Black Box

Black Box was envisioned alongside a graduate thesis on improving the authenticity of queer representation in animation, while avoiding queerbaiting. Growing up, there was a lack of the sort of representation I hoped to see in media, and what I did receive was tragic, demeaning, or meager. Even at the time of Black Box's release, the percentage of queer characters appearing on screen for more than one second in tv and film is staggeringly low, with often shallow narratives that leave queer audiences feeling either unsatisfied or exploited. Black Box was therefore conceived as a possible example of how to tell better, more authentic queer stories. As stated in my graduate thesis, "this film does not venture to create “perfect” representation, but rather to fill the empty spaces that are waiting and wanting for authentic stories with emotional truth."

The film centers a queer character as the hero of his own story, inviting LGBTQ viewers to step out from the sidelines and into the lead. My goal was to present an authentic queer experience not just in the visible, explicit sense, but in the non-literal sense. Our hero Jo's terrifying isolation in deep space was not an arbitrary decision, but a deliberate choice meant to reflect the internal struggles many LGBTQ individuals face over the course of a lifetime. In the end however, it is his queerness that is his very salvation, as the image of the person he loves sparks in him the determination he needs to survive. Far from being another victim of queer tragedy, Jo's story is one of survival of hardship, victory over fear, and hope for tomorrow.