Monday, Apr 6, 2015
Dr. Chrystina Dolyniuk will address the controversy of using animated movies as therapy
by Adam Grybowski
Three rescheduled events from the annual Film and Media Studies symposium will take place on Thursday, April 9, on the Lawrenceville campus.
This year’s symposium, which was originally held on March 4 and 5, served as a mini-course on film and TV animation. The event included student workshops, faculty lectures and screenings of popular and experimental animation. A snowstorm precluded the absence of some presenters, who will finally get the chance to share their knowledge with the Rider community at two separate events.
At 11:30 a.m. in Sweigart Auditorium, Dr. Chrystina Dolyniuk, an associate professor in the Department of Psychology, will present “Three A's: Autism, Animation, & Affinity.” Dolyniuk’s presentation will focus on the autism community’s interest in animation, which was spurred by the publication of Life, Animated, Ron Suskind’s 2014 memoir of raising a son with autism.
Many parents of children with autism notice that their offspring have an affinity for animated movies, Dolyniuk says, explaining that the strong visuals, appealing music and predictable plots all draw the interest of these children.
Suskind, a political journalist with a Pulitzer Prize on his shelf, uses Disney movies to connect to his son Owen, bring him out of his shell and help him develop. The results, as he tells it, are remarkable, but specialists split on how wise, and effective, such a treatment actually is.
In her talk, Dolyniuk, a clinically trained autism expert who believes in evidence-based treatment, will address the controversy during April, National Autism Awareness Month. “There is no evidence that watching movies will cure autism,” she says. “There is no cure, and watching the same movies over and over again may actually be detrimental to kids with autism. However, it is certainly worth exploring the possibility that some preferences and interests — in this case animated films — could enhance the delivery of proven effective methods.”
Later the same day, at 6:30 p.m. in Fine Arts 110, Danielle Riseley ’12, who majored in English with a concentration in cinema studies at Rider, will give a presentation on animation history and her personal interest in animation. She’s now pursuing a second bachelor’s, in animation, at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in Atlanta, Ga. During her talk, she plans to skip the well-known milestones of Walt Disney and instead focus on other landmarks of the field, especially in experimental animation, which is her focus at SCAD.
“Disney is synonymous with animation, but there’s so much more,” says Riseley, who plans to pursue a career in production after she graduates in the fall.
A third event, a debate and discussion about the 2013 Disney smash Frozen and feminism, will take place 12:15 to 1:05 p.m. in Sweigart Auditorium. Brianna Gallagher, communication studies major, and Jennifer Ligeti, English cinema studies major, will lead the discussion.
Dr. Cindy Lucia, director of film and media studies at Rider, organized the symposium with the help of Dr. Thomas Simonet, acting director of FMS this semester. Held each March and now in its sixth year, the annual film symposium has examined different genres, directors and social forces that affect the movies. Last year’s symposium focused on the connection between theater and Hollywood. Students showed a strong interest in this year’s topic of animation.
“Some of their favorite films are animated,” Simonet says. “The symposium is meant to get students thinking along the lines of criticism and history of animation.”
The symposium is also meant to help build a film culture on campus, though this year’s symposium was notable for extending its reach into television. Dr. Jerry Rife, music professor and chair of Rider’s Fine Arts Department, examined the music of Carl Stalling for Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons in a talk called “Kill Da Wabbit!” and Dr. Barry Janes from the Department of Communication/Journalism presented on the history of TV animation through the decades.
For more information, contact Dr. Thomas Simonet at [email protected].
