[ecrea] CFP: The Legacy of Watership Down: Animals, Adaptation, Animation (University of Warwick, 10/11/18)

CALL FOR PAPERS: *The Legacy of */Watership Down/*: Animals, Adaptation, 
Animation*

An interdisciplinary symposium


University of Warwick

Saturday 10^th  November 2018


*Keynote speaker: Dr Chris Pallant (Canterbury Christ Church University)*

2018 marks 40 years since the release of /Watership Down/, Martin 
Rosen’s acclaimed 1978 animated film. Adapted from Richard Adams’ 1972 
children’s novel, it tells the tale of a group of anthropomorphised 
rabbits who flee the imminent destruction of their warren in search of a 
safe haven. In recognition of the film’s 40^th  anniversary, this 
one-day symposium seeks to foster academic discourse on this landmark of 
British animation from a range of disciplinary perspectives.


A beautifully-realised piece of animation, the film has inspired 
filmmakers including Guillermo del Toro, Wes Anderson and Zack Snyder. 
Yet the film is best remembered for its legendary status as an 
emotionally traumatic viewing experience, especially for children. This 
is in part due to Art Garfunkel’s tearjerker ‘Bright Eyes’, a hit single 
written for the film. /Watership Down/ is also known for its graphic 
violence which seems directly at odds with its BBFC ‘U’ certificate 
(indicating that is suitable for all ages) and its subject matter of 
anthropomorphised rabbits. Thanks to this ambiguous status as a 
‘children’s film’, /Watership Down/ consistently remains the subject of 
public debate, as epitomised by public outrage in the UK over Channel 
5’s decision to broadcast the film on the afternoon of Easter Sunday two 
years running. Conversely, the film has recently been raised in 
favourable comparison to the live-action/CG hybrid /Peter Rabbit 
/(2018), spurring questions surrounding the role of violence and matters 
of taste in children's media. In addition, /Watership Down/ bears timely 
socio-political relevance: it demonstrates the dangers of human impact 
upon the environment and the need to overcome totalitarian authority, as 
represented in the film by the fascistic villain General Woundwort. In 
an uncertain political climate that includes the rise of neo-Nazism, it 
seems more appropriate than ever to ask what audiences of adults and 
children alike can still learn from this landmark of British animation.


In light of the film’s continued relevance, this symposium seeks to 
explore the /Watership Down/’s ongoing cultural legacy and impact, 40 
years since its first release. This may be in relation to the above 
themes, but this event also intends to broaden the dialogue beyond these 
headline-grabbing topics and draw attention to more overlooked aspects 
of the film’s form, aesthetics, and place in British cinema and 
animation history. Further possible topics include but are not limited to:

  * Adaptation (including the film’s relationship with other adaptations
    of the novel)
  * Music and sound
  * Stardom and voice performance
  * Genre and generic hybridity (e.g. horror, fantasy, the epic, animal
    stories, children’s cinema)
  * Animal studies (especially representations of rabbits in
    popular/visual culture)
  * The relationship between animals, animation and children’s media
  * Representations of nature/the countryside
  * Eco-critical perspectives
  * Allegory
  * Gender and sexuality
  * Audience and memory studies
  * Fan studies
  * Meme studies
  * Folklore
  * Mortality and morality
  * Broadcast, classification and censorship
  * The work of Martin Rosen (i.e. /Plague Dogs/)
  * Influences upon /Watership Down/ and its influence upon subsequent 
media

It is the intention that selected papers from the event will be 
published in the form of an edited book collection.


Please send 300-word abstracts (for 20-minute papers) with a short 
author biography to Dr Catherine Lester (c.lester.2 /at/ warwick.ac.uk) 
<mailto:(c.lester.2 /at/ warwick.ac.uk)> by 30^th  June 2018.


For further information please contact the above address or refer to 
the website watershipdown40.wordpress.com 
<http://watershipdown40.wordpress.com/> or Twitter @watershipdown40 
<http://twitter.com/watershipdown40>.


Funded by the Humanities Research Centre, University of Warwick.


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