Pinky Show

Pinky in The American War: The U.S. in Vietnam

The Pinky Show is a low-tech, hand-drawn educational-style show. The Pinky Show tries to condense information and ideas that have been misrepresented, suppressed, ignored, or otherwise excluded from mainstream discussion. The Pinky Show presents information from a specific political viewpoint which can be generally characterized as progressive. The purpose of the show, as stated on their website is to present "marginalized perspectives as a means of challenging individuals to consider realities that lie beyond their own lived experiences".

The Pinky Show is a project of Associated Animals Inc., a 501(c)(3) educational non-profit organization.

Concept

The main character is a cat named Pinky. Her friends are Bunny, Mimi, Daisy, and Dingle Dop. They are all cats, living in the desert near Baker, California (U.S.A.). Pinky is sometimes joined by human guests, and on occasion, lends the spotlight to one of the ants from her ant farm.

In each episode, Pinky begins by asking a straight-forward question about a specific topic, such as the US involvement in the Iraq War. She then goes on to present her perspective in an informal, easy-to-understand way. A typical episode often includes the presentation of researched and prepared material, or the interviewing of expert guests. In the Iraq war segment, for example, "Pinky" includes relevant legal documents, such as the United Nations Charter, the U.S. constitution and varying U.N. resolutions to argue that the 2003 invasion of Iraq was illegal. In one episode on Vietnam they use official releases from the White house and transcripts from Nixon's conversations. Occasionally they also use comical references, such as the phone book and her mom. To make ethical appeals they also may quote holy texts. One must find it very interesting that they refuse to provide the names of the people behind the show nor where their offices are located (some say San Francisco).

Motivation

Pinky's views are presented from a primarily left-wing point of view, as she accepts on her website and blog. Topics covered include a wide range of little-known historical facts, critical analysis and interpretations of cultural texts, social and political commentary, issues of morality & ethics, and "basically anything that people may not know or spend much time thinking about."

Acknowledgments

On November, 19th 2009 the Pink Show creators were acknowledged in an article in the Winnepeg free press entitled, "The Revolution Will Be Adorable." The article covered an art show exhibited at Winnepeg Universiy. It was ironic in that the "group's multimedia exhibition at the University of Winnipeg's Gallery 1C03 uses its academic setting to question the institutionalized values of higher education."

The same exhibit was also covered in the Winnepeg's Uptown magezine entitled, "An Educational Project - By Cats?" The article found the style of Pinky and her gang interesting: "in contrast to standard educational models, The Pinky Show lacks the trappings of authority. Charmingly and amateurishly animated cats earnestly deliver their research with subjectivity. A typical episode might begin: 'So, I was wondering..' No one asks Pinky, a round-eyed, black-faced cat with a white snout, what her credentials are - cats skirt the dehumanizing structure of authority."

On youtube, the Pink Show's episodes are some of the most notable. One episode on Illegal immigration gaining over 200,000 views. Another Pinky Show episode on Youtube on the legailty of the Iraq war, entitled: The Iraq War Legal or Illegal? gained over two million views. The Pinky Show has its own channel on Youtube with over 11,000 subscribers.

References

http://www.pinkyshow.org/

http://www.uptownmag.com/2009-11-19/page4892.aspx

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/entertainment/arts/the-revolution-will-be-adorable-70447752.html

External links

• Official website

• on YouTube