Isaiah Davis

4 posts

Isaiah Davis W7

Bury the Axis is a short animated film made in the UK and the US during WW2 and heavily depicts the Axis powers. This film starts by depicting the birth of Adolf Hitler from a Stork, he then immediately is shown wearing Nazi symbols and singing. He enters Russia, then immediately leaves, battered and injured. This could play on the stereotype that Russian people are violent and Unfriendly. The film then displays Hitler’s “duche” as an “animal” like a person coming out of a dog house, with him barking and proudly exclaiming his support for him, before getting back inside his dog House. While it was common for people to be “Othered” in American media by comparing them to animals, this depiction of Germany is less exaggerated than what we would see in another American cartoon like for example, American Menstrual shows. The film portrays Japanese people in an arguably more racist and stereotypical way. Representing them as snakes while the European characters have actual titles and introduce themselves as such, the Japanese man refers to himself as “the son of son am I” and speaks in a stereotypical Japanese-English accent, while singing about bombing people. The film presents the Axis powers as unintelligent groups of people with shallow motivations.

Isaiah Davis W5 – Prompt 1

“Steamboat Willie” is known for its use of fully synchronized sound. The film uses sound to aid in its storytelling and setup of the scene. At the very beginning of the film, the audience can hear a loud scratching sound that is paired with smoke coming out of the steamboat’s exhaust. This is followed by a scene of Mickey Mouse whistling, Mickey Mouse is then confronted by a bigger mouse over who gets to steer the boat, while there are no words spoken in this confrontation. The film differentiates the characters by giving the big mouse a raspy, deeper voice, where he speaks gibberish and directs Mickey to the back. The use of sound here functions to add more context to the scene, as without it, it would be harder to decipher what’s actually going on in these interactions.

Isaiah Davis SP Outline

Lotte Reiniger

“The Adventures of Prince Achmed”

The film I will be discussing in my short paper is “The Adventures of Prince Achmed” by Lotte Reiniger, I am drawn to this film because I like the style and aesthetic of the film it reminds me of shadow puppets, and it’s described as one of the first feature-length animations and that fascinates me.

Outline

Introduction/Creator Overview

Who is the Creator?

What was Lotte Reiniger’s life like?

What did they experience and how did this affect their work and the trajectory of their life?

Witch one of their works will be focused on in this paper?

Describe the film: What is the story? Who are the characters? What does it look/sound like? What is the tone of the piece (funny, sad, serious etc.)…

What is the story?

who are the characters?

What is the “conflict” or what drives the plot?

What animation techniques were used in this piece?

Context

Why is the film important?
Who was the film’s audience?

How is the time period this piece was made in reflected in it?

Who worked on the film?

How popular was this film at the time?

What technology was available at the time and how did that influence this work?

Why was this film created?

Analysis/personal Thoughts.

Analysis/Personal Thoughts

How is the film influenced by the current social attitudes at the time?

What are some differences between this films and modern reputation and the reputation that it had at the time?

What does the animation style remind me of?

Why is this film relevant today?

Isaiah Davis W1

Good Afternoon, I am Isaiah Davis and I am a Multimedia Programming and design major, I picked this class because I love animation. I grew up watching cartoons specifically Steven Universe, Avatar the Legend of Korra, and Adventure Time. Still, I’m pretty ignorant of the history of animation and I want more context as to why animations are the way they are. As for career goals, I don’t have a specific job that I dream of, but I would love to work on creative projects where I can exercise that part of me. My hobbies include drawing and playing video games.