Inspired by an era that was rife with racist caricatures

Netflix’s The Cuphead Show Producer Dave Wasson Says He Was Aware of the Racist History, “It Was Definitely Problematic”

Viewers have pointed out how the animation on Netflix’s animated series – The
Cuphead Show is strikingly similar to early 20th-century animation. The early
animation days bring back memories of the popular Disney and Fleischer
cartoons-Mickey Mouse, Popeye, and Bugs Bunny. Was the Golden Age of American
Animation truly golden? The age is marked with racism and misogynistic
characters. The Cuphead Show on Netflix is based on a video game of the same
name.

Dave Wasson, who serves as a producer, knew that replicating the 1930s cartoon
will also bring up the dreadful history. He says “That era of animation is
loaded with problematic portrayals of characters and race. And there’s also
misogyny. It’s definitely problematic. It was a very different time.”

[data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==]

It was a different time when subjects like misogyny and racism didn’t spark
controversy-people were accepting. The team had long discussions regarding what
was to be left out of the animation. Nothing that was deemed problematic
appeared in the show. Even the racist characters were stripped of their
exaggerated features in the Netflix [https://netflixjunkie.com/category/news/]
show.

“We really did discuss the root of what was problematic so that we could end up
[asking] OK is the style or art of this worth detaching from this awful trope at
times? Sometimes it wasn’t.”

ALSO READ: Ginny and Georgia Season 2: Check Latest Updates and What to Expect?
[https://netflixjunkie.com/category/coming-soon/]


THE CUPHEAD SHOW IS A HYBRID OF THE RUBBER HOSE ANIMATION

The creators derived inspiration from the early animations but there are subtle
differences that the designers added to give it a more modern touch. Don’t
mistake the lush watercolor backgrounds for being hand-drawn! Every aspect of
the show has been produced using digital means. Expressions and characters’
movements were limited or even repetitive in the old cartoons, but The Cuphead
Show characters show different emotions. In a way, the designers have improved
upon the original source material-keeping the original charm of the 1930s while
adding some tweaks here and there. An example is, employing stop-motion
animation in certain scenes but steering clear of some of the more challenging
techniques well because it was getting “too crazy
[https://www.polygon.com/22937541/the-cuphead-show-interview-racism-animation-history].”

ALSO READ: What Can These Four Comedians Do For ‘Standing Up’? Netflix Explores
Their Journeys As They Juggle Through Life And Comedy
[https://netflixjunkie.com/netflixnews-what-can-these-four-comedians-do-for-standing-up-netflix-explores-their-journeys-as-they-juggle-through-life-and-comedy/]

Srabani Biswas

Comment

Netflix’s The Cuphead Show Producer Dave Wasson Says He Was Aware of the Racist History, “It Was Definitely Problematic” - Netflix Junkie

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Srabani Biswas is a writer at Netflix Junkie. She is a sociology graduate from Lady Brabourne College. Previously, she has contributed to Sports India Show and The Sports Room as a sports writer, and interned at Ripples Learning. A daydreamer, a dancer, and a lover of dogs, she enjoys quiet evenings with her laptop and a cozy blanket. With so much to do and so little time, she is constantly worried about her growing pile of unread books and unwatched shows on Netflix. Her favourites include Stranger, Vincenzo, Hello! My twenties,  Emily in Paris, Never Have I Ever, Peaky Blinders, Stranger Things, Reply 1997 and Sex Education.

https://netflixjunkie.com/netflixs-the-cuphead-show-producer-dave-wasson-says-he-was-aware-of-the-racist-history-it-was-definitely-problematic

Netflix’s The Cuphead Show Producer Dave Wasson Says He Was Aware of the Racist History, “It Was Definitely Problematic” - netflix-junkie

