Iluminace 2024, 36(3):81-100 | DOI: 10.58193/ilu.1791
Transcontinental Studio Collaboration in the Production of the African-futurist Anthology Kizazi Moto
- Kingston School of Art, London, UK
This paper explores the production of the animated anthology Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire as a case study for understanding the transnational dynamics and power relations within the global animation industry in the post-colonial context. Utilizing qualitative research based on interviews with key decision makers, the paper examines the production culture, the complexities of identity and representation, and the ideological tensions embedded in the animation tools and processes. Through the interview record, moments of resistance and acceptance emerged, revealing uneven access to resources and the colonial legacies influencing contemporary African animation. The research highlights the need for a critical reassessment of production practices, creative control, the diversity of production crews, as well as the ideological assumptions embedded in animation tools and processes.
Keywords: Animation Studio Culture, African animation production, Disney EMEA, Triggerfish, African-futurism
Received: April 30, 2024; Revised: November 25, 2024; Accepted: December 19, 2024; Published: January 28, 2025 Show citation
References
- Alimi, Bisi. "If You Say Being Gay Is Not African, You Don't Know Your History," The Guardian, 9 September 2015, sec. opinion, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/sep/09/being-gay-african-history-homosexuality-christianity.
- Anon. "As Disney Turns 100, Its Business Is on a Rollercoaster Ride," The Economist, accessed April 24, 2024, https://www.economist.com/briefing/2023/01/19/as-disney-turns-100-its-business-is-ona-rollercoaster-ride.
- Anon. "'Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire' Streaming July 5th Exclusively On Disney+," Disney Plus Press, accessed April 24, 2024, https://press.disneyplus.com/news/disney-plus-kizazi-motogeneration- fire-streaming-july-5.
- Banks, Miranda J., Bridget Conor, and Vicki Mayer, eds. Production Studies, the Sequel! Cultural Studies of Global Media Industries (New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2016).
Go to original source...
- "Gay and Lesbian Rights," accessed April 30, 2024, https://www.concourt.org.za/index.php/gayand- lesbian-rights#.
- Gandhi, Leela. Postcolonial Theory: A Critical Introduction: Second Edition (New York: Columbia University Press, 2019).
Go to original source...
- Hall, Stuart. Essential Essays: Volume 1: Foundations of Cultural Studies, ed. David Morley (London and Durham: Duke University Press, 2019).
Go to original source...
- Haygood, Wil. Colorization: One Hundred Years of Black Films in a White World, first edition (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2021).
- Heller, Sabine. "Below-the-line creativity and authorship in animation: the reality of animation production," Revue française des sciences de l'information et de la communication, no. 18 (2019).
Go to original source...
- Irvine, Laura Anne. "(The necessity of) reflexive labour practices at triggerfish animation studios: an ethnography" (Master Theses, Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Human Biology, 2021).
- Lentin, Alana. "Racism in public or public racism: doing racism in 'post-racial times'," Ethnic and racial Studies 39, no. 1 (2016), 33-48.
Go to original source...
- Landman, Jane. "'Not in Kansas Anymore:' Transnational Collaboration in Television Science Fiction Production," in Production Studies: Cultural Studies of Media Industries, eds. Vicki Mayer, Miranda J. Banks, and John T. Caldwell (New York: Routledge, 2009), 140-153.
- Mayer, Vicki. "Studying Up and F**cking Up: Ethnographic Interviewing in Production Studies," Cinema Journal 47, no. 2 (2008), 141-148.
Go to original source...
- Mayer, Vicki, Miranda J. Banks, and John Thornton Caldwell, eds. Production Studies: Cultural Studies of Media Industries (New York: Routledge, 2009).
- Mbembe, Achille, and Sarah Nuttall. " Writing the World from an African Metropolis," Public Culture 16, no. 3 (2004), 347-372.
Go to original source...
- McClintock, Pamela. "Box Office: 'Black Panther' Becomes Top-Grossing Superhero Film of All Time in U.S.," The Hollywood Reporter (blog), March 24, 2018, accessed December 9, 2024, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/box-office-black-panther-becomestop- grossing-superhero-film-all-time-us-1097101/.
- Meek, James. "Review of Do Anything, Say Anything, by Peter Biskind," London Review of Books, January 4, 2024, https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v46/n01/james-meek/do-anything-say-anything.
- Miller, Toby. "The New International Division of Cultural Labor Revisited," Revista ICONO14: Revista Científica de Comunicación y Tecnologías Emergentes 14, no. 2 (2016).
Go to original source...
- Murray, Stephen O., and Will Roscoe, eds. Boy-Wives and Female Husbands: Studies of African Homosexualities, first edition (New York: Palgrave, 2001).
- Murray, Stephen O., and Will Roscoe. Islamic Homosexualities: Culture, History, and Literature (New York: New York University Press, 1997).
- Garnham, Nicholas. "Political Economy and Cultural Studies," Critical Studies in Mass Communication 12, no. 2 (1995).
Go to original source...
- Okorafor, Nnedi. "Nnedi Okorafor: Sci-Fi Stories That Imagine a Future Africa | TED Talk," accessed April 29, 2024, https://www.ted.com/talks/nnedi_okorafor_sci_fi_stories_that_imagine_a_future_africa.
- Ponte, Stefano, Simon Roberts, and Lance Van Sittert. "'Black Economic Empowerment,' Business and the State in South Africa," Development and Change 38, no. 5 (2007), 933-955.
Go to original source...
- "SA Film & TV Production and Co-Production (SA Film) - The Department of Trade Industry and Competition," May 15, 2019, http://www.thedtic.gov.za/financial-and-non-financial-support/incentives/film-incentive/sa-film-tv-production-and-co-production-sa-film/.
- Skeggs, Beverley, and Helen Wood. Reacting to Reality Television: Performance, Audience and Value (New York: Routledge, 2012).
Go to original source...
- Spangler, Todd. "Disney+ Powers to Nearly 138 Million Subscribers, Beating Streaming Expectations for March Quarter," Variety (blog), May 11, 2022, https://variety.com/2022/digital/news/ disney-plus-march-2022-earnings-1235264311/.
- Szalai, Georg. "South African Animation Studio Triggerfish Launches Story Lab With Disney Support," The Hollywood Reporter (blog), July 15, 2015, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/ movie-news/triggerfish-animation-story-lab-disney-808493/.
- "The Tax Rebate for International Productions (TRIP)," CNC, accessed April 29, 2024, https://www. cnc.fr/web/en/tax-rebate/the-tax-rebate-for-international-productions-trip_190742.
- Van Rooij, Malou. "Carefully Constructed Yet Curiously Real: How Major American Animation Studios Generate Empathy Through a Shared Style of Character Design," Animation 14, no. 3 (2019), 191-206.
Go to original source...
- Weiss, Josh. "Disney+ to Showcase African Creators with 'Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire' Sci-Fi Anthology," syfy, June 17, 2021, accessed April 24, 2024, https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/kizazimoto- generation-fire-disney-plus.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.