OUAN401 - Context of Practice:
Upon watching both Jiri Trnka's "The Hand" 1968 (or Ruka in Czech) and Zagreb Film's Ersatz 1961 (or Surogat in Croatian although being a Yugoslavian short), I noticed that although from the same time period and both being Eastern European, they were completely different in terms of what message they were trying to achieve and portray about life at that particular time in history.
For instance, Ruka, as I touched on in an earlier blog post carried the metaphor of a controlling government around with it during every second of that animation. The government loomed over the sculptor and invaded every aspect of his life - his home, his career and even his funeral! In fact, the Hand was indeed the protagonist; the animation's title proves this. Through watching this, I understood that political life in late 60s Czechoslovakia was not very pleasant and the animation itself deemed the government as very sinister and suffocating to the point of death in this case.
Zagreb Film's Surogat however shed a completely different light on Croatian life and although the two countries are hardly poles apart, life seemed a little less strenuous and daunting in this animation. Unlike Ruka, this animation is incredibly colourful, fun, humourous and intends to make us laugh. It shows us a carefree lifestyle as the main character spends his day chasing women on the beach and having a picnic rather than trying to escape the wrath of an "omnipotent" and God-like hand that has the power of controlling one's life entirely.
In fact, that's rather the case in Surogat: the protagonist has complete control over his life. The way he blows random objects up as if they were balloons into anything he desires signifies that having material possessions and enjoying life the way you want to in Croatia at the time was probably not as difficult as it would have been in Czechoslovakia. While artists in the now reformed Czech Republic lived through the Censorship of the Arts - meaning the government could pass judgement as to whether or not a piece was suitable for public viewing - meant that in a sense, the government did have complete control over what you did. Politically speaking, the Hand is protest against a communist government.
In terms of target audience, I imagine that with some sexual references, Ersatz would've been aimed at everyone as it had a fun and friendly atmosphere and rather that having a rant at the way the state or country is governed, it seems more of a celebration of freedom on Yugoslavias part. However absurd and unlikely the animation seems at first, after a while you begin to understand the message and begin to enjoy it. You feel empathy for the protagonist when he is rejected by the woman for a "better looking" man. We understand that although he is lonely and upset that he cannot find love, he doesn't really care because in light of it all, he still has his freedom.
Ruka however is probably aimed at an older audience as it seems far too sinister to show a young child. Although I thoroughly enjoyed this animation, I was a little frightened at first due to the dark lighting and gloomy setting. The character's over-sized beak-like nose and blackened eyes were a little daunting also. So, with such muted colour and lack of humour in comparison to Ersatz, I do not think it would be suitable for a young audience. With the message of politics, a young audience would not understand let alone find this half as entertaining as the aforementioned.
