Genesis[]
Shelly Gold, a fictional figure from the universe of Jonathanland, has arrived to shake up established norms! Conceived by the creative mind of Mason Ewing, she was there to seriously disrupt the status quo. According to her creator, it was high time for children's characters to embrace diversity in all its forms. Imagine: Santa Claus, angels, 1920s pin-ups... All as white as snow! A realization that prompted Mason to inject some pep, a touch of modernity, and above all, to advocate for racial equality worldwide. For him, regardless of skin color, whether you're white, black, yellow, or rainbow-colored, it was the same red blood flowing in our veins, and that was the powerful message Shelly Gold carried.
After scouring the web for inspiration, particularly following a captivating episode of Cold Case featuring a pin-up named Rita Flynn, Ewing embarked on a frenzied quest to understand why all famous icons were depicted as white. And there, surprise! Not a single black or mixed-race pin-up to represent his own community! A real scandal, especially when you saw that even major companies in our beautiful world continued to serve children with superheroes straight out of the Caucasian mold. Mason understood this well, especially after living in France and witnessing firsthand the persistent racial stereotypes. He was tired of seeing some parents teach their children that skin color could determine a person's worth, whether in books, on TV, in movies, or on the internet.
And what about the uproar on the internet in 2023 when Disney dared to cast Halle Bailey, a black actress, as The Little Mermaid? Social media erupted, but Mason didn't waver. For him, it was clear as day: the hateful reactions were the result of years of conditioning through stereotypical images, fueling the belief in the superiority of one race over another.
That's why Mason gave birth to the Shelly Gold project, a concept carrying the values of inclusion and diversity. With her mixed-race skin, Shelly embodied the universality and richness of human diversity. In her veins flowed red blood, a symbol of freedom and resistance against prejudice. Mason knew that the entire black community would be ready to embark on this colorful adventure with Shelly.
In the fiction[]
Shelly Gold, a radiant young woman who had made herself known at the threshold of her twenties, gracefully navigated the alleys of Jonathanland, the imaginary city woven with fantasy by the mind of Mason Ewing. Under the benevolent gaze of her creator, Shelly embodied the image of an Afro-American pin-up with caramel-colored skin, azure eyes shining like the oceans, and undulating curls framing her beautiful face with an aura of mystery.
Parents[]
Born in the excitement of the 1920s, Shelly had shared her childhood and adolescence alongside her mother Mary Dodo Mancini and her sister Lise, who was four years younger than her, two guardian angels who illuminated her life with their unconditional love. Yet, despite this maternal and fraternal love, her heart was filled with profound pain, that of being abandoned by her father, Jordan Gold, a man tormented by his demons, plagued by alcoholism and other vices.
The roots of Jordan's suffering plunged deep into his tumultuous past, marked by the abuse of a brutal father-in-law and the distress of a mother forced into prostitution. The tragic loss of his beloved sister, Lala Gold, who was only 14 years old at the time and dreamed of one day becoming a great jazz singer, only added another layer of despair to his already troubled existence. Fleeing the unbearable weight of his past at 16, Jordan sought refuge in Jonathanland, finding modest shelter in a small studio near the sea.
Every day, on the edge of the tumultuous waves of the Paradise Slow neighborhood, Gold sold newspapers and news to sailors returning from war, finding in this daily ritual a semblance of comfort in the turbulent ocean of life.
One morning, he crossed paths with a stunning 18-year-old woman named Mary Dodo Mancini. A talented seamstress serving the powerful women of Flowerwood, Mary had recently been dismissed by one of her clients. Jordan found her sitting by the ocean, tears streaming down her cheeks, with azure eyes that seemed to reflect the infinity of the ocean. A hypnotic gaze that their daughter Shelly would inherit later. Touched by the distress of this beauty with sad eyes, Jordan approached her with compassion, offering her support.
Their destinies intertwined, and from their friendship blossomed a deep love, sealed by the soothing murmur of the waves and the laughter under the dazzling sun of Jonathanland. Soon, their love begot Shelly, who radiated with the same light as her parents, and a few years later, a little sister, Lise, came to complete their happiness.
However, despite the promises he made to himself, Jordan's inner darkness resurfaced relentlessly, pushing him towards the abyss of decline. He resumed drinking and fighting in bars, returning home late and dead drunk every night. Confronted with the complexity of family life and internal struggles, Jordan fled, abandoning his wife and daughters. For months, Mary searched for her missing companion, but she never found him. The streets of Jonathanland kept their secrets, and Jordan remained an enigma in the history of the Gold family.
Esteban[]
Sailor's compass.
Shelly Gold is a pioneering figure in the history of cinema, created with the aim of shaking up norms and bringing diversity. As a young woman from Jonathanland, she was aware of her charm and beauty, capable of turning the head of any man who crossed her path. However, her heart beat secretly for the handsome Esteban Moreno, a 22-year-old sailor called to war in the 1940s. Esteban, fearing rejection from his family due to his love for an African-American woman, saw Shelly in secret. To avoid suspicion, he publicly displayed himself with a young Jomathanland girl named Samantha Lemon. Out of love for Esteban, Shelly refused gifts from the sailors who frequented the The Enchanting Mermaid cabaret, knowing that accepting them would only raise these men's expectations of her. She was determined to remain faithful to her secret love for her handsome sailor.
Development[]
For the team at Mason Ewing Corp, the day Shelly's character was brought to life in 3D was a memorable moment. Its creator loved to recall that when he oversaw Shelly's design and directed the entire artistic direction, he had a clear vision in his mind. Mason Ewing, being visually impaired, already had a precise image of his heroine's appearance. With an admiration for models, he imagined that "Gold" would be as dazzling as a top model.
