DOLLS VS. DICTATORS

Jul 18 — Dec 10, 2017

Location: Video Screening Amphitheater

2011. Martha Colburn (b. 1972, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Lives and works in Long Island City and Amsterdam). Animated film. 11 minutes.

Martha Colburn is a filmmaker, animator, and multimedia artist who employs a variety of techniques, including puppetry, collage, and paint-on-glass. Many of her works address American history and its relationship to contemporary foreign and domestic policy. Colburn has also directed numerous music videos and has taught workshops on her animation techniques throughout the world.

For the Museum, Colburn made a film in 2011 based on her photographs of the Museum’s extensive collection of dolls, toys, and other licensed merchandise. According to the artist, the film “brings together science fiction landscapes, current political figures, and the Museum of Moving Image’s doll collection from the last 100 years of American film and television history. These dolls use their ‘powers’ to eradicate the universe of living dictators.”

Made possible by a grant from the Greenwall Foundation. Post production services provided by Deluxe New York.

Cast of DOLLS VS. DICTATORS (in order of appearance):

Charlie Chaplin

General Than Shwe (Myanmar)

Imperial Gunner (Star Wars)

Isayas Afewerki (Eritrea)

Lieutenant Uhura (Star Trek)

Meles Zenawi (Ethiopia)

Red Mighty Morphin Power Ranger (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers)

Yellow Mighty Morphin Power Ranger (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers)

Islam Karimov (Uzbekistan)

Central Intelligence Agency