UPA within the Historical and Cultural Framework of Cold War America

• Published in: Redesigning Animation Vol. 1; pp. 1 - 48
• Main Author: Bottini, Cinzia
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: United Kingdom Taylor & Francis Group 2018; Routledge; CRC Press LLC
• Edition: 1
• Subjects: Animated Cartoons; Modern Graphic Design; WPA Worker; Federal Art Project; HUAC Investigation; WPA Art Project; Gerald McBoing Boing; Alexey Brodovitch; Training Films; Saul Bass; Bobe Cannon; American Graphic Design; Fleischer Studios; Tv Program; Federal Theatre Project; Tv Commercial; Private Snafu; Industrial Films; Animation Industry; Ben Shahn; WPA Project; Red Hot Riding Hood; MoMA Exhibition; Begone Dull Care
• ISBN: 9781351209595; 1351209590; 9780815381792; 0815381786; 9780815381785; 0815381794
• DOI: 10.1201/9781351209595-1

Born from the ashes of the Disney strike and flourishing in the 1950s, the animation studio United Productions of America adjusted its existence by diversifying the productions into educational and training films, TV commercials, theatrical releases, a TV show and an animated feature film. Its innovative attitude towards animation was the result of concurrent events: the New Deal legacy, the unionizations and the strikes, the war propaganda audiovisual experimentations, the crisis of the entertainment industry and the TV prominence, and the HUAC investigations, among others. This chapter frames United Productions of America within its historical, cultural and sociological background. It considers the historical period that spans from 1929 to 1960, then offers a description of American society and some of its cultural expressions, so as to conclude with an analysis of the studio as a cultural artifact of its time and the 1955 Museum of Modern Art exhibition, which was entirely devoted to UPA animated films. This chapter aims to frames United Productions of America within its historical, cultural and sociological background. It considers the historical period, and then offers a description of American society and some of its cultural expressions, so as to explain with an analysis of the studio as a cultural artifact of its time and the 1955 Museum of Modern Art exhibition. The popular embrace of art during the Cold War era went hand in hand with the process of defining American art and defining the US, as a "nation of good taste." The 1929 stock market crash and the Great Depression of the 1930s forced the US to face possibly one of its most challenging economic and social crises. Closed inside the wall of a secure suburban house, the patriarchal family avoided venturing out into the world. American graphic design was dominated by traditional illustration for book design, editorial design for fashion and business magazines, and promotional and corporate graphics.