Verwitterte Melodie (Weather-beaten Melody 1943) (1943)
Filed under: Animation, 1940s, Animated film history and criticism, Children's film, Germany, hand-drawn, Hans Fischerkoesen , Propaganda, UFA Film GmbH, World War 2 ( WW2 ),
Verwitterte Melodie (Weather-beaten Melody 1943)
Directed by:Hans Fischerkoesen
Animated by:Hans Fischerkoesen
Jiří Brdečka
Music by:Lothar Brühne
Studio:UFA Film GmbH
Release date:04/06/1943
Running time:9 min
Color process:Technicolor
Synopsis
Weather-beaten Melody follows the main character, a female bee as she wanders through a sunny meadow. Her character is provided autonomy and depth of character that is rare to find in animated media in the 1940’s. (Mortiz, 1998) The bee’s characterization also goes against Nazi ideals of womanhood, suggesting that women have the ability to pursue their own ambitions and that they too can thrive in leadership positions. A central element of the film is its focus on a record player that has been abandoned. The record player in the film plays Jazz, a form of music that was labeled “degenerate art” by the Nazi party. (Mortiz, 1998., A Peek at the International Section, 2002) The music brings a community of diverse insects together, giving them an opportunity to connect and uniquely express their joy. On a closer viewing, there are also erotic symbols supporting sexual freedom placed within the film, specifically the abandoned clasp from a woman’s garter belt. (Mortiz, 1998) There is also a four-leaf clover growing out of the garter; Fisherkoesen was known for his sense of humour in his works, so this could be a cheeky nod to the owners “good luck”. As Moritz suggests, the autonomy given to the female lead, the friendships of diversity between the creatures, and the forbidden joy the music provides the community, all could be read as subverting Nazi narratives of control and submission.
References:
“RefPack048: A Peek at the International Section.” Animation Resources, 10 Nov. 2022, https://animationresources.org/refpack048-a-peek-at-the-international-section/.
Deutsches Film Institut. “Hans Fischerkoesen” Internet Archive WaybackMachine. 2002 https://web.archive.org/web/20040223034527/http://www.deutsches-filminstitut.de/dt2tp0089.htm
Klatt, Von. “The Life of Germany’s Own Walt Disney.” spiegel international. 2013. https://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/how-hans-fischerkoesen-transformed-german-animation-a-898814.html
Mortiz, William. “Resistance and subversion in animated films of the Nazi era. The case of Hans Fisherkoesen” A Reader in Animation Studies, edited by Jayne Pilling, John Libbey & Company, Limited, 1998,292-331.