation as a re-contextualised act of communication [PhD]. http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/id/eprint/812918
Perdikaki, K. (2018). Film adaptation as the interface between creative translation and cultural transformation: The case of Baz Luhrmann’s ‘The Great Gatsby’. The Journal of Specialised Translation, 20, 169-187.
Rall, H. (2020). Adaptation for animation. Taylor & Francis Group: CRC Press.
Richardson, K. (2008). Introduction: Humorous Subversions: Animation as Cultural Critique. Studies in American Humor, 17 (3), 7-10. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/42573533
Solomon, C. (2015). Diversity can be heard and seen in animated films. LA Times. Retrieved from https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-animation-diversity-20150215-story.html
UNESCO (n.d.). Culture for sustainable development. https://en.unesco.org/themes/culture-sustainable-development
Wells, P. (2006). The fundamentals of animation. Singapore: AVA Book Production Pte. Ltd.
Wells, P. (1998). Understanding animation. New York/London: Routledge.
Ying, J. (2014). Popular Culture and Public Imaginary: Disney vs. Chinese stories of Mulan. Journal of the European Institute for Communication and Culture, 18(1). 53-74.
Yoshinaga, I. (2019). Disney’s Moana, the Colonial Screenplay, and Indigenous Labor Extraction in Hollywood Fantasy Films. Narrative Culture, 6(2), 188-215. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.13110/narrcult.6.2.0188
In-Text Citation: (Abdullah & Abdullah, 2020)
To Cite this Article: Abdullah, M. A., & Abdullah, N. (2020). An Initial Attempt: A Synthesis of Cultural Adaptation and Representation in Animation. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences. 10(12), 546-557.
Copyright: © 2020 The Author(s)
Published by HRMARS (www.hrmars.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode