In this week I have added a few point to my research and reviewed more online journeys to pursue the knowledge, Beside I have finished reading the Animal Farm written by George Orwell, which is a good piece of example to link my topic ‘Anthropomorphism’ and political issue from the last century.
About the historic background when anthropomorphic characters started appearing in the animations and films, in the journey ‘Towards a Definition of American Modernism’, page 7-8 have pointed out:
( https://www.jstor.org/stable/2712627?seq=1 )
It is a culture to critique the contrast between the modernisation of technologies and dehumanisation as a representation of ambivalence.
From the same journey, page 10-11 point out:
Modernism raised early from symbolism and impressionism, which were built up through different art forms such as symbolist and paintings they emphasise on what they have been effected emotionally through the object instead focusing on the real thing. They explore beyond world structure under the positivism while sharing more unpredictable experience from human perception.
After reading journals around Animal Farm, here is what I gathered in my notes:
<Animal Farm>
https://academicjournals.org/article/article1379412793_Fadaee.pdf/1000
The characters in Animal Farm were created by the author as metaphors for the Soviet Union leaders in beginning of the 20 century. Based on the analysis of characters in the story, the writer of the journey Symbols, metaphors and similes in literature: A case study of “Animal Farm”, page 5, found the resemblances of characters of the government’s leaders at the time to the following animals found in the story.
In Revolution on Animal Farm:
Orwell’s Neglected Commen
https://www.jstor.org/stable/3831551?seq=1
P127-p128 points out the political meaning hidden behind the text by its author, and revealing the revolution of democratic socialist represented by the Animal farm:
In Character Metaphors in George Orwell’s Animal Farm, Chapter four points out the real character which been metaphorically exposed by anthropomorphic animals:
Real characters anthropomorphism: (p6)
Revolution on Animal Farm: Orwell’s Neglected Commentary
https://www.jstor.org/stable/3831551?seq=9
page 135: the concept of ‘socialism’ and its danger through the whole book, its benefits overlay on top of the Russian regime:
Page 137: Concepts in the book/animation
Difficulty of the socialist revolution: ‘if people outside still thought that that particular form of revolution could succeed without betraying its goals, nothing new could be accomplished.’
Page 136:
Unless everyone makes the revolution for him or herself without surrendering power to an elite, there will be little hope for freedom or equality. A revolution in which violence and conspiracy become the tools most resorted to, one which is led by a consciously or unconsciously power-hungry group, will inevitably betray its own principles.
Refer to the book: Failing to protest when the pigs kept the milk and apples for themselves, the other animals surrendered what power they might have had to pig leadership. Had they been “alert and [known] how to chuck out their leaders”31 once the latter had fulfilled their task, the original spirit of Animal Farm might have been salvaged.
Page 137:
Conclusion:
Acceptance of the notion of class struggle could not lead to an instant transformation of society unless those who would transform it accepted also the difficult burden of political power, both at the time of and after the revolution. While the most corrupting force on Animal Farm was the deception practiced upon the other animals by the pigs, the greatest danger came from the reluctance of the oppressed creatures to believe in an alternative between porcine and human rule.
Which, the anthropomorphic pigs are a dangerous sign throughout the whole book.
Under my 4th question ‘ The benefits and drawbacks of anthropomorphism’ under this chosen topic, here is my notes based upon reading Claire Molloy’s journals:
ournal: Discourses of Anthropomorphism
http://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/5858/1/439070.pdf
Page 3 points out the emotions which are been added to the anthropomorphic animals are mainly working for humans’ interests of state, scientific, and commercial discourses:
Documentaries or films with subjective way of shooting are being controlled by popular culture.
In the other journal written by Malloy Claire, Popular Media and Animals, https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=TCR-DAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false page 8:
She has also pointed out the representative animals in any media written by humans may not be seen their ‘reality’, their ‘reality’ is being formed through representation. It is working for culture
P12 points out the concept of anthropomorphism has destabilised the boundary between human and non-human.
P20 points out the anthropomorphism could distant the issue happened within animal rights, instead, they treat them as an over sentimental thing.
In the following week, I will be concentrating on producing the work to hand-in before the easter: