Academic Studies Press She Animates: Soviet Female Subjectivity in Russian Animation (Film and Media Studies Series)

She Animates examines the work of twelve female animation directors in the Soviet Union and Russia, who have long been overlooked by film scholars and historians. Our approach examines these directors within history, culture, and industrial practice in animation. In addition to making a case for including these women and their work in the annals of film and animation history, this volume also makes an argument for why their work should be considered part of the tradition of women’s cinema. We offer textual analysis that focuses on the changing attitudes towards both the woman question and feminism by examining the films in light of the emergence and evolution of a Soviet female subjectivity that still informs women’s cinema in Russia today. Review “There is much to like in this little book, nicely produced by Academic Studies Press, with clear images and actual footnotes (worth mentioning in our era of increasing shortcuts in publishing). Leigh and Mjolness have convincingly demonstrated how little we know about the full range of Soviet female filmmakers and that Soviet animated films (and I’d add, films for children in general) offer a treasure trove of new material for a deeper understanding of Soviet society and how its values were inculcated―and sometimes subtly subverted―by women.” ―Denise J. Youngblood, University of Vermont, Women East/West Review “This impeccably researched historical account of women's involvement in Russian and Soviet animation encourages the reader to rethink the interaction between women's labour, animation, and ideology in the Russian and Soviet context. Leigh and Mjolsness explore the work of women animation directors from the 1920s to the present day and make the case that an evolving female subjectivity can be traced in their work, one that often questioned and pushed back against women’s perceived role in society. In doing so, <i>She Animates</i> actively resists the frequent pigeon-holing of animation as ‘just for children’ and offers a vibrant contribution to the ongoing discourses in animation studies, women's cinema, and Slavic film. Rich with detailed analyses of individual films and filmmakers that are read against the context of women’s position in Soviet and Russian society, this is an illuminating addition to the growing literature that reconsiders women's role in the history of animation.” ―Bella Honess Roe, Senior Lecturer in Film Studies, University of Surrey About the Author Lora Mjolsness is a lecturer at the University of California, Irvine and the Director of Program in Russian Studies. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Southern California in Slavic Languages and Literatures She teaches interdisciplinary courses on Russian and Soviet Cinema and on Soviet Animation. Michele Leigh received her PhD in Critical Studies from the School of Cinematic Arts at USC in 2008. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Cinema and Photography at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. Her research interests include silent cinema, Russian and Eastern European Cinema, and female industrial practice.