In December, I watched the Pixar movie Soul for the first time. Although I had seen ads and part of a trailer, I had done no real research or looked up any reviews prior to watching. I had no damn idea what the film was about, who wrote it, or what and whom it was supposed to be depicting – which, in hindsight, was for the best.
Truth be told, I haven’t been that pleasantly surprised by a film in years.
(Like most Pixar films) it was funny, captivating, daunting, and profound all at once. But, as a Black man, what truly surprised me was how this film, made by a company that had never previously featured a Black lead as the central character with their Black community as the central backdrop, so accurately captured the nuances and essence of us. A lot of times when Black folks are portrayed on the big or little screen, we are either:
- cloaked in over-the-top and unrealistic antics,
- relegated to hurtful stereotypes, or
- culture-flattened so intensely that none of our traditions or heritage play out on screen (for an example, think most of the Black family’s you see on Disney channel that could be interchangeable with anyone of any background with missing a beat).
But what made Soul so amazing was that they managed to escape all three of those common pitfalls, while being funny, charming, and thoughtful. And there’s an underrated element that many films and shows like Soul, who are now receiving many rave reviews, are using to separate themselves from the pack and even win award shows: hiring culture consultants THROUGHOUT THE PRODUCTION, in order to ensure that the film depicted Black culture authentically.
Some people may read that line and say, “man please, this has been going on for years, like when they hire ex-mobsters for mob movies.” But to make that argument you are missing one very important point: they weren’t just there to answer a question or two, they were there to guide and educate the entire team throughout the entire process. Not only did Pixar enlist Black cultural and musical consultants to assist with the production, they also hired an “internal brain trust” of Black animators and artists to make sure every single detail was accurate. The key difference can be summed up in one-word: their consultants were empowered.
And that authenticity is what allowed it to be largely embraced by the Black community (who are incredibly critical of our portrayals because of the three points above) and ultimately win the Oscar for best animated film.
Soul is a great example of what cultural consulting can do for your production. As Cultural Impact Consultants here at All Things Being Equal, our goal is not to tear down your work, our to belittle and diminish your creative or corporate communication team, but rather to find ways to perfect it. Throughout the process, the Soul team continually talked about how much they learned from the consultants, and that’s ultimately the goal here. Many of the non-Black working team on Soul can now go off and do other productions that may feature Black main or side characters, and they can be thoughtful about their depictions in a way that not only avoids the wrath of a fed-up community, but opens up the production to a higher level of authenticity that improves the production on a whole. Hell, maybe even to an award-winning level.
A lot of production teams will overlook and underrate this step, most likely, to their own detriment. But if you want to get the best out of your show and your film, consider empowering a Cultural Impact Consultant today.
Your award awaits.
