Animation: America’s Undervalued Art Form

A in depth at how animation is an undervalued art form in Western Culture.

Overview

As a film student I’ve mainly been made to watch films that have been live action. Using real actors to tell stories. While this is a great aspect of the craft I have often delved and pondered the question of “Why isn’t animation given the same respect as live action?”. It’s a question that is not often brought up. Why is that? This lesson will go into detail the artistic value, the adult themes, and the intellectual side of what are commonly called “cartoons”.

What Will Be Taught

Using examples from multiple clips from different films students will have the opportunity to learn about the variety there is in the field of animation. The Western Culture has a certain viewpoint of what animation should be. Often times animation is pushed into the corner and propogated as being “only for children” and often dismissed as having no substance. Students will get a chance to analyze the medium in a new way through the examples, clips, and learning about the history.

One of the most important things that will be taught is the use of symbolism, metaphors, and dark tone utilized in animation from not just American films, but internationally as well.

Objective

The Main objective of delving specifically into Animation as a topic of study is to give students a new outlook on things. It’s easy to look at things in one way, but given the opportunity to look at a fairly familiar subject in a brand new light will give students a more broad perspective. This lesson can extend beyond the classroom. Getting a feeling for being open to new things or reevaluating things will enable the students to be more open to new experiences.

In addition to learning a new perspective I also hope that the students will continue to find and explore animation as a viable option when enjoying media.

Schedule of Activities

12:00–12:05 Intro to class and interaction with students.

12:05–12:25 Video Clip and Presentation involving lecture and powerpoint with moments to stop for questions if need be.

12:25- 12:30 Questions with the class and final words on the topic.

Before Class: I have assigned a writing assignment based around the short film ‘Vincent’