Sudeshna Dutta

Sudeshna Dutta

ANIMATION IN AMERICA AND ITS RELATION TO AMERICAN CULTURE

Animation has played an important part in the history of American entertainment as a form parallel to, but separate from, film. Film has been influenced greatly by contemporary social mores, but animation, as an inherently non-realistic form of expression, is not considered to be as reflective of society and culture. My thesis explores the connection between animation and American society and culture and how much the latter influenced the former. The impression of a country that is gathered from the animated works is seen in context of the reactions they evoked among their critics and viewers. It is a form that both limits and frees the message, and it is these aspects that make animations an important form of commentary on contemporary issues, either directly or indirectly. Debates they gave rise to was important as an indication of existing values and trends, whether negative or positive. I have chosen a few pieces spanning the period from the 1930s to the present that were or are significant because of their popularity or the controversy they provoked, in order to carry out an analysis of what they say about their contemporary times.

SECTOR C/ Art Practice & Technology
ADVISERS: Timothy Corrigan (CINE/ENGL) | Joshua Mosley (FNAR)