Critical Review 3

Zhou, Y. (2017). Application of Chinese National Culture Elements in Animation Design. 2017 International Conference on Manufacturing Construction and Energy Engineering (MCEE 2017), 126–133. doi: 10.12783/dtetr/mcee2017/15742 [Accessed date May 9, 2020]

Written in 2017, this conference proceedings elaborates about the application of Chinese national culture elements in animation design. The objective of this paper is to urge the Chinese animation industry to have a regression of culture elements to continue the legacy of Chinese animation. To fulfill this objective, the author has emphasized the significance of national culture throughout her paper by elaborating the definition of national culture and providing her reasoning as to why this is important to have a regression of national culture in China’s animation industry. Aside from advocating the regression of incorporation of culture elements, the author has brought up ways to promote the regression of national culture in China’s current animation design.

This paper is a primary source written in four (4) sections: (1) connotation of national culture and concrete reflection in original domestic animation design, (2) reasons for national culture regression in the development of domestic animation design, (3) how to promote the regression of national culture in current domestic animation design and (4) conclusion. In See Zi Yi’s opinion, the sections as well as the subsections do not fit well with each other. In the introductory section, the author provides a fundamental understanding of the topic area and explains how national culture can be used in domestic animation. However, the significance of national culture is written at the end of the second section. In See Zi Yi’s opinion, when an introduction of a subject is given, stating its significance in the same section would be encouraged as it gives a stronger emphasis on the subject. Furthermore, the second section is observed to be titled with “reasons for national culture regression in the development of domestic animation design”. Before stating its reasons, the authors should have considered inserting a paragraph which explains about the reasons for the lack of application of national culture in animation design, followed with a section where the consequences of such a situation will affect the animation industry. When the readers have understood the importance and consequences of not applying national culture in animation design, the author can suggest ways to promote a regression of culture elements, which she did at the end of the paper. Having a good content flow is crucial because it guides the readers from not having basic comprehension of the topic area till the point where they will recognize the importance for the topic to be discussed. However, regardless of the sequence of the sections, the content provided in each paragraph is adequate and still can be easily comprehended by the readers.

The research conducted by the author is qualitative as there is no statistical analysis being conducted. Aside from the weakness on the sequence of sections, the author could have included visual representations of the animations for a clearer understanding of the animations mentioned. It is also observed that the author has used colloquial English for certain parts of the paper instead of professional English which is recommended for research papers. For instance,“ life without innovation will slowly die” and “classic domestic animation has learned a lot of nutrition from Chinese national culture”. Tables and charts could have been used by the author in aiding her explanation process. This recommendation should be taken into consideration as a point that has weakened the reasoning of the paper is due to the lack of visual comparison between the information. Furthermore, the author has mentioned that there is an “excessive copy of animation works from Europe, the United States, Japan and South Korea”. However, the author has made an assumption on the readers’ understanding of the character style of different countries. Everyone might have a different perception on how a character would look based on their production country, hence a visual comparison should be made to clarify this statement.

The sources cited by the author are five (5) journal articles and one (1) research paper, which have sufficiently backed up her points throughout her paper. This is evident when the authors provide examples of animations to explain about animations which lack cultural elements in China. The type of reasoning employed in this paper is inductive reasoning. The author has observed a superficial level of exploration and utilization of national culture in China’s animation industry. Then, a pattern is observed based on the production of Chinese animation in recent years. In the conclusion section, the author has drawn a conclusion on the importance of national culture in animation design to promote the development of China’s animation industry. There is a plausible interpretation present in the paper which is the suggestion for an innovation of national culture in animation design, instead of a complete copy. This is a notable point for the readers, especially for those who are working in the animation industry.

In essence, this research article has provided insightful points to the readers on the importance of national culture in animation design as well as the need for its regression by backing up the points with adequate sourced materials. Regardless of the weaknesses present in this paper, the paper is still enriched with a substantial amount of animation examples and can be a great contribution to China’s animation industry.