SEXUALITY — current posts — Fantasy/Animation

Fan Service in Chinese and Japanese Animation

Originating in Japanese anime, fan service refers to elements in fiction, often of a sexual nature, added to please the audience and cater to fans’ desires by incorporating nudity or highly suggestive and erotic scenes. Keith Russell (2008) argues that fan service scenes in anime create an aesthetic of the “glimpse,” where panty shots, leg spreads, and brief flashes of breasts transform mundane moments of daily life into possibilities charged with desire. These anticipated gestures are briefly frozen in time, sustaining moments of sensory gratification where the body and imagination coexist, establishing a connection between gaze and desire (Russell 2008, 107).

EDITORIALMengxue WeiNovember 15, 2024ANIME, JAPAN, CHINA, SEXUALITY, REPRESENTATIONComment

Pride without Prejudice: Queer Animation of the 2020s

Just a little over three and a half years into the 2020s, the seeds of the tropes and trends that future generations shall refer to as “2020's cinema” began to sprout. Be it the new string of self-aware whodunits following the success of Knives Out (Rian Johnson, 2019), such as Bodies, Bodies, Bodies and See How They Run (both released in 2022), or the slow resurgence of slashers with Scream sequels, X and Freaky (starting a new chapter for the genre after its self-referential era post-Scream and ‘neo-slasher’ period in the 2000’s), an exciting foundation for this new decade’s cinema has been set.

EDITORIALAnant NambiarNovember 10, 2023QUEER IDENTITY, GENDER, SEXUALITY, NETFLIX

Exploitation or Empowerment: Sexual Violence in Belladonna of Sadness (1973)

Notable for its erotic tone and psychedelic imagery, Eiichi Yamamoto’s adult art film Belladonna of Sadness (1973) interrogates the depiction of sexual violence against its female protagonist. The film, set against the backdrop of feudal France, follows newlywed villager Jeanne after being raped by the town’s baron on her wedding night.

EDITORIALSerena RamseyJune 2, 2023AESTHETICS, STYLE, ADULT, SEXUALITYComment

Redefining Gender Representation in Dua Lipa’s “Hallucinate” (2020) Music Video

Dua Lipa’s animated music video “Hallucinate” was released during the initial outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The song is taken from Lipa’s second album, Future Nostalgia, and was influenced by the studio 54 aesthetic (Daly, 2020). Dua Lipa's animated character in the music video has been compared with the features of Betty Boop, a figure who epitomized the hedonistic nature in America in the 1920s.

SEQUENCE ANALYSISDemikel EvansAugust 26, 2022MUSIC VIDEO, REPRESENTATION, GENDER, SEXUALITY, QUEER IDENTITYComment

Come, Again: Exploring the Sticky Business of Animated Sperm

As someone who was schooled in the UK between the mid-1990s and mid-2000s, I don’t have extensive memories of the formal teaching of sex education, for such classes were embarrassingly few.

EDITORIALEddie FalveyMay 20, 2022REPRESENTATION, GENDER, SEXUALITY, FANTASY, METAPHOR, SYMBOLISMComment

Review: Flee (Jonas Poher Rasmussen, 2021)

Flee (Jonas Poher Rasmussen, 2021) is an animated documentary that explores the nature of memory and trauma by taking the viewer on an emotional journey. It uses animation to present the memories of Amin Nawabi, an Afghan refugee credited under a pseudonym. Encouraged by his anonymity, he tells director Jonas Poher Rasmussen his story (Grobar 2021).

FILM REVIEWMark ThistlewoodApril 8, 2022DOCUMENTARY, TRAUMA, GENDER, SEXUALITY, NATIONAL CINEMAComment

Review: John Dillermand (Danmarks Radio, 2021)

Animation is usually mentioned in the review section of a newspaper, and non-English language animation aimed at children is generally ignored all together. This was not the case with the new Danish children’s television program John Dillermand, which jumped into non-Danish consciousness in a news story published in The Guardian and on CNN in the first week of January 2021.

TELEVISION REVIEWNick CullMarch 5, 2021GENDER, SEXUALITY, NATION, FABLES, CENSORSHIPComment