appearing objective

using your voice in the argument how to show the reader what you are thinking what your views are and how you have engaged critically with the topic being discussed.

the argument can help you plan the structure of your work and guide to find the evidence you need to support it

sum the argument in a few word before staring writing and keep it the focus of the writing

developing an argument: state your contention, identify the important reasons pf the argument, identify possible objections, research evidence, structure it so that the points logically link up to the conclusion, state your conclusions.

include different premises, objection and final contention

identify the gap in the literature

check the integrity of claims

analysis and summary are very different:

summary: identify ideas and present them again in a more concise way.

analysis: reach your own conclusions and create something that may not be evident at first glance.never use loose or vague references

how will I create the discussion for my thesis? (themed chapters)

Research Question and Project Rationale

This thesis is intended to create a common thread among all the several contributions made for animation in relation to animals. It wants to make a synthesis of all these different aspects of the subject, since their overall view helps to appreciate the interest it has in a critical study of the evolution of animated cinema, also through the differences that can be detected in this regard before and after the advent of computer animation. The animal characters in the stories told by cartoons always have a role that goes beyond their nature, sometimes revealing more strictly human characteristics and behaviours and sometimes reflecting more directly their authentic qualities, depending on their role and the narrative intent of the story in which they act.

Even though animals have been a recurring subject in animation, their role and identity within animations works, in which they played a secondary or primary role, has been not questioned enough, as the effect that these same representations had on the audience, and consequently the consequences on “real” animals have often been the opposite of the intent of the narration. The filter through which we represent animals to better understand them, the way they move and what they feel, acknowledging ourself in the process, is anthropomorphism: the lens through which humans are able to interpret animals in their entirety. Despite the fact that anthropomorphism is a “natural” process, contemplated by the human mind to understand not only animals but the world surrounding us, if misused it can lead to a misinterpretation of the subjects that were anthropomorphised, not taking in consideration their identity, which leads to another important subject closely linked to this, which is anthropocentrism. Anthropocentrism can refer to the point of view that humans are the only, or primary, holders of moral standing, which is why, if animals are seen through this process, their integrity can be spoilt.

The new technological advancements in CGI make the distinctions between reality and fictions very thin

At least 5 keywords

anthropomorphism, anthropocentrism, animals, animation, ecological sensibility, anthropomorphising, CGI

Situate your proposal in relation to key texts, issues and debates.

The literature offers many examples of critical study of the use of animals in animated films. These include the book “Animated Bestiary: Animals, Cartoons, and Culture” (Wells, 2009), and the articles They Walk! They Talk! A Study of the Anthropomorphisation of Non Human Characters in Animated Films (Collignon, S., 2008), ‘I’m Not a Real Boy, I’m a Puppet’: Computer-Animated Films and Anthropomorphic Subjectivity. (Holliday, 2016), “Ecological Sensibility Versus Anthropocentrism: An Analysis of Film Ratatouille” (Govind, Vani, Pai 2021). In these analyses several aspects of the subject we are dealing with are deepened; all these aspects are equally interesting and deserve to be mentioned because they show that this subject can be investigated from many points of view, starting from considerations of social order up to implications that more directly concern the ethology, that is the science that studies the animal behaviour. This thesis wants to make a synthesis of all these different aspects of the subject, since their overall view helps to appreciate the interest it has in a critical study of the evolution of animated cinema, also through the differences that can be detected in this regard before and after the advent of computer animation.

The research of the described theme provides an important panorama of the motivations and points of view with which animals have been used in animated cinema, also in the light of the latest developments in computer animation. The different observations made by the critics who have examined this topic can in fact make it clear that the animal characters in the stories told by cartoons always have a role that goes beyond their nature, sometimes revealing more strictly human characteristics and behaviours and sometimes reflecting more directly their authentic qualities, depending on their role and the narrative intent of the story in which they act.

Bibliography (not included in word count)

Wells, P., 2009. The animated bestiary. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press.

Collignon, S., 2008. They Walk! They Talk! A Study of the Anthropomorphisation of Non Human Characters in Animated Films Département des Sciences de l’information et de la communication Section Écriture et Analyses cinématographiques.

Holliday C., 2016. ‘I’m Not a Real Boy, I’m a Puppet’: Computer-Animated Films and Anthropomorphic Subjectivity. Animation,11(3):246-262.

