Abstract

he Blue Battery is a character animation short film telling a story of a robot pursuing freedom in a totalitarian environment. The idea of the film expresses reflection and vigilance against totalitarianism. During World War II, Nazism prevailed in Europe, the extreme abuse of power by the ruling class led to a large number of people suffering from war. After the war, the Soviet Republic gradually moved toward totalitarianism and eventually died out. In these past countries, political scientists have found that violence and secret police often exist. Especially the control of thought, the fanaticism of personal worship, and the boring and decaying education are all significant features of the society. These failed examples provide some experience for the current social system. However, in some countries today, totalitarianism has not been completely exterminated. The young generation has not genuinely experienced the era of totalitarianism, some of them even became supporters of this type of domination for the reason that they did not have a deep understanding of the horrors and consequences totalitarianism might cause. The author demonstrates a short film that reproduces the totalitarian society, with robots as the protagonist, showing the totalitarian horror in the process of searching for freedom. The film intends to guide people to consider and to be alerted.

The author uses non-realistic cartoon expressions to show the adventure story of a robot with a duration of 4 minutes through 3d rendering technology and montage techniques, The film conveys thoughts on humanity and freedom, presents a critical attitude towards totalitarianism.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Computer animation--Themes, motives; Computer animation--Technique; Animated films--Themes, motives; Animation (Cinematography); Totalitarianism--Drama; Robots--Drama

Publication Date

4-24-2020

Document Type

Thesis

Student Type

Graduate

Degree Name

Visual Communication Design (MFA)

Department, Program, or Center

School of Design (CAD)

Advisor

Mike Strobert

Advisor/Committee Member

Daniel DeLuna

Campus

RIT – Main Campus

Plan Codes

VISCOM-MFA

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