Description
Book SynopsisTells the story of the golden age of Soviet animation and the Jewish artists who enabled it to thrive. Art historian Maya Balakirsky Katz reveals how the state-run animation studio Soyuzmultfilm brought together Jewish creative personnel from every corner of the Soviet Union and served as an unlikely haven for dissidents who were banned from working in other industries.
Trade Review"A superbly researched treatise that will be of keen interest to readers of Soviet history, Jewish studies, and film history. Students of animation will take particular delight in the detailed explorations of Yuri Norstein’s famous film
Tale of Tales and of Cheburashka, the phenomenally popular character also known as the Soviet Mickey Mouse." * Library Journal *
"Drawing on their Jewish heritage" - an interview with Maya Balakirsky Katz * The Jewish Standard *
"From Dishes to Spyware,Quirky Mementos of Soviet Dominion" - Eve M. Kahn on the recent surge of interest in East-Bloc mementos, including
Drawing the Iron Curtain * The New York Times *
"Katz has written a very important book exploring an area of popular significance but little scholarly attention." -- David Shneer * University of Colorado-Boulder *
"Maya Balakirsky Katz’s new book is a welcome addition to Soviet animation studies"
"This book contains a significant amount of useful information, and I would ultimately recommend it... to all scholars of Soviet cinema and culture, and to all academic libraries with holdings in Russian and Soviet culture" -- Bella Ginzbursky-Blum * The Russian Review *
"
Drawing the Iron Curtain is an important contribution to Jewish studies, animation studies, and Russian studies" -- Lora Wheeler Mjolsness * Slavonic and East European Review *
"A Beast of Unknown Origins: May Day: The surprising Jewish origins of the animated character who taught a generation of Soviet children to be good communists" by Maya Balakirsky Katz * The Tablet *
"A noteworthy contribution to such disparate fields as animation history, Soviet cultural history, and Jewish studies, the author’s primary disciplinary affiliation". * H-Net *
Table of Contents List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Note on Transliteration and Translation Introduction: Puppeteering a Self in the Soviet Union1 Behind the Scenes: Jews and the Studio System, 1919–19892 Black and White: Race in Soviet Animation3 The Brumberg Sisters: The Fairy Grandmothers of Soviet Animation4 Big City Jews: Setting and Censoring the Modern Fairytale5 Tropical Russian Bears: Cheburashka’s Jewish Roots6 The Pioneer’s Violin: Animating the Soviet Holocaust7 Cartoon Cosmopolitans: Drawing Jews into Soviet Culture8 Tale of Tales: The Rise of the Jewish Auteur Director Conclusion: Tell-Tale Signs and Soviet Jewish Animation Notes Glossary Filmography Index