Rohini Govind, Aparna Vani .M, Geetha R. Pai 2021 “Ecological Sensibility Versus Anthropocentrism: An Analysis Of Film Ratatouille”, Annals of the Romanian Society for Cell Biology, pp. 17618–17620. Available at: https://www.annalsofrscb.ro/index.php/journal/article/view/7826 (Accessed: 11March2022).

Finding claims or assertions:

Critically engage with the research and ideas of others in the field(s) the new research intends to address and identify limitations of the previous research.

The limitation may be an unresolved question, a missing piece of information, a paradox, a theoretical inconsistency, or some other weakness within the existing understanding of the phenomenon under study.

Identifying a knowledge gap is important because it: introduces and explains findings that support the new research; synthesises the main conclusions of literature relevant to the topic; highlights unresolved issues or questions within the literature; establishes the originality or “significance” of the new research.

In fact, despite their massive and unique contribution, animals have been largely ignored by film scholars, including those in the field of animation. That said, the few studies that have combined animals and animation have indeed been excellent. Yet given how common animals are within animation, far more research is needed. There are so many aspects of animation to be studied in relation to animals, such as anthropomorphism or anthropocentrism. Therefore, the potential of this field is huge.

Research ethics for my topic to go in detail: animal perception being misinterpreted and misconstrued.

Primary research refers to when the researcher produces their own data. Primary research might involve a researcher developing a questionnaire or survey to give to participants. The feedback provided from participants is then used as data that the researcher can then analyse. While undertaking primary research, a researcher is required to consider the kind of data that they are interested in gathering.

Secondary research refers to the use existing research. Secondary research differs from primary research in that secondary research has not been generated by you but by somebody else. Secondary research includes books, journal articles, artworks, films, design works, sound works, newspaper and magazine articles, exhibitions etc. that have been produced by others.

Research skills:

Research is the careful search for answers, ideas or explanations based on an approach or method. It is one of the most rewarding aspects of academic study and is the essential pathway for academic success. Often the first point of assessment in grading an essay or assignment is the bibliography, which lays bare the depth and range of reading you have done as part of your research. The ability to research effectively can be transferred to many aspects of a subsequent career, improving skills in problem solving, developing the ability to think creatively and in acquiring new knowledge.

Different types of research

Research manifests in different ways where a researcher will use or draw on different tools and materials to help them explore their selected topic. When we discuss research tools we are usually discussing the research methods that have or will be used in order to undertake the research at hand. Understanding the different types of research methods can help you to enhance your research practice.

how did I find out more information about a subject area

what type of research did I gather and understand the new information . what type of research was it, primary or secondary? qualitative or quantitative?

Getting started with research

Your area of research may arise from a specific example from which you can develop different contexts; for example, aesthetic, political, technological, cultural etc. Alternatively, your research may start with a more general question or particular area of study. Key concepts and keywords can help to generate searches in library catalogues and online.

Where to look

It is your decision as the researcher to identify the research material you think is most useful to your topic.

Getting started on a topic

How do you familiarise yourself with a topic you have little to no knowledge of? 

A reader is a collection of writings associated with a particular topic, field of study, theme or authorship. A reader can help you get an overview of the key writings associated with a particular theme or topic. Readers can also help you to identify some of the key writers or figures associated with a topic or theme. A reader is often organised into several parts that aims to cover different elements regarding the topic or theme at hand. 

Useful reader link for animation and media:

https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tpar20/current

The methodology: approaches and methods applied to develop findings.

Understanding methodology:

Research aims and objectives will form the basis for decisions on your approach to the methodology.

The first question you need to ask yourself is whether your research is exploratory or confirmatory in nature. 

investigative approach. get sources that already exists

first question: whether your research is exploratory or confirmatory

exploratory, qualitative: if your research aims and objectives are primarily exploratory in nature, your research will likely be qualitative and therefore you might consider qualitative data collection methods (e.g. interviews) and analysis methods (e.g. qualitative content analysis). 

confirmatory, quantitative: if your research aims and objective are looking to measure or test something (i.e. they’re confirmatory), then your research will quite likely be quantitative in nature, and you might consider quantitative data collection methods (e.g. surveys) and analyses (e.g. statistical analysis).

purpose:

to describe the processes and outcomes of their research. including a methodology helps summarise your studies for readers who review your work. Additionally, the methodology is important for providing insight into the validity and reliability of your research.

