Ralph Bakshi

Cartoons that are made for the consumption of adults aren't as new of a concept as I had once thought. Growing up, I was exposed to sitcoms such as Family Guy, Southpark, the Simpsons and so on, but in college I found out that the medium actually goes back much further. One particular animator that left a strong impression on me was a man by the name of Ralph Bakshi. The reason I found him striking is that he was very different from the likes of Seth McFarlane and Matt Groening, of which I had been previously accustomed to. No, Ralph Bakshi's films were often much darker than those aforementioned ones. You might be saying that those shows are very dark so how could he be worse? To which I would say that they were darker in terms of the point. The Simpsons and other similar shows make light of social issues, Bakshi's goal seemed to be more to force his audience to accept the bleakness of all of it. My interest in this particular animator has recently bounced back and while I'm not sure exactly why that happened, I feel that his works and worldview that influenced them are well worth talking about. Most average people today have never heard of Bakshi, but he was quite a popular underground animator in the 1970s. The only reason I became aware of him is that my film studies professor mentioned him during one of my classes and the way she described his work sparked interest in me. He made quite a few movies and shows, usually they were animated for the most part, which was what struck me as interesting. "Why would a film studies professor feel the need to mention a cartoonist during a lecture on nihilism in popular culture?" I asked myself. Then I looked into some of his movies and saw exactly why. Bakshi depicted society in a very pessimistic fashion, heavy on nihilism. Most of his stories take place in the context of the 1970s and the common theme they tend to have is that they're all very dark. This was interesting to me, since as someone born in 1994, all I've ever had to contribute to my view of the 70s is what I've been told. My impression of the decade was one of a very campy nature; a time when game shows grew exponentially in popularity, music was generally upbeat and everything was very colorful. That is not Bakshi's take on the time, in fact it was quite the contrary, he explored every dark theme imaginable. His films involved street violence, poverty, substance abuse, prostitution, racial tension, and existential disillusionment just to name a few. To see the 1970s portrayed in such a fashion was pretty jarring but at the same time pretty telling. It made me wonder if all of the bright colors depicted in popular culture were just a means of distraction from the malice and destitution that was going on not so far behind the scenes. I was aware that the United States was not doing very well economically in the 70s and Bakshi's films depict that very clearly. In the cities (usually New York) that he depicts, there is trash everywhere, violence, and he leaves an overall impression of a world where everyone is quite nihilistic about their circumstance. "Heavy Traffic" was his first film that I watched all the way through. The first thing I noticed about it was that I somewhat related to Michael, the main protagonist. He was a 22 year old cartoonist who was very much struggling to find his place in the world. He went from job to job in a state of very near hoplelessness, while pursuing his passion in his free time and clinging to optimism that he could make his way. Michael ended up dying a pointless death due to the prejudice of his father and obviously I don't so much relate to the end, but the premise of the exposition of the character is what I found relatable. Another one of his films, "Coonskin" which was the 2nd one I saw was also very telling of the era but more about the racial aspect of it. I'll admit that it was somewhat difficult to watch, the portrayal of the struggles of the African American community in the 70s were blunt and brutal in that film. Also, many of the characters were caricaturized in a very offensive way but I would say that was more a reflection of the animation style of the time. "Coonskin" like most of his other pieces, was pretty heavy on social commentary. Not only did it explore the situation of black Americans, it delved into the problems with law enforcement. While the main antagonist was a mobster, there was a cop who served as a secondary antagonist and he was not portrayed nicely. The officer was notoriously trigger happy, corrupt, and prejudiced. He ended up getting outsmarted and killed because of the titular protagonist, most often referred to as "Rabbit", and the way in which the cop died was quite graphic and symbolic. He ended up getting drugged at a brothel while waiting to meet with Rabbit, and through a series of events he ended up getting shot up by his own men while dressed up in womens clothing. It was a humiliating end, that's for sure, but when you take into account the content of his character, feeling sorry for the officer should be out of the question. That's commonly how Bakshi portrays law enforcement in his movies, as simply a part of all of the filth that's going on in society and actively profiting from it. It's a very grim and depression picture, but then again so is everything else in his movies which might be why he never really took off in the mainstream. I mentioned the main antagonist in Coonskin being a type of "Godfather" figure, and that's also a common theme in the films. The Italian mob is usually, if not the main antagonist like they were in Heavy Traffic and Coonskin, at least preasent as a malicious force. They're portrayed as usually more powerful than law enforcement, and as an entity whose influence reaches into nearly every criminal element of society. I don't think it would be a stretch to say the fact that New York is a common setting of the stories might be a factor in that. While Bakshi's films certainly leave an impression, it's not necessarily a good one. After seeing all of his works that I did, I was left feeling nihilistic and pessimistic about the world, which I would say might have been the point. Life is ugly, people are ugly, that's a large element of his story telling. However, it's not the only one. Despite all of the malice in the world he paints, the characters are still able to find happiness in some small things and interactions. They make connections, find love, friendship, purpose, all of that. Unfortunately they often die pointless deaths right after, but I would say that's what life is. You make the best out of a bad situation then croak. It's bleak, but it's the truth, and it's a truth that Bakshi did a phenomenal job of capturing.