ANIMAFEST SCANNER X | SYMPOSIUM FOR CONTEMPORARY ANIMATION STUDIES | PANEL 4 – SCI-FI IN ANIMATION

ANIMATED DYSTOPIAN WORLDS Svjetlana Sumpor (Independent Scholar, Zagreb, Croatia)

PANEL 4 – SCI-FI IN ANIMATION
Theatre &TD
07/06 WED 14:15-14:45

The aim of the paper is to explore a wide range of modes of creating a dystopian world in an animated film by comparing four distinct, critically-acclaimed examples: Ghost in the Shell (1995, Mamoru Oshii), WALL-E (2008, Andrew Stanton), Dream Journal 2016-2019 (2019, Jon Rafman) and Accidental Luxuriance of the Translucent Watery Rebus (2020, Dalibor Barić). These four animated works were created in different contexts and production conditions (either by large animation studios or by independent artists) and they were intended for different distribution channels and audiences (for screening in cinemas, at film festivals or as parts of art exhibitions). They draw their inspiration from different cultural imagery, experiences and backgrounds (heritage of manga/comics; avant-garde art techniques; appropriation of images from the Internet (sub)culture), and they rely on different narrative strategies (character development; space-temporal representation; classical or fragmentary storytelling). In addition to the differences listed, the dystopian worlds they depict also display a wide range of genre modes, i.e. they have an alternatively cyberpunk, humorous, poetic or horrific tone. What all four examples have in common is that they criticize contemporary society by extrapolating some of its negative, disconcerting or frightening traits, which they then use as starting points for the building of an imaginary, alternative, extremely negative version of the world. In creating their visions, they employ a number of typical science fiction motifs. The great differences among them demonstrate that the possibilities offered by the application of different narrative strategies and attitudes, as well as those offered by the incorporation or appropriation of techniques and procedures of various art disciplines, ensure the vitality and originality of the genre of dystopia in its animated form.

Svjetlana Sumpor is an interdisciplinary scholar, curator and critic. She has a degree in art history and comparative literature and a PhD in literature, performative studies, film and culture. She is the author of several books, the latest of which is Ironijske strategije distopije (Ironical Strategies of Dystopia, Zagreb, Leykam international, 2021) that discusses typical strategies of the genre of dystopia in literature and film. She works as a curator, while pursuing her interests in dystopian studies as an independent scholar.