Animation Behind the Iron Curtain

Animation Behind the Iron Curtain
Author: Eleanor Cowen
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2020-09-22
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 086196974X

Animation Behind the Iron Curtain is a journey of discovery into the world of Soviet era animation from Eastern Bloc countries. From Jerzy Kucia's brutally exquisite Reflections in Poland to the sci-fi adventure of Ott in Space by Estonian puppet master Elbert Tuganov to the endearing Gopo's little man by Ion Popescu-Gopo in Romania, this excursion into Soviet era animation brings to light magnificent art, ruminations on the human condition, and celebrations of innocence and joy. As art reveals the spirit of the times, animation art of Eastern Europe during the Cold War, funded by the Soviet states, allowed artists to create works illuminating to their experiences, hopes, and fears. The political ideology of the time ironically supported these artists while simultaneously suppressing more direct critiques of Soviet life. Politics shaped the world of these artists who then fashioned their realities into amazing works of animation. Their art is integral to the circumstances in which they lived, which is why this book combines the unlikely combination of world politics and animated cartoons. The phenomenal animated films shared in this book offer a glimpse into the culture and hearts of Soviet citizens who grew up with characters as familiar and beloved to them as Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny are to Americans. This book lays out the basic political dynamics of the Cold War and how those political tensions affected the animation industry in both the US and in the Eastern Bloc. And, for animation novices and enthusiasts alike, Animation Behind the Iron Curtain also offers breakout sections to explain many of the techniques and aesthetic considerations that go into this fascinating art form. This book is a must read for anyone interested in the Cold War era and really cool animated films!

Drawing the Iron Curtain

Drawing the Iron Curtain
Author: Maya Balakirsky Katz
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
Total Pages: 302
Release: 2016-07-15
Genre: Art
ISBN: 0813577039

In the American imagination, the Soviet Union was a drab cultural wasteland, a place where playful creative work and individualism was heavily regulated and censored. Yet despite state control, some cultural industries flourished in the Soviet era, including animation. Drawing the Iron Curtain tells the story of the golden age of Soviet animation and the Jewish artists who enabled it to thrive. Art historian Maya Balakirsky Katz reveals how the state-run animation studio Soyuzmultfilm brought together Jewish creative personnel from every corner of the Soviet Union and served as an unlikely haven for dissidents who were banned from working in other industries. Surveying a wide range of Soviet animation produced between 1919 and 1989, from cutting-edge art films like Tale of Tales to cartoons featuring “Soviet Mickey Mouse” Cheburashka, she finds that these works played a key role in articulating a cosmopolitan sensibility and a multicultural vision for the Soviet Union. Furthermore, she considers how Jewish filmmakers used animation to depict distinctive elements of their heritage and ethnic identity, whether producing films about the Holocaust or using fellow Jews as models for character drawings. Providing a copiously illustrated introduction to many of Soyuzmultfilm’s key artistic achievements, while revealing the tumultuous social and political conditions in which these films were produced, Drawing the Iron Curtain has something to offer animation fans and students of Cold War history alike.

A Reader in Animation Studies

A Reader in Animation Studies
Author: Jayne Pilling
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Total Pages: 302
Release: 1998-05-22
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 0861969006

Cartoons—both from the classic Hollywood era and from more contemporary feature films and television series—offer a rich field for detailed investigation and analysis. Contributors draw on theories and methodology from film, television, and media studies, art history and criticism, and feminism and gender studies.

Modern Cartooning

Modern Cartooning
Author: Christopher Hart
Publisher: Watson-Guptill
Total Pages: 162
Release: 2013-03-26
Genre: Art
ISBN: 0823007154

Aimed at beginner artists interested in cartooning and at the countless fans of cartoons, animation, and comics. Not only are cartoons a form of entertainment, but they're an incredibly popular style of drawing! With a fresh and easy-to-follow approach to cartooning, Christopher Hart shows readers basic tips for creating a cast of the most hilarious, outrageous characters inspired by today's cartoons. Chock-full of tips, hints, and step-by-step illustrations, Modern Cartooning gives artists of all ages the tools they need to let their imaginations run wild.

