A Response to Fantasia

Instead of simply being fascinated by the visual effects in Fantasia, I actually gained some insight into the film’s deeper meaning and symbolism. First, I will reflect on the scene of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite. We saw many unusual things, from flying fairies to dancing plants to sexy fish. But out of the three, the sexy fish struck me the most, with its seducing lips and eyes. This scene is obviously sexist because it stereotypes women by portraying them as being very womanly and gentle. What does this tell us about society at the time of the movie’s filming? Let us remember that WWII was going on during this time. As men left to fight in the front lines, women began filling up the labor force, breaking their “inherent” domestic status. Perhaps animators wanted to tell women that they did not belong in this realm of society and should remain at home. Also, the Russian Dance scene stereotypes Russian people because the dancing plants looked like they were wearing large fur hats; the Chinese Dance scene stereotypes Chinese people because the dancing mushrooms looked like farmers wearing the well known conical straw hats. Fantasia stereotypes sexually and racially in multiple ways.

Next I want to talk about the scene of Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony. We are introduced to the beautiful scenery of Mount Olympus. The colors and style used by the animators are more surreal and vivid, contributing to the heavenliness of the location. We then see a variety of mythical creatures: unicorns, winged horses, and centaurs. In the scene where the centaurs are meeting the centaurettes, only those of the same colors are paired together, a fact that might imply that interracial relationships were frowned upon during the mid 20th century. When Zeus breaks the jollity of the Bacchanal, we are faced with yet another theme: the Sublime. The inhabitants of the Elysian Fields are an example of Pastoral Nature. Although I believe that one can live happily by a Pastoral Nature lifestyle, I think that the Sublime is occasionally necessary because the Sublime instills a sense of place and position in less powerful life forms. Sometimes a little fear is necessary to keep order in society.

Fantasia

Fantasia (1940) was originally a failure at the time of its release, possibly because of the effects of the war. However, it slowly regained its reputation over time. Fantasia is a non-dialogue film that incorporated many classical music pieces that work hand-in-hand with the revolutionary animation technology (non-linear imagery) at the time, resulting in an amazing masterpiece. The Fantasia made in 2000, although far more advanced in animation technology, falls short of the emotionally powerful and brilliant original film.

I first saw Fantasia when I was very young. What I remembered most clearly from the film was the music, unsurprising since I am an ardent classical music lover. It was very interesting reading about the symbolism of the classical pieces, shown in the visual aspects of the film. I specifically remembered the time when I played Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain with my orchestra. The interpretation I had of this piece was demons and monsters that came out at night to engage in a hellish dance, finally to be scared away by the light of sunrise. Delightfully, my interpretation of this piece matched up with the film's interpretation mentioned in the article. This is a film that truly relates to my personal (musical) life.

http://www.decentfilms.com/sections/reviews/fantasia.html

Definitions of a few important words

Animal: The living organisms that roam the planet Earth.

Nature: The untouched and unspoiled Earth. Competition between all organisms for survival without the intervention of modern day human technologies.

Wild: A way of life that is free of constraints and limits.

Human: The one special exception to the laws of biology. The single thing that can bring about the end of the world in a relatively short amount of time.

Morals: A conscientious way of thinking that only applies to humans. It is used to benefit other humans.

Love: An ineffable attachment/affinity to anything in the universe.

Life: The thing that results from the movements and cooperation of atoms and molecules in organisms.