Is the section in which you describe the actions you took to investigate and research a problem and your rationale for the specific processes and techniques you use within your research to identify, collect and analyse information that helps you understand the problem. (For thesis what actions you took for the investigation -past tense; for proposal, propose the action you, process and techniques to analyse the informations, read the arguments for and against, analyse what you find -future tense as well as past)

It gives important insight into two key elements of your research: your data collection and analysis processes and your rationale for conducting your research. When writing a methodology for a research paper, it’s important to keep the discussion clear and succinct and write in the past tense.

how are you collecting and analysing your data

The methodology also includes an explanation of your data collection process. Several key details to include in this section of a methodology focus on how you design your experiment or survey, how you collect and organize data and what kind of data you measure. You may also include specific criteria for collecting qualitative and quantitative data.

Your data analysis approaches are also important in your methodology. Your data analysis describes the methods you use to organize, categorize and study the information you collect through your research processes. For instance, when explaining quantitative methods, you might include details about your data preparation and organization methods, along with a brief description of the statistical tests you use. When describing your data analysis processes in regard to qualitative methods, you may focus more on how you categorize, code and apply language, text and other observations during your analysis.

What to include? (two paragraphs) describe the research, data: film to analyse, articles, books

Data collection (also google scholar etc), data analysis, resources and materials, rationale behind the research (to show readers why your research is valid and relevant)

difference between methodology and methods

While the methodology is the entire section of your research paper that describes your processes, the methods refer to the actual steps you take throughout your research to collect and analyse data. The methodology serves as a summary that demonstrates the validity and reliability of your methods, while the methods you detail in this section of your paper are the scientific approaches to test and make conclusions about the data you study. 

format

avoid lists, summary or essay a paragraph: the methodology usually appears at the beginning of your paper and looks like a summary or essay in paragraph form detailing your research validity, process and rationale. 

content

The content within your entire methodology focuses on delivering a concise summary of your research, approaches and outcomes. The content in your research paper that details your collection and analysis methods differs because it’s often necessary to explain your scientific approaches and research processes with lists and visual aids to support the information.

(abstract only for thesis not proposal )

Developing a research topic

When developing a research topic some of the following questions are useful to identify the right subject to investigate further when writing a thesis:

Does the topic motivate you to research? How might the research inform a reader, what will they learn? How might the inquiry connect with previous established research?

It is also important to consider why your research is relevant to the field of study and how it informs an audience.

The research should also demonstrate the following

Enquiry: engagement in practice informed by comprehensive analysis and evaluation of diverse complex practices, concepts and theories 

Knowledge: critical analysis and synthesis of a range of practical, conceptual and technical knowledge(s) 

Process: experiment and critically evaluate methods, results and their implications in a range of complex and emergent situations

Communication: articulation of criticality, clarity and depth. Communicating a diverse range of intentions, contexts, sources and arguments appropriate to your audiences

Realisation: advancing the personal, professional and academic standards of production 

Proposal Structure:

First establish that components of the Thesis structure:

Title page

Abstract

Acknowledgements

Contents page(s)

Introduction

Literature review (critique of materials/sources and methods)

Methodology (all approaches, and methods applied to develop findings)

Themed topic chapters

Results (necessary, depending on research methods)

Discussion or findings

Conclusions

References

Appendices

Proposal objectives:

It should be demonstrated how and why their research is relevant to their field. it should also demonstrate that the work is necessary to filling a gap in the existing body of research on their subject; underscoring existing research on their subject, and/or adding new, original knowledge to the academic community’s existing understanding of their subject.

establish the following: Audience and purpose (ask questions and write them down they could be used as titles for themed topics, can you answer them?)

the proposal should include:

The research methodology you plan to use. How will you approach the study and reach supported findings. The tools and procedures you will use to collect, analyse, and interpret the data you collect. An explanation of how your research fits the budget and other constraints that come with conducting it through your institution, department, or academic program.

The thesis proposal structure

introduction: (better to write it once you have done everything) achieves several goals – introduces the topic, states your problem statement and the questions your research aims to answer and provides context for your research.

background significance : why, what motivates you?, define the existing problems, provide the reader with the information they need. Suggest what you not covering, how you conduct the research as well as clearly define the existing problems your research will address. By doing this, you’re explaining why your work is necessary—in other words, this is where you answer the reader’s “so what?” 

literature review: introduce all the sources you plan to use in your research. This includes landmark studies and their data, books, and scholarly articles. It includes a collection of sources you chose and explains how you’re using them in your research. 

research design, methods and schedule: discuss your research plans. It follows the literature review and includes the type of research you will do (qualitative or quantitative, are you collecting original data or working with data collected by other researchers?, is it an experimental, correlational or descriptive research, the data you are working with, the tools you will use to collect data; are you collecting original data or working with data collected by other researchers?). It should also include the tools you’ll use to collect data.

It can be seen as a system to use to bring everything together to inform the reader of what is your objective is.

supposition and implication: even if you don’t know your findings, this should be the part where you write what you hope to achieve and want to reveal to the reader. have a clear idea of how your work will contribute to your field other than how will your work will create the foundation for future research and the problems your work can potentially help to fix.

it does not state the specific results you expect rather states how your findings will be valuable.

This section is perhaps the most critical to your research proposal’s argument because it expresses exactly why your research is necessary. 

conclusion: bringing back to the readier what research objective is, summarises the research proposal and reinforces your research’s states purpose.

Your conclusion briefly summarises the research proposal and reinforces your research’s stated purpose. This will be more considerably significant in the final thesis having completed the investigation.

bibliography : list of sources and their authors, include a filmography, telegraphy being analysed or referenced.

Key steps:

specific of what is is that you are doing,

Establish a theme or topic. This may develop and refine as you research but will be important to establish precisely before completing all necessary research and establishing the final structure. 

•Introduction, statement on the Issue, topic to be investigated and purpose of report 

•Methodology; describe the methods that you used for your research. You will also need to demonstrate why you chose to use them and how you applied them.

•Critical Review of literature informing the research and how you used your sources to investigate the topic and achieve objectives or answer the question

•Investigation of options based on evidence. Main discussion and findings with citations. Sub-headings are recommended

•Conclusions or recommendations to the audience based on findings 

“Conducting a Literature Review” by Dr Jennifer Rowley notes:

• A literature review is a summary of a subject field that supports the identification of specific research questions.

• Creating the literature review involves the stages of: scanning, making notes, structuring the literature review, writing the literature review, and building a bibliography.

• The objective of the literature review is to summarise the state of the art in that subject field.

• The concluding paragraphs of the literature review should lead seamlessly to research propositions and methodologies.

• Articles in scholarly and research journals should form the core of the literature review. Most such articles will be written by researchers. They will include a literature review, a discussion of the research methodology, an analysis of results, and focused statements of conclusions and recommendations. Scholarly and research journals may also include review articles that provide a review of all of the recent work in an area. They will include a bibliography that may be an invaluable source of reference to other work in the area, even if the review does not match a proposed research topic precisely.

• Concept mapping is a useful way of identifying key concepts in a collection of documents or a research area (understand theory, concepts and the relationships between them). Their purpose is to assist the researcher to develop their understanding.

• There are five steps in the creation of a literature review: scanning documents, making notes, and structuring the literature review, writing the literature review, and building the bibliography

• The literature review should integrate in a coherent account three different types of material:

• a distillation and understanding of key concepts

• quotations, in the words of the original writer.

• a distillation of positions, research findings or theories from other authors, but written in your words.

Bibliography

Rowley, J. and Slack, F. (2004), ‘Conducting a Literature Review’, Management Research News 27(4), pp. 31-39

In the completion of all academic writing three essential components must be achieved:

• A clear understanding of the research topic undertaken and why
• what information, data, learning informed the research and findings
• a conclusion restating objective and connecting findings

Introduction and conclusions are an essential part. They may play an opposite role but connect to create a “sandwich” for all writing framework.

Orientate the reader: the introduction defines the topic research informing the reader of the purpose and motivation of the research and a guide to the inquiry undertaken.

Inform the reader outcomes: The conclusion reconnects the reader to the topic objectives appraising the learning and summarises information for readers and consideration of any significant contributions to established knowledge or foundations for further research.

Introduction

the goal of the introduction is to let your reader know what he or she can expect from your paper.

Attract the reader’s attention

Attract the reader’s attention through a “hook”: state an interesting fact or statistic about your topic; ask a rhetorical question; reveal a common misconception about your topic; set the scene of your story: who, when, where, what, why, how?; share an anecdote (a humorous short story) that captures your topic.

State Your Focused Topic

After your “hook”, write a sentence or two about the specific focus of your paper. What is your paper about? Why is this topic important? This part of the introduction can include background information on your topic that helps to establish its context.

State your Thesis

Finally, include your thesis statement. The kind of thesis you include depends on the type of paper you are writing, but, in general, your thesis should include:your specific topic; your main point about that topic; the points of discussion you will include in your paper. Your thesis should be clear, and easy to find. Most often, it is the last sentence of the introduction.

