Ginga is a simple—yet energetic—country girl, living with her father far from the capital city of the empire in ancient China. When she learns of an opportunity to become a concubine of the young new Emperor, with the possibility of becoming his head wife in charge of all of the other wives, Ginga convinces her father to let her go. Once there, she meets all of the other potential head wives, each of whom have various reasons for being there. All of them must learn to read and write, learn the history of their country, and learn the proper mannerisms for being in the royal court. Ginga's enthusiasm tends to get her in trouble more often than not, but it works to her advantage when they learn that the former emperor's head wife, who is not the mother of the current emperor, is plotting treachery against the new emperor, and that a rebellion is headed toward the capital.
The setting is on a floating platform where a group of evenly and carefully placed men live. Each man is aware that the platform is not stable and in order not to fall to their deaths, they maintain a careful balance of weight to prevent the platform from tipping too far and cause them all to fall.
A disturbingly organic-looking figure speaks to us of life, politics and death as the symbol of the common man toils away. Written and narrated by William S. Burroughs.
One decent citizen was having lunch and indifferently looking at the fish in his aquarium. But suddenly a real monster emerged from the muddy water. However, unwillingness to strain even to save his own life led the hero to slavery. Or maybe nothing has really changed in his life?
A Soviet claymation short film created by Garri Bardin in 1990 that retells the story of Red Riding Hood while incorporating political metaphors and themes about the USSR's demise; the wolf representing communism, devouring innocent creatures who have never known him.
A full-blown re-election piece for President Franklin Delano Roosevelt at the expense of Republican presidential candidate Thomas Dewey. Roosevelt is depicted as a streamlined diesel express train in a race against Dewey, a worn-out steam train. The public is admonished to "get behind the president and stay the course to victory."
A soundtrack of nature gives way to motors and machines, then an explosion, followed by sounds of explosions and gunfire. On the screen are images as if in a kaleidoscope - of red, white, and blue shapes and of black and green shapes. Islamic and U.S. patterns appear and disappear. Is the collision one of dissonant colors, shapes, and images? Is warfare inevitable?
This film uses stop motion animation of still photographs to convey images of politics and science in the nuclear era. The advancement of science allows man to do things he never would have been able to do without, for good or bad. Politicians are either behind the scenes manipulating those scientists or are using that science for their own goals, primarily in the space race. Everyday items and people are projected upwards - many in the form of rockets - followed by iconic structures, such as the Empire State Building, the US Capitol, the Washington Monument, the Eiffel Tower and the Kremlin, being rocketed skyward as visual representations of that race into space.
Betty's campaign tries to appeal to everyone. Real candidates are parodied, but campaign promises are a bit bizarre.
A lion decides that a new king shall take on the reins of Azad Nagar when he retires. When he retires a donkey is chosen as the king of Azad Nagar.
Garry Trudeau's classic characters (Mike Doonesbury, Zonker, etc.) examine how their lifestyles, priorities, and concerns have changed since the end of their idealistic college days in the 1960s. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2012.
Global political figures such as The Pope, Kim Jong Il, George W. Bush and recent Japanese Prime Ministers play riichi mahjong against each other.
Raised in an orthodox home, Amos Dov Silver dreams of becoming Prime Minister. But when the State continues to shun him, he soon finds unexpected solace in the velvety smoke of Marijuana. Spreading his new Torah, he establishes an online community using a mobile app called "TeleGrass" that turns into the largest marketplace for drugs in Israel, raising Silver to Messiah status. Through exclusive footage of Silver, his family and his partners’ investigations, as well as secretly filmed footage of Silver in the Ukrainian prison, a polarizing portrayal of the man charged with heading a crime organization emerges. Champion of the people, or a lost soul corrupted by power?
A glimpse of the ideas held by the inhabitants of a town is being recorded. The town is looking to expand its borders by clearing off the nearby forest. The witch of the woods responds to the threat and the town is changed forever.
A theatrical re-edit/summary of the TV series. Some of the voice actors were changed (eg. Oscar is played by Keiko Toda instead of re-using the original audio by Reiko Tajima).
A true animated film about invented islands. About an imaginary, linguistic, political territory. About a real or dreamed country, or something in between. Archipelago is a film of drawings and speeches, that tells and dreams a place and its inhabitants, to tell and dream a little of our world and times.
The film is a controversy on democracy. Is our society really democratic? Can everyone be part of it? Or is the act of being part in democracy dependent to the access on technology, progression or any resources of information, as philosophers like Paul Virilio or Jean Baudrillard already claimed?
Deep in the frozen winters of Siberia, the world's greatest weapon is discovered -- a golden Sharpie which grants its country ultimate power. The only question: which country?
The Oishinbo gang takes time off from the normal culinary wars to get involved with a political dispute about American rice imports. The economic conflict between a pushy US Senator from California and a nationalistic Japanese politician is further complicated by concerns about the cumulative effect of pesticide use in both American and Japanese agriculture.
After a tragic incident strikes a happy town, their beloved governor knows just how to fix it.