She Animates

She Animates
Author: Lora Mjolsness
Publisher: Academic Studies PRess
Total Pages: 239
Release: 2021-02-02
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 1644690675

She Animates examines the work of twelve female animation directors in the Soviet Union and Russia, who have long been overlooked by film scholars and historians. Our approach examines these directors within history, culture, and industrial practice in animation. In addition to making a case for including these women and their work in the annals of film and animation history, this volume also makes an argument for why their work should be considered part of the tradition of women’s cinema. We offer textual analysis that focuses on the changing attitudes towards both the woman question and feminism by examining the films in light of the emergence and evolution of a Soviet female subjectivity that still informs women’s cinema in Russia today.

Breaking Stalin's Nose

Breaking Stalin's Nose
Author: Eugene Yelchin
Publisher: Macmillan + ORM
Total Pages: 162
Release: 2011-09-27
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1429949953

A Newbery Honor Book. Sasha Zaichik has known the laws of the Soviet Young Pioneers since the age of six: The Young Pioneer is devoted to Comrade Stalin, the Communist Party, and Communism. A Young Pioneer is a reliable comrade and always acts according to conscience. A Young Pioneer has a right to criticize shortcomings. But now that it is finally time to join the Young Pioneers, the day Sasha has awaited for so long, everything seems to go awry. He breaks a classmate's glasses with a snowball. He accidentally damages a bust of Stalin in the school hallway. And worst of all, his father, the best Communist he knows, was arrested just last night. This moving story of a ten-year-old boy's world shattering is masterful in its simplicity, powerful in its message, and heartbreaking in its plausibility. One of Horn Book's Best Fiction Books of 2011

Soviet Visuals

Soviet Visuals
Author: Varia Bortsova
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 176
Release: 2020-10-29
Genre: Humor
ISBN: 1526628414

A funny, nostalgic and strange glimpse at life behind the Iron Curtain - from the hit social media account with over 1 million followers WELCOME TO THE USSR PARADE in the latest fashions! MARVEL at the wonders of the space race! DELIGHT in the many fine delicacies of food and drink! REVEL in the fine opportunities for work and play!

Marzi

Marzi
Author: Marzena Sowa
Publisher: Titan Publishing Company
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2011
Genre: Graphic novels
ISBN: 9780857688859

Marzena Sowa's memoir of a childhood shaped by politics as told from a young girl's perspective. Structured as a series of vignettes that build on one another, MARZI is a coming-of-age story that portrays the harsh realities of life behind the Iron Curtain while maintaining the everyday wonders and curiosity of childhood.

Flight for Freedom

Flight for Freedom
Author: Kristen Fulton
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Total Pages: 58
Release: 2020-03-03
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 1452170584

An Inspiring True Story about One Family's Escape from Behind the Berlin Wall! Peter was born on the east side of Germany, the side that wasn't free. He watches news programs rather than cartoons, and wears scratchy uniforms instead of blue jeans. His family endures long lines and early curfews. But Peter knows it won't always be this way. Peter and his family have a secret. Late at night in their attic, they are piecing together a hot air balloon—and a plan. Can Peter and his family fly their way to freedom? This is the true story of a boy and his family who risk their lives for the hope of freedom in a daring escape from East Germany via a handmade hot air balloon in 1979. • A perfect picture book for educators teaching about the Cold War, the Iron Curtain, and East Germany • Flight for Freedom is a showcase for lessons of bravery, heroism, family, and perseverance, as well as stunning history • Includes detailed maps of the Wetzel family's escape route and diagrams of their hot air balloon For fans of historical nonfiction picture books like Let the Children March, The Wall, Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain, and Armstrong: The Adventurous Journey of a Mouse to the Moon. • True life escape stories • For readers age 5–9 • For teachers, librarians, and historians Kristen Fulton is a children's book author. She can always be found with a notebook in hand as she ventures through historical sites and museums. Most of the time she lives in Florida—but she can also be found traveling the country by RV. Torben Kuhlmann is an award-winning children's book author and illustrator. Starting in kindergarten he became known as "the draftsman." Flying machines and rich historical detail often adorn his work. He lives in Hamburg, Germany.

Zublinka Among Women

Zublinka Among Women
Author: Robert Wexelblatt
Publisher: KenArnoldBooks, LLC
Total Pages: 339
Release: 2008
Genre: Exiles
ISBN: 0979963427

Zublinka is a beloved friend, author, and philosopher who, at the age of 70, lives a rich and varied life of the mind and spirit. The warm and witty novel shows that goodness is possible and seldom unalloyed.