Conclusion

Is about what you want the reader to understand and take away from your research. Begin with your rephrased thesis statement to remind your reader of the point of your paper. Summarise the points you made in your paper and show how they support your argument; tie all the pieces of your paper together. Tell your reader what the significance of your argument might be.

An effective conclusion paragraph should ultimately suggest to your reader that you’ve accomplished what you set out to prove.

OBJECTIVES

It is important not to use the conclusion to simply summarise the discussion in the section or paragraph. The critical objective is to provide resolution to the findings. It should bring closure to your discussion alongside broader meaning and any implications for other topics.

Mishaps about conclusions:

Avoid phrases like “in summary,” “in conclusion,” or “to sum up.” Don’t simply summarize what’s come before. For a short essay, you certainly don’t need to reiterate all of your supporting arguments. Avoid introducing brand new ideas or evidence.

Literature review tips on structure

The literature review becomes the spine of the thesis; it becomes the central point of the thesis. A literature can be an end in itself (an analysis of what is known about a topic) or a prologue to and rationale for engaging in primary research.

•Organize the literature review around key topics of concepts. Use headings or topic sentences to convey your organizational principle.

•Tell a story about the research. This will assist you with your organization.

•Be selective. Incorporate only studies that are pertinent to your subject.

•Synthesize and evaluate.

•Use a summary to assist the reader to relate every section to the wider topic and to clarify your argument’s movement. Where have we just been and where are we heading to?

•Do not just point to the existence of literature on the topic; compose about methods or results in the studies you discuss.

Frameworks influence the conclusions that we draw. the conclusions you draw in your research may influence the reader so we have to be careful about the conclusion that we draw.

Frameworks are the lenses we chose to investigate our phenomenon, and it influences our conclusions and outcomes.

How to find a framework:

• Get to know your project:

Title, problem questions, literature

• Highlight keywords
• Google your keywords adding frameworks at the end and select images.
• Is this a real frameworks: supported by valuable literature
• does it really speak, validate the frameworks

It is crucial that you also mention those studies that contradict your stance. In other words, mention some dissenting studies and explain why they deviate from your thinking.

How your topic can be developed into an argument.

It is how you can show the reader what you are thinking, what your views are and how you have engaged critically with the topic being discussed. You can do this by building an effective and persuasive argument for your reader. If you don’t use your voice you give information that have already been established instead of proving that you critically engage with the write sources and foundation.

How do you make an argument? By being critical, questioning and understand how to have a balanced view of the opposite arguments, you have to prove to your audience that you have the ability to be understanding and to have previously looked at different parameters to establish what you are saying.

Each paragraph has to follow a structure to guide your reader in a logical way; try to answer and prevent what the reader might ask and write it in the Thesis.

–The key elements of an argument include the following:–

Statement of problem–

Literature review

–Precise focus of your research stated as a hypothesis, question, aim, or objective

–Method and methodology–

Results/evidence

–Discussion and conclusion (including implications for future research)

(For the literature review conclusion restate the question and how the literature and the sources you are going to use will bring you to a conclusion, showing that there are accepted ideas that you are using and that you have a potential to question them or reinforce them)

–Include your own voice in your writing. Your voice will emerge through your discussion, interpretation, and evaluation of the sources.– Make your unattributed (not referenced) assertion at the start of paragraphs followed by evidence, findings, arguments from your sources.

–Consider areas of professional and academic development that motivates your study. –Feel empowered that your contemporary experience and position for inquiry can add to existing research possibly challenge and even contest established canons.–The solution beyond all others is subject knowledge through extensive reading, sourcing and testing where necessary. –Feel confident that the motivation, critique and objective for the research is achievable.

What are the steps to developing an academic argument?

Make sure you have a premise a reason for you argument and evidence to support it.

–Clearly state your contention (the main point an argument is trying to prove, usually a belief outlined in the thesis statement of an introduction) in a thesis statement within your introduction.– Identify the important reasons/premises of your argument.  A reason is evidence given to support the contention. Every reason has premises, and each must be true for the reason to support the contention.– Identify possible objections (a ‘reason’ that a contention is false; evidence against a contention) to your argument.  –Research evidence that supports your reasons and/or reduces objections.– Structure your argument so your points logically lead to your conclusion.– Clearly state your conclusion (the proven contention) bringing together your thesis statement and the supporting points.

