The art of animation, a powerful tool to communicate complex ideas, and Jazz, a musical form based on improvisation, became almost inextricably linked to each other during both their popularisation in the early twentieth century. Many would consider that the lively and expressive music of jazz naturally complements the exaggerated world of cartoons. However, despite the seemingly innocuous way these two mediums played off each other, it appears that jazz came to denote acts of transgression and vice throughout media. …
The intention of this dissertation is to examine the origins of the negative connotations of jazz, made apparent through American animation, how this has affected other culture’s use of the music in their own animation and ascertain whether current mainstream and independent animation still play into these biases, consciously or unconsciously. It is valuable to explore this subject’s history how the animated representation of jazz musicians typically consisted of harmful stereotypes, in a way that rendered blackness itself as transgressive.
PLEASE NOTE: You must be a member of the University of Lincoln to be able to view this dissertation. Please log in here.