Blog Post #6

 

I wanted to touch on some of the things that have inspired my film, "Business Trip." Without the following animated television shows, I don't think "Business Trip" would even be an idea in my mind. 

    To start off with, I want to talk about the Cartoon Network show, Adventure Time. Originally intended for children, it quickly grew an adult audience. I remember watching it with my mom when I was young, and we both loved it. It transcended different generations mainly from its somewhat adult humor at first, but as the series continued, it touched on more mature subject matter. There are scenes and episodes that are blatant analogies and metaphors for things like sexual assault, fear of death and dying, complicated relationship dynamics, and feeling stuck in an endless loop. As the original intended audience (children) grew up, this show grew with them.

    Another big inspiration for me is the Netflix original show, The Midnight Gospel. This show shares the same creator as Adventure Time, Pendleton Ward. The Midnight Gospel, however, is wildly different in many ways. This show is a short series of podcast episodes with fantastical animated characters that fit whatever the topic of that specific episode is. For example, there is one episode where the guest is a mortician, so her animated character represents the Grim Reaper. As the conversation goes on, the Grim Reaper and host character are walking through what looks to be the afterlife as they are discussing the end stages of life and the desire for people to sit with the body of a loved one after they've passed. Other episodes follow similarly heavy subject matter, and go really in depth into psychedelic experiences and how they have changed or helped someone. Adventure also does this, but in a much less blatant and more allegorical way. The above photo is actually Adventure Time characters, but in The Midnight Gospel's art style. 

    Without both of these shows, exploring the use and effect of DMT would have never come to mind. After indulging in these medias and not partaking in said psychedelics, I found it fascinating to do deeper research on what one experiences and sees while on their own "trip", and from there developed my own story and analogies to get my point across.