Shelly Gold in her car.
Appearance and inspirations[]
Thus, he had her drawn with a tall and slender silhouette, perfect curves, and a very charming allure that would have captivated all male hearts, a magnificent caramel-colored skin tone, sparkling blue eyes, and abundant curly hair to emphasize her seductive pin-up side, as for him, a woman's beauty also resided in the quality of her hair. Ewing liked to say that he was inspired by the mixed-race model Bree Colter to bring his icon to life. He wanted Shelly Gold to embody both modernity and retro charm, setting her story from the 1940s onwards. Many actresses and singers, besides Colter, had been sources of inspiration to refine the Shelly Gold project. Ewing's mind was buzzing because in Shelly, one could find traces of Naomi Campbell, Donna Summer, Whitney Houston, or even actress Halle Berry. And for the sentimental touch, its creator decided to infuse a bit of the soul of his late mother, Marie Francesca Elong. In Shelly's story, for example, her mother is named Mary Dodo, while her little sister, Lise, bears the name of Mason Ewing's great-grandmother, Elise. Ewing also drew inspiration from the names of his loved ones to name the characters of Shelly Gold.
The American-Cameroonian, sensitive to senses such as taste, touch, smell, and hearing, felt it was crucial that the 20-year-old pin-up Shelly have an incredible voice, both sweet and sensual, with a touch of innocence reminiscent of Shelly's youth. That's why he immediately thought of the singer Zola Odessa to dub the voice of his protégée. It is said that as soon as Odessa opened her mouth to sing at one of her concerts, Ewing was immediately captivated and thought that no one else could embody Shelly's voice as well as Zola.
The Battle of Shelly[]
At the beginning of the year 2024, a 20-year-old girl emerged, marking a crucial step in Mason Ewing's quest to find a mixed-race or black icon representing his community within the Mason Ewing Corporation. Aware of the overflow of superheroes and famous characters created by the white community, such as Santa Claus, biblical characters, gods, legends, or even superheroes like Batman, Superman, Spider-Man, etc., Mason Ewing realized the need for change after numerous discussions with African journalist friends, including Cameroonian journalist Albin Njilo Tapa, who was striving to promote the evolution of the black diaspora worldwide through Cameroonian media.
He also noticed that large companies like Disney had created many famous characters such as Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, and many others. That's why Ewing decided to say "stop". Convinced that our world is full of diversity, cultural riches, and culinary delights, Mason Ewing wanted all the children of the world to find themselves with the superheroes and heroines he had imagined within his 3D EPP Animation company. Thus, he came up with the idea of launching several princesses, such as Rose-Moon, mixed-race with a white king father and an African queen mother, or Piarla, a black sea mermaid living in the Atlantic Ocean in Africa, and Perifel, an Indian princess from North Sentinel Island near India. Soon, a young Asian princess named Tima would enrich this universe. Mason aspired for his 3D animation company to reflect all the colors of diversity. That's why Flour, a 16-year-old Caucasian teenage girl working in a mill, became a princess. Or another white girl named Rose, whose heart flamed up for the fire ogre. Mason expressed his deep desire for all the children of the world to find their place and identity in his universe because for him, there were no colors, no disabilities. Difference was wealth. A phrase he often liked to say was: "I wish with all my heart that all the children of the world could find their place and identity in my universe because for me there are no colors, no disabilities. Difference is our thing!"
Always fascinated by the world of lighthouses, Mason decided to integrate this element into the Jonathanland universe, a magical and enchanting world that would make all the children of the world dream and where many icons such as the pin-up Shelly Gold could be found. All the teams at MEC were thrilled and excited at the idea that the black diaspora would finally find its place with pin-up Shelly Gold.
After traveling extensively around the world, Ewing felt that many large companies tended to forget black children and teenagers, who also would have liked an icon of their color in their hearts. Convinced that diversity was strength, Mason believed that if whites had Betty Boop, Betty Grable, Marilyn Monroe, and many others, then why couldn't the Afro-Caribbean diaspora have Shelly Gold? Especially since Gold's goal was not to divide communities, but rather to unite them. That's why she used to say in the past: "I never knew where I came from. For me, I'm just a girl from nowhere. It's the red blood flowing in my veins that reminds me that I am a child of God, like all of us!"
Derivative products[]
In the years to come, EPP Animation plans to integrate Shelly Gold into several of their audiovisual projects, books, music, board games, videos, jewelry, etc., as a symbolic figure of the black community. Additionally, the production company EPP (Ewing Power Production) is preparing a feature film entitled Dance with the Stars, which tells the story of a young African American from the 1960s dreaming of becoming a twist dancer. This project will shed light on many racial conflicts, with Shelly Gold intervening. CEO Mason Ewing announced that several merchandise items around Shelly Gold will be released, including a cutting-edge clothing collection bearing the pin-up's name, cosmetics, lingerie, school supplies... An autobiographical book about the young pin-up, tracing her story, the day her heart broke when her father abandoned her and her family, her feelings for Esteban, everything that happened at the cabaret with the military sailors, her fight for her community, and much more, will be released by Ewing Publication in 2024.
According to the American holding company, a dedicated team is working on the universe of Shelly Gold, with the hope that, in the years to come, a film featuring real actors will be made about her life. And who knows, maybe the stunning top model Bree Colter will play the role of activist Shelly Gold. Creator Mason Ewing hopes that Gold will become an emblematic figure in the fight against racism, accepted as an ambassador of the Afro-Caribbean diaspora, and a model of peace for the world.
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