Paper Boat on the Orchestra's Plight
Back to listSynopsis
"Paper Boat on the Orchestra's Plight" responds to the little-known relationship between the history of cartoons and the racist culture of minstrel shows, in which white performers caricatured the singing and dancing of Black slaves for entertainment. The film is inspired by animation of the 1930s and 40s, such as Betty Boop, Disney's Silly Symphony and Dumbo, which drew on the tropes of minstrel shows in their exaggerated character-designs. Breaking free from these stereotypes, in Paper Boat on the Orchestra's Plight, the rhythm and melody of Duke Ellington's 'Ko-Ko' (1940) takes the viewer on a journey of improvisation into the unknown.
Screenings
ASTOR Film Lounge MyZeil
Cast and crew
About the director(s):
Folake Fadojutimi:
Folake Fadojutimi is an artist and animator based in East London, who creates meticulously hand-drawn digital worlds that explore urgent issues around the effect of media and technology on our contemporary world. A graduate in Digital Media Image Making at Goldsmiths University of London, her research has explored the cultural history of ‘rubber-hose’ animation and its entanglement with the exploitation and misrepresentation of the Black body.
Gallery
