Not for Children: Alternative Animation, 1960-Present (FILM 2505 L)
Term: 2025-26 Academic Year Spring
Schedule
Wed, 1:40 PM - 4:40 PM (1/20/2026 - 5/5/2026) Location: SLC HEIM 135
Thu, 10:00 AM - 10:55 AM (1/20/2026 - 5/5/2026) Location: SLC PAC 1
Thu, 11:00 AM - 11:55 AM (1/20/2026 - 5/5/2026) Location: SLC PAC 1
Thu, 12:35 PM - 1:30 PM (1/20/2026 - 5/5/2026) Location: SLC HEIM 210
Description
This discussion-based lecture with screenings is designed to provide an overview of animation based on alternative writing and the relationship of form and style to content in artist-animated film. We will examine various forms of animated films produced between 1960 and the present, with a focus on the history and cultural cross currents in these works. The course will survey a wide range of animated work from a diverse selection of artists. The focus of the course will be on animated film forms alternative to commercial animation, including hand-drawn, cell-painted, cutout, stop-motion, pixilated, puppet, and, more recently, Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI) independents. The guiding factor in selecting works for review will be the artist, in most cases, retaining control of their own work; this differs from the battery of decision makers in commercial studio systems. As a class, students will look for aesthetic consequences and structural differences within the auteur system versus a