Postwar Animation and Modernist Criticism: The Case of Annette Michelson

Abstract

This article examines the neglect of animation in film criticism and theory, focusing on the 1960s and 1970s. Contrary to popular belief, it was the rise of modernism that was primarily responsible for that neglect, not scholars’ excessive focus on realism. Unlike the prewar modernists who celebrated animation, the postwar avant-garde sought to distance itself from it. This was due to two historic changes: a new animation culture concerned with visual education and social messages and high modernism’s disenchantment with collectivist politics. In order to unearth this conflict of sensibilities, this article examines the work of avant-garde critic Annette Michelson.