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Viewers have pointed out how the animation on Netflix&#8217;s animated series &#8211; The Cuphead Show is strikingly similar to early 20th-century animation. The early animation days bring back memories of the popular Disney and Fleischer cartoons-Mickey Mouse, Popeye, and Bugs Bunny. Was the Golden Age of American Animation truly golden? The age is marked with racism and misogynistic characters. The Cuphead Show on Netflix is based on a video game of the same name. 
Dave Wasson, who serves as a producer, knew that replicating the 1930s cartoon will also bring up the dreadful history. He says “That era of animation is loaded with problematic portrayals of characters and race. And there’s also misogyny. It’s definitely problematic. It was a very different time.”
<img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-19094 lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" data-src="https://netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/jGUQzcJtdaF6FN9mNABd38.jpg" alt="" width="1920" height="1080" data-sizes="auto" data-srcset="https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/jGUQzcJtdaF6FN9mNABd38.jpg 1920w, https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/jGUQzcJtdaF6FN9mNABd38-300x169.jpg 300w, https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/jGUQzcJtdaF6FN9mNABd38-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/jGUQzcJtdaF6FN9mNABd38-768x432.jpg 768w, https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/jGUQzcJtdaF6FN9mNABd38-1536x864.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" />
It was a different time when subjects like misogyny and racism didn&#8217;t spark controversy-people were accepting. The team had long discussions regarding what was to be left out of the animation. Nothing that was deemed problematic appeared in the show. Even the racist characters were stripped of their exaggerated features in the <a href="https://netflixjunkie.com/category/news/">Netflix</a> show.
“We really did discuss the root of what was problematic so that we could end up [asking] OK is the style or art of this worth detaching from this awful trope at times? Sometimes it wasn’t.”
ALSO READ: <a href="https://netflixjunkie.com/category/coming-soon/">Ginny and Georgia Season 2: Check Latest Updates and What to Expect?</a>
<h2>The cuphead show is a hybrid of the rubber hose animation</h2>
The creators derived inspiration from the early animations but there are subtle differences that the designers added to give it a more modern touch. Don&#8217;t mistake the lush watercolor backgrounds for being hand-drawn! Every aspect of the show has been produced using digital means. Expressions and characters&#8217; movements were limited or even repetitive in the old cartoons, but The Cuphead Show characters show different emotions. In a way, the designers have improved upon the original source material-keeping the original charm of the 1930s while adding some tweaks here and there. An example is, employing stop-motion animation in certain scenes but steering clear of some of the more challenging techniques well because it was getting &#8220;<a href="https://www.polygon.com/22937541/the-cuphead-show-interview-racism-animation-history">too crazy</a>.&#8221;
ALSO READ: <a href="https://netflixjunkie.com/netflixnews-what-can-these-four-comedians-do-for-standing-up-netflix-explores-their-journeys-as-they-juggle-through-life-and-comedy/">What Can These Four Comedians Do For ‘Standing Up’? Netflix Explores Their Journeys As They Juggle Through Life And Comedy</a>

What Can These Four Comedians Do For ‘Standing Up’? Netflix Explores Their
Journeys As They Juggle Through Life And Comedy

cuphead-king-dice

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https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/cuphead-king-dice.jpg

Inspired by an era that was rife with racist caricatures, and misogynistic characters, The Cuphead Show on Netflix invites criticism.

Srabani Biswas is a writer at Netflix Junkie. She is a sociology graduate from Lady Brabourne College. Previously, she has contributed to Sports India Show and The Sports Room as a sports writer, and interned at Ripples Learning. A daydreamer, a dancer, and a lover of dogs, she enjoys quiet evenings with her laptop and a cozy blanket. With so much to do and so little time, she is constantly worried about her growing pile of unread books and unwatched shows on Netflix. Her favourites include Stranger, Vincenzo, Hello! My twenties, Emily in Paris, Never Have I Ever, Peaky Blinders, Stranger Things, Reply 1997 and Sex Education.

https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/0411d75f5c4b6571929279a073b0a09c?s=96&d=mm&r=g

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https://www.netflixjunkie.com/netflixs-the-cuphead-show-producer-dave-wasson-says-he-was-aware-of-the-racist-history-it-was-definitely-problematic/

Netflix’s The Cuphead Show Producer Dave Wasson Says He Was Aware of the Racist History, “It Was Definitely Problematic”

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