Art of Czech animation : a history of political dissent and allegory / Adam Whybray.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Whybray, Adam, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Animation (Cinematography)--Czechoslovakia.

Animation (Cinematography).

Animated films--Czechoslovakia.

Animated films.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (288 pages) : illustrations.

Edition:

First edition.

Distribution:

[London, England] : Bloomsbury Publishing, 2020

Place of Publication:

London [England] : Bloomsbury Academic, 2020.

Summary:

"The Art of Czech Animation is the first comprehensive English language account of Czech animation from the 1920s to the present, covering both 2D animation forms and CGI, with a focus upon the stop-motion films of Jirí Trnka, Hermína Týrlová, Jan Švankmajer and Jirí Barta. Stop-motion is a highly embodied form of animation and The Art of Czech Animation develops a new materialist approach to studying these films. Instead of imposing top-down Film Theory onto its case studies, the book's analysis is built up from close readings of the films themselves, with particular attention given to their non-human objects. In a time of environmental crisis, the unique way Czech animated films use allegory to de-centre the human world and give a voice to non-human aspects of the natural world points us towards a means by which culture can increase ecological awareness in viewers. Such a refutation of a human-centred view of the world was contrary to communist orthodoxy and it remains so under late-stage consumer-capitalism. As such, these films do not only offer beautiful examples of allegory, but stand as models of political dissent. The Art of Czech Animation is a unique endeavour of film philosophy to provide a materialist appraisal of a heretofore neglected strand of Central-Eastern European cinema."-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Illustrations Acknowledgements

Prologue

Introduction

1. 'It's the simple things': Animated allegories against Nazi and Soviet oppression

2. Jan Vankmajer and the network of things

3. Jirí Barta and the rhythmic difficulties of living in, or with, time and space

4. Animators reconstructing Prague and Czech identity after the Velvet Revolution

Epilogue

Bibliography

Filmography

Notes

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

9781350104662

1350104663

9781350104648

1350104647

OCLC:

1159171295