ANIMAFEST PRO | ANIMAFEST SCANNER XII | PANEL 4: NASILJE U ANIMIRANOM FILMU

Violent Women – From Symbolic to Physical Violence: The Evolution of Female Brutality in Popular Animation - MINA SABLIĆ PAPAJIĆ

PANEL 4 - NASILJE U ANIMIRANOM FILMU
04/06 SRI 15:20-15:50 KIC

Throughout the history of popular animated films and series, female characters have undergone a profound transformation. From passive heroines and victims to (hypersexualized) superheroines and villains who rely on manipulative tactics such as sexuality, magic, and deceit, their portrayals have continuously evolved. In recent decades, however, female protagonists have begun to employ direct and brutal violence. These changes not only reflect shifts in social norms and gender roles but are also shaped by the increasingly diversified market for animated content, as audience demographics and industry strategies continue to evolve. Through the shifting of boundaries within traditional genres and the subversion of the stereotype that only male characters can be legitimate wielders of power and violence, there is an effort to create more realistic depictions of women that reflect the diversity of the real world. At the same time, particularly within the animated medium, this process also opens the door to the development of hybrid, often fantastical female identities that may embody utopian or feminist explorations of gender and power. The first part of this presentation will explore the spectrum of female protagonists in animation who engage in violence: superheroines, villains, antiheroines, warriors, and others. This typology will be examined through both Western and Eastern animation, focusing primarily on the narrative and emotional justifications for their actions—self-defense, revenge, protection of the weak, rage, despair, and more. Building on this framework, the second part will analyze different types of female characters in the animated series Arcane (2021-2024), which exemplifies a shift from traditional portrayals of women toward their representation as “legitimate” wielders of force. Given that this trend extends to live-action cinema, the discussion will also consider how the animated medium uniquely aestheticizes violence and shapes its impact. Finally, this presentation will address key questions: How is female violence visually constructed in animation through color, line, and movement? To what extent is it aestheticized versus realistically depicted? Must female violence always be narratively justified—and if so, why?

Mina Sablić Papajić is screenwriter and dramaturge. She is a teaching associate at the Animation department at the Faculty of Applied Arts in Begrade. She works as a program editor and selector of European Animated Film Festival Balkanima. Mina is associate screenwriter for two professional animation studios based in Belgrade (To Blink Animation, Spring Onion). She is a member of the Association of Drama Artists of Serbia (UDUS).