Watch The Idea, the First Animated Film to Deal with Big, Philosophical Ideas (1932)
Briefly

"The Idea first emerged as a wordless novel in 1920, drawn by Frans Masereel. Masereel, a close friend of Dadaist and New Objectivist artist George Grosz, had created a stark, black-and-white story about the indomitable nature of ideas. Employing thick, aggressive lines obtained through woodcut printing, Masereel depicted a conservative political order's fight against the birth of a new idea, which eventually flourished in spite of the establishment's relentless attempts to suppress it."
"Bartosch's visual style remained true to Masereel's harsh, vivid lines. His version of the story, however, took a decidedly bleaker turn—one that was more reminiscent of the writings of his compatriot, Franz Kafka. Where Masereel believed that the purity of good ideas would overwhelm their opposition, Bartosch articulated a different narrative that reflected the growing disquiet and uncertainty present in Europe during the interwar period."
Read at Open Culture
[
|
]