Resurrecting ParaNorman
Ghosts and gays in the New Queer Cartoon
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21877331 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Derritt Mason (0000-0001-8558-4102, University of Calgary, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 6 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 285-303 |
| Publication date | 2021-09-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Queer Studies in Media & Popular Culture (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2055-5695 • E-ISSN: 2055-5709 |
| Publisher | Intellect (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1386/qsmpc_00062_1 |
| OpenAlex | W4285370181 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 6 |
When the Oscar-nominated, stop-motion animated film ParaNorman was released in August 2012, critics made much ado about the supporting character named Mitch: a dopey, beefy jock perceived to be the first openly gay character in a mainstream American children’s animated movie. As queer representation in children’s animated media continues to expand – as seen, for example, in Netflix’s 2021 film The Mitchells vs. the Machines , which features an openly queer protagonist – this article argues that Mitch’s now decade-old legacy is worth revisiting. Drawing on Noreen Giffney’s concept of the ‘New Queer Cartoon’, ParaNorman , I claim, marks a crucial turning point in children’s animated media. The film represents a collision between the latently and openly queer – it nods to the coded queer signifiers of past films while simultaneously making possible the gradual increase in visible queer representation that has taken place since its release
Aesthetics · Art · Mainstream · Media studies · Political science · Politics · Queer · Sociology · Visual arts · Digital Games and Media · Folklore, Mythology, and Literature Studies · Gender Studies · Law · Media, Gender, and Advertising
| Citations per year | 0.2 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2021 - 2021 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |