While I was working on the show as a Pipeline TD I had always pictured Katie as queer but I figured is was just wishful thinking. Many people, especially those in underrepresented groups, are used to projecting onto characters while the creators leave things ambiguous. But here she was, a girl who didn’t really fit in, trying to find herself and her people, who was into making weird stuff that others didn’t understand…in my mind there was no doubt.
I had wanted to ask the director, Mike Rianda, about Katie’s sexuality, but I was scared. Scared that either he would say she was straight and break that dream for me, or leave it open to interpretation which while neither confirms or denies her queerness means that people will automatically code her as straight.
With representation it has to be explicit, or people who oppose it will find any possible hole/explanation/workaround to disprove it. But on the other hand, a person’s sexuality isn’t their entire identity, so when characters are defined by their queerness (especially in media where the focus isn’t gender or sexuality) it feels hollow and token.
Then one of my queer co-workers messaged me that there were discussions about changing Linda’s line at the end of the movie to “are you dating anyone and will she be coming home with you for thanksgiving” and I cried. Full-on sobbing joyful ugly tears. I was so excited, but also so scared…I knew that it was a long-shot since most companies play it safe when it comes to that kind of representation. But it seemed like Mike was really willing to fight to keep the line in the movie.
There was a giant e-mail thread where some of my coworkers gave their insights and opinions on the line change, but the most beautiful part was that this conversation was started by Mike because he wanted to ask people in the LGBTQ community about making Katie a lesbian. It was clear that he and Jeff Rowe (the other director) put a lot of thought not only on if she should be explicitly queer, but how it should be expressed within the movie. He wanted responses from us, and unlike a lot of diversity initiatives, he was willing to fight for it but he wanted to make sure we’re fighting for the right thing.
The discussions were an open arena where we could voice our thoughts freely. They realized that they had an opportunity and a platform for real representation. As “very much cis white dudes” Mike and Jeff wanted to see if Katie being LGBTQ felt right to members of the community. And my coworkers were just as passionate about Katie being gay as I was.
“It may look like a small thing, but it represents a lot” - Guilherme Paiva, Animator
“it's great to finally have a movie where there's an LGBT character who's allowed to exist and have a role that isn't just ‘the gay character’ or to have the whole film be about them being LGBT” - Jabari Cofer, Lead Animator
“I think it's bold, and I really love the character you've created and written of Katie. Would love to see this a reality where it's out there, but understand there could be some push back from higher ups, so I really appreciate [it]” - Jessica Giang, Layout Artist
“I appreciate the thought that you guys are putting into this. It honestly warms my heart seeing how much you genuinely care about getting this right, it really means a lot.” - Chelsea Gordon-Ratzlaff, Lead Animator @not-quite-normal
I don’t know all of the work they put in but it was an uphill battle to keep the line in the movie. Mike actively defended the representation, using our responses to bolster his campaign. We were all a bit scared, going to production and even the studio execs to take a chance on doing something like this, but the line stayed.
Katie is a creative teenager who is struggling to find her place in the world. She has a loving and supportive family that doesn’t really understand her. She’s the kind of character that I wish had been present when I was growing up. Having this kind of explicit representation not only normalizes queerness, but embraces it. But it’s a risk to do something like this, especially in animation which targets a wide and impressionable audience.
A conversation is only as important as the people involved in it. Representation is such a complex aspect of media that many companies prefer to keep things simple within their own comfort zone. But people are complex, and it’s up to art to illustrate that. By actively listening to queer members of the crew “the Mitchells vs the Machines” was able to create a fun, imaginative, and emotional story that just happens to have a lesbian as the lead.
