Animated Movies as Myths: Mythological Study of Animated Movies Produced in United States of America

The present study analyzes a group of animated and live-action movies which are produced in United States of America since 1940’s. The selected movies –which include about 80 items- have earned great amounts of money in Box-Office or have other distinguished characteristics and are produced by dominant companies. The movies have been analyzed in a modern mythological perspective. Roland Barthes’ and Umberto Eco’s attitudes have been applied for describing modern myths. The presentation of these parameters (hyper-reality, vaporization of history, reductionism, and reification and…) in the selected movies will be discussed. The findings present that the myths adjust themselves with the time and space they are born in, and at the same time they hold their common properties in different circumstances. Among all the modern myths, animated movies have a strong ability to hide their deceptions behind a mask of innocence and honesty which makes the revelation so tough but of course not impossible.