In the literature review engage in the research and establish new research, by identify the limitations of other resources. Find strands of other phenomena to add to them (Psychology, mental health…).

One of the ways to generate an argument to discuss in a thesis is critical thinking: how can I critically look at an idea from an impartial perspective? This process starts with questioning the information you get, find evidence to investigate them, cross examine the witnesses, sum up and consider theory and finally reach an informed verdict. All this is possible through systematic thinking and reading and sources to support your argument or go against it.

Descriptive writing is necessary when we are looking at a critical review, it tells us what the author has done, giving a summary of a piece of literature; it often overshadow telling us the truth, it should be balanced with critical writing two different perspective with which you inform the reader. descriptive is data, facts, measurements, a clear understanding, information in an objective way.

Critical writing gives a balance ed account of pros and cons of ideas; it allows you to create assertions something true through quotes, it gives evidence and arguments and backs up arguments with facts and always avoid simplistic conclusions.

Any subject matter should go through this process to be defined as critical thinking:

•Good critical thinking is systematic (like a criminal investigation); you need to: 

• Investigate the problem thoroughly
• Prosecute and defend the ideas
• Cross examine the witnesses (literature)

• Sum up and consider theory 

•Reach an informed verdict
– In the light of this evidence, it seems that…. 

Critical writing does not only report the information it adds to them: take their learning and find yourself contributing and adding supporting their argument providing a good discussion

Descriptions are also needed in the literature review descriptive of how you are going to use the sources

Strategies for being critical can be to be suspicious even for technical jargon to make sure you understand them and also try to express those ideas using your own language.

Model to generate critical thinking:

Topic –

Description , what, where, who, when-

Analysis, how, why, what if

Evaluation, what if, so what, what next

Literature review

Define your research scope explore materials and resources research your topic options

A list of keywords related to that thesis you can use to streamline your source-gathering process

Reason to choose the source and how it is going to help the research topic (methodology descriptive writing) and it also inform what the thesis is for?

Literature review purpose is to establish and present the sources you have used in your research which includes: relevant research methodology – explaining the type of research you conducted, and how you conducted it, the reason for choosing the sources you chose and how you analysed the data you collected; theoretical framework you established- mapping your research showing where you started, which concepts you chose to focus on and where following those concepts brought you; where your work fits into the bigger picture – explain how your findings connect to the existing body of research on your topic and how it related to other pieces of research, any debates to which it contributes.

Structuring a literature review:

states the research question and explains how you tackled it

body paragraphs that explains the research in further detail

end with a conclusion section that reiterated the research question while summarising the insight you had through your research.

personal analysis in present tense scholarly work past tense

find potential sources through the key words and read the abstract to determine how relevant they are within the research’s scope.

Take notes of the theme present in them and ask:

Do the different authors agree, where do they disagree, how does each author support their position.

Literature review outline

Key words for my thesis

Anthropomorphism, Anthropomorphising, Animation, Animals, anthropomorphism in animation, Ecological Sensibility, Anthropocentrism

Find a list of relevant resources and how each source you consult contributes to the knowledge

The Animated Bestiary by Paul Wells:

Critically evaluates the depiction of animals in cartoons and animation more generally. Paul Wells argues that artists use animals to engage with issues that would be more difficult to address directly because of political, religious, or social taboos. Consequently, and principally through anthropomorphism, animation uses animals to play out a performance of gender, sex and sexuality, racial and national traits, and shifting identity, often challenging how we think about ourselves.

Popular Media and Animals By Claire Molloy:

Claire Molloy argues that animal narratives and imagery are economically significant for popular media industries which, in turn, play an important role in shaping the limits and norms of public discourses on animals and animal issues. The author explores some of the myriad ways in which media discourses sustain a range of constructions of animals that are connected, appropriated or co-opted by other systems of production and so play a role in the normalisation of particular practices.

The Idea of Nature in Disney Animation (From Snow White to WALL-E) By David Whitley

As Whitley has shown, and Disney’s newest films continue to demonstrate, the messages animated films convey about the natural world are of crucial importance to their child viewers. Beginning with Snow White, Whitley examines a wide range of Disney’s feature animations, in which images of wild nature are central to the narrative. 

Article: Ecological Sensibility Versus Anthropomorphism: an analysis of film Ratauille

This paper analyzes the animated film Ratatouille as a social document to inspire humans to improve ecological sensibilities.

‘I’m Not a Real Boy, I’m a Puppet’: Computer-Animated Films and Anthropomorphic Subjectivity Christopher Holliday