
Animation and America
Paul Wells(Author)
Edinburgh University Press
Published on 26. March 2002
Book
Paperback/Softback
172 pages
978-1-85331-203-8 (ISBN)
Description
The 'cartoon' is synonymous with the United States - the all conquering Disney studio, the anarchic antics of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, the satiric vision of The Simpsons - but rarely is this taken seriously as an important aspect of artistic and cultural achievement, nor as a vision of America itself. In Animation and America, Professor Paul Wells looks at animation in the United States afresh, discussing the distinctiveness of the cartoon form, and the myriad others types of animation production, insisting upon the 'modernity' of the form, and its crucial importance as a barometer of the social conditions in which it was made, and which it reflects.The book does not work as an orthodox history of animation in America, but rather uses animation as a way of discussing personal, social and political change, concentrating on the ways in which the form continues to grow, experiment, and remain subversive while gaining increasing popular acclaim and recognition. Now in the vanguard of visual culture per se, animation occupies an important position in representing both the outcomes and impacts of new technologies - as it has always done - but also has laid the foundations for a new understanding of social and artistic practice.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Edinburgh
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 138 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
240 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-85331-203-8 (9781853312038)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Paul Wells
Animation and America
E-Book
08/2019
1st Edition
Edinburgh University Press
€37.99
Available for download
Person
Paul Wells is based at the University of Loughborough.
Content
Acknowledgements; Introduction: Abdicating All Mental Law; 1. Animation and Modernism; 2. The Disney Effect; 3. Synaesthetics, Subversion, Television; 4. New Disney, Old Stories?; 5. New Animation Auteurs; 6. United States of the Art; References; Filmography; Bibliography.