Department of English

My thesis explores the relationship between black-coding and anthropomorphism across four pieces of animated media that are generally targeted towards children, from the early 1930s to the mid 2010s. The conjunctive use of anthropomorphism and black-coding provide valuable insight into the state of race relations and the political climate in which a piece of animation was created. The paper begins with a historical overview that analyzes the different uses of black coding in Disney’s Dumbo (1941) and Fleischer Studio’s “Minnie the Moocher” (1932). The flock of crows and Cab Calloway’s walrus character respectively act as the primary focus for each of these animations. This section establishes several of the visual and narrative tropes regarding African Americans that will recur in the more contemporary examples that I have analyzed. The paper then shifts its analysis to Cartoon Network’s The Amazing World of Gumball (2011-2019) and Steven Universe (2013-2019), with the character in question for each series being Darwin Watterson and Bismuth respectively. These cartoons act as case studies that explore and critique contemporary animation’s treatment of African American characters. By close reading several key scenes that characterize Darwin and Bismuth, I evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each show’s black representation. I conclude that whereas Gumball falters in that it lacks the sensitivity necessary to portray an African American character, Steven Universe fails in that it overwrites Bismuth’s “taboo” postcolonial beliefs in favor of maintaining an inoffensive narrative of peace and harmony as a solution to colonialism.