Identity

Identity is something that ties in a lot with Style and Subculture and has many different ways of manifesting itself. Identity, as it is now, in fluid and changeable and depends so much more on the individual now than on society. With the availability of media and ideas and especially the powers of the internet, people can discover so many more things, and people, and interests they may have. People are much more inclined to build their identity around the things they love and the people around them and people in the media are already so diverse, and there is much less worry about fitting in. There are still some limitations when it comes to appearance (that aren't always applicable to everyone) like many people being scared to/adverse to dress one way o that they aren't mistaken for a different gender/sexual orientation (which can sometimes be more a matter of safety than personal preference), but young people are almost expected to be individual and not conform to society's out of date standards and ideas, especially with so many of the older/parent generation being products of rebellion and subculture in their own youth.

In animation, identity from an animator/writer's point of view can be shown through an autobiographical piece of animation, or through consistent styles and views present throughout their creations (see Tim Burton), but one of the most important things about animation is the encouragement it gives to find your own identity and not just be a product on your environment and society.

In Brave, Merida is expected to marry at a very young age, without any experience in life or time to find herself. She is subjected to her parents' will whether it is good for her or not, and film shows her fighting against this to do what she wants, and to be able to shows how much more important her own expectations are.

Similarly, in Mulan, the titular character is expected to be one way - femine, a wife, a homemaker, and a daughter. She doesn't want these things, at least not at the time of the films, and she goes on to do things typically done by male protagonists and still expected to be done by males rather than females in real life. She subverts gender expectations by fighting in the war and actually having the intelligence and power to do things that help her side win. The film shows how she till has to act like and pretend to be make just to have this opportunity and to be accepted, especially in her Eastern Asian culture and though is something that is less relevant (specifically in England today), it shows just hard hard/extreme it would be for a woman to do anything other than what is expected from her.



Frozen shows the Queen Elsa break free from her royal responsibilities and have to stay locked away for the safety of others, and be able to be herself and express herself once she is free from her castle. This is also a metaphor for anxiety, depression and sexuality among other things, but shows how much happier she is when she is free to be herself and forge her own identity, and how it was only by doing that that everything around her, especially involving family were resolved.

Animations that focus on finding and accepting yourself, and subsequently being accepted by others is extremely important to do to encourage people, especially the younger generations to thing about what they want, how they want to be, and how it is okay to not be exactly how society expects them to be.