ASIFA Screenings Promote Pop Cultural Literacy

Sunday, June 28, 2009
By: Thomas J. Mclean

ASIFA-Hollywood has set a series of free screenings aimed at familiarizing animation students, the animation community and the general public with some of the entertainers who had a huge impact on the golden age of animation.

Among the entertainers getting their due in the screening series at Woodbury University are Spike Jones, Doodles Weaver, Maria Callas, Buck Owens, Cab Calloway, Muddy Waters and Dave Brubeck.

“It always surprises me when I meet a college student who is studying animation who doesn't know anything about the music that came before the Beatles or movies before Star Wars,” writes Stephen Worth, director of the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive. “This summer, thanks to Woodbury University and the Walter Lantz Foundation, I have a chance to share the work of some of the most amazing entertainers who ever lived with a new generation of artists.”

The first two screenings in the series, titled Pop Cultural Literacy 101, will take place Friday, July 10, and Friday, Aug. 14, with a short subject starting at 7 p.m. and the feature film at 8:30 p.m. Further dates will be announced soon.

Admission is free to members of the animation community. Further screenings dates will be announced.

All screenings are to be held at the Woodbury University School of Business’ Fletcher Jones Foundation Theater, located at 7500 Glenoaks Blvd., Burbank, CA 91510.

Picture: Spike Jones and Doodles Weaver

Reader Comments

• Andy Norton : Freelancer :

  Tuesday, June 30, 2009

  I\'m glad that ASIFA are doing this, as people know the animation from the era, but not necessary the other aspects of popular culture from the time.
  
  Personally, as a music fan, I have stumbled on the music of Spike Jones, Cab Calloway, and Muddy Waters because of my tastes in music; but having an understanding of how some of the animation were influenced by their music (like Calloway\'s contribution to various Fleischer shorts) just gives me a good idea of the historical context of entertainment back in that era.
  
  I don\'t know why students aren\'t sure of the music of those eras just because they either don\'t associate the golden age cartoons with that kind of music, or they are just ignorant in learning other aspects of popular culture, but I find it makes watching those golden age shorts a better understanding of where they were coming from, rather then just watching them in their own right. Then again, I am someone who tries to have an open appreciation to various entertainments from the past.