‘Drawing Comic Traditions’ British Television Animation from 1997 to 2010 Van Norris The thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of the University of Portsmouth. School of Creative Arts, Film and Media – University of Portsmouth May 2012 1 Contents Front page............................................................................................................1 Contents...............................................................................................................2 Declaration...........................................................................................................7 Abstract................................................................................................................8 Acknowledgements...........................................................................................10 Dissemination....................................................................................................11 Introduction, Rationale, Methodology and Literature Review....................15 Rationale: Animating the industrial and cultural landscape.....17 A marker of the times....................................................................24 Animating Britain..........................................................................29 An alternative to the alternative...................................................34 Methodology...................................................................................35 Literature Review..........................................................................47 Chapter overview...........................................................................58 Chapter One: ‘Drawing Comic Traditions’: Outlining the conditions of Third Wave Animation.....................................................................................63 First Wave Animation: Energy and Movement (1955-1978).....63 2 Second Wave Animation: A time of possibilities (1979-1996)....74 Third Wave Animation: This is the place where you live (1997- 2010)................................................................................................90 Conclusion.....................................................................................114 Chapter Two: ‘The Family Myth’: A quotation of normality....................118 The mythic family........................................................................121 The sitcom family.........................................................................126 The Simpsonian family................................................................128 Comedy at home: Animating normality....................................130 Third Wave families.....................................................................133 The return to Suburbia................................................................137 A man about the house................................................................146 Surrogacy and culture.................................................................155 Conclusion.....................................................................................163 Endnotes – Chapter Two.............................................................166 Chapter Three: ‘C’mon Mum Monday night is Jihad Night...’: Race and nostalgia in a Third Wave setting..................................................................168 Animating ethnic minorities........................................................171 BBC 3, comedy and Monkey Dust...............................................175 Post-politically-correct comedy..................................................183 3 Narratives on ethnicity one: Immigrant’s tales.........................189 Narratives on ethnicity two: The enemy within........................195 Third Wave nostalgia...................................................................205 Conclusion.....................................................................................212 Endnotes – Chapter Three..........................................................215 Chapter Four: ‘Unpack that…’: Animating the male in a Third Wave Context.............................................................................................................217 A new terrain................................................................................219 Ownership, connection and agenda............................................223 Form and theme...........................................................................227 Looking for clues..........................................................................232 The flawed male...........................................................................239 Animating the comic male...........................................................241 Gendered humour........................................................................251 Conclusion.....................................................................................256 Endnotes – Chapter Four............................................................260 Chapter Five: ‘Touching cloth...’: Nostalgic satire and the Third Wave.......................................................................................................261 The sum of its parts......................................................................265 Religious imagery.........................................................................271 4 Animated satire............................................................................280 Nostalgic spaces within Popetown...............................................287 Conclusion.....................................................................................297 Endnotes – Chapter Five.............................................................303 Conclusion.....................................................................................305 Core values....................................................................................312 Fourth Wave Animation..............................................................324 Bibliography....................................................................................................337 Appendix One: Claire Kitson Interview.......................................................394 Appendix Two: E-mail Correspondence......................................................404 Interview a: Dominik Binegger...................................................405 Interview b: Jon Link..................................................................408 Interview c: Tom Mortimer........................................................412 Interview d: Ben Wheatley..........................................................415 5 Declaration Whilst registered as a candidate for the above degree, I have not been registered for any other research award. The results and conclusions embodied in this thesis are the original work of the named candidate and have not been submitted for any other academic award. Word count: 93, 877. 6 Abstract This thesis examines the shifts within mainstream British television animation between 1997 and 2010 and it discusses how British animation’s close relationship with live-action television comedy reveals a map of contemporary attitudes and tastes. The British animated texts in this period reacted to their shifting industrial and broadcasting landscape. The historical moment of the late 1990s was determined by the successes of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons, which profoundly affected the way British practitioners conceived of the medium’s capabilities within a mainstream television environment. This work argues that disparate animation programmes on terrestrial and non- terrestrial television in this era all sought to assess aspects of contemporary society. It suggests that British television animation and British television comedy were so united in their aims and cultural capital that this unique historical moment can be understood as a transformation. This conjunction is a hitherto neglected area of television comedy and animation history. Such a study necessitates a full account of the issues of agency, tone and emphasis in appropriate texts. The thesis analyses these factors, and indicates that UK animated shows under study exemplify an intense engagement with the concept of political correctness. Because of this, the entire production moment was a reaction against what had gone before, and reconstituted representation within comedy and animation. The themes of family, race, gender and social institutions provide fertile ground here. The thesis analyses the cultural 7 consequences of the post-industrial milieu in this field and asks whether the ironic and nostalgic qualities of postmodernity present a particular problem for the medium. Bearing in mind the scope of such an enquiry, and the animation medium’s own fluid constitution, an interdisciplinary approach is an appropriate method to deploy here. 8 Acknowledgements Primarily, I would need to offer my sincere gratitude to Professor Sue Harper for her ongoing guidance, advice, support and experience in bringing this work to completion and indeed throughout my career. Without her continuing perspective, patience, knowledge, humour, tenacity and sheer belief then I am certain that this work would simply not exist. I would also like to thank to Graham Spencer, Laurie Ede, Lincoln Geraghty, Rebecca Janicker and Emma Dyson, all from along the corridors of the School of Creative