GLOW (2017)

“He’s not poor, he’s broke. There’s a difference.” — Debbie Eagan

A cavalcade of neon-outlined combatants warm up before facing off inside the squared circle, mixing free weights and stretches with liberal amounts of hairspray and lipstick. The bell rings and these luminous warriors take each other to the mat, leg dropping, suplexing, and performing all manner of highflying top rope takedowns for the crowd.

This is G.L.O.W – the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling – or at least a stylized representation of the upstart wrestling promotion that debuted in 1985. The organization, which is the backdrop for Netflix’s new comedy-drama GLOW, combines the visceral thrills and athletic feats of its male-dominated counterpart with all the glitz and glamour (and exploitation) of Hollywood.

The real-life G.L.O.W. was as weird and hilarious as it sounds, but it was also highly problematic by today's standards, playing up racial stereotypes for laughs and objectifying many of its performers with barely there costumes or worse. For the series’ opening title sequence (which only appears in full in the opening minutes of the first episode), co-creators Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch wanted to balance the tension between the series’ two central themes: exploitation and empowerment.

To execute the opening, the producers turned to UK outfit Shynola. Channeling their inner wrestlers for the project, the simple concept used by the studio disguises the complex techniques required to bring it to life. Rotoscoped footage of actual wrestlers gives the neon figures a vibrancy and realism that traditional animation could never hope to match, while graphic trails and geometric flourishes evoke motion design trends specific to the time period. Paired with Patty Smyth’s triumphant rock ballad “The Warrior” and the result is both a gleeful throwback to a bygone era of wrestling and a celebration of the colourful personalities that made 1980s sports entertainment so much fun.

A discussion with GLOW co-creators LIZ FLAHIVE and CARLY MENSCH, and Title Designer RICHARD "KENNY" KENWORTHY of Shynola.



So we last spoke in 2011 about your work on the Scott Pilgrim vs The World main titles. What’s Shynola been up to since then?

Richard: Well, since we last spoke I suppose we’ve mostly been trying to get our film projects and a couple of TV projects off the ground. Beyond that, like most directors, you sort of slog away at making commercials to pay for your children’s clothes. [laughs] That’s the harsh reality. We’d all like to be auteurs, but…

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