About this episode
Alex explores deconstructivism and its implications in animation with Chris.
Following the recent podcast episode on Space Ghost Coast to Coast (Mike Lazzo, 1994-2008), Alex takes the reins for Fantasy/Animation Footnote 74, taking Chris through Jacques Derrida and deconstructivism as a philosophical doctrine, which embraces a way of interpretive thinking that is loosely tasked with exposing the lack of meaning within meaning itself and pushing against the clear resolution of a thesis. Topics include the erasure of meaning as reliant on other sets or circuits of meaning; signifiers and chains of signification, and the role of the deconstructivist in reflecting on and exposing those chains; deconstructive animation as a generic deep structure of animation and the cartoon’s history and comedy of anti-illusionism; and how deconstructivist analysis as a reading strategy might work to unpack animation’s complex relationship to live-action and, ultimately, to itself. **Fantasy/Animation theme tune composed by Francisca Araujo** **As featured on Feedspot’s 25 Best London Education Podcasts** **As featured on MillionPodcast’s Best 10 UK Animation Podcasts and Best 60 Movie Podcasts in the UK**
People in this episode
Hosts: Alex, Chris
Topics covered
- deconstructivism
- Jacques Derrida
- interpretive thinking
- signifiers
- chains of signification
- deconstructive animation
- anti-illusionism
- live-action
- animation
Keywords
- philosophy
- animation theory
- comedy
- meaning
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Space Ghost Coast to Coast, Best 10 UK Animation Podcasts, Best 60 Movie Podcasts
Places: UK
More episodes of Fantasy/Animation
- Helen Hill (with Karen Redrobe) · April 20, 2026 · 1h 18m
- Footnote #77 - Expanded Animation · April 13, 2026 · 12 min
- Immersive Experiences and The Sphere Las Vegas (with Tim Jones) · April 6, 2026 · 1h 9m
- Footnote #76 - Performativity · March 30, 2026 · 17 min
- SuperTed (1982-1986) (with Elain Price) · March 23, 2026 · 1h 15m
- Footnote #75 - Identification · March 16, 2026 · 14 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Fantasy/Animation podcast page.