Animation and the American imagination : a brief history / Gordon B. Arnold.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Arnold, Gordon B., 1954-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Animated films--Social aspects--United States.

Animated films.

Animated films--United States--History.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (294 pages)

Distribution:

New York : Bloomsbury Publishing (US), 2023.

Place of Publication:

Santa Barbara, Calif. : Praeger, 2017.

Summary:

Providing a detailed historical overview of animated film and television in the United States over more than a century, this book examines animation within the U.S. film and television industry as well as in the broader sociocultural context. From the early 1900s onwards, animated cartoons have always had a wide, enthusiastic audience. Not only did viewers delight in seeing drawn images come to life, tell fantastic stories, and depict impossible gags, but animation artists also relished working in a visual art form largely free from the constraints of the real world. This book takes a fresh look at the big picture of U.S. animation, both on and behind the screen. It reveals a range of fascinating animated cartoons and the colorful personalities, technological innovations, cultural influences and political agendas, and shifting audience expectations that shaped not only what appeared on screen but also how audiences reacted to thousands of productions. Animation and the American Imagination: A Brief History presents a concise, unified picture that brings together divergent strands of the story so readers can make sense of the flow of animation history in the United States. The book emphasizes the overall shape of animation history by identifying how key developments emerged from what came before and from the culture at large. It covers the major persons and studios of the various eras; identifies important social factors, including the Great Depression, World War II, the counterculture of the 1960s and 1970s, and the struggles for civil rights and women's rights; addresses the critical role of technological and aesthetic changes; and discusses major works of animation and the responses to them.

Contents:

Coming to light

A world of possibilities

Animation's rising star

Man from the Midwest

Dawn of a golden age

Snow White and the beginning of U.S. feature animation

War years

Postwar transitions

Changing times

The vast wasteland and other discontents

Tradition, rebellion, transformation

Renaissance and revolution

Epilogue: the new millennium.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9798400613081

9798216048152

9781440833601

1440833605

OCLC:

1413729192