Document from animation. Fantasy, memory and trauma in Waltz with Bashir by Ari Folman
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53382/issn.2452-445X.943Keywords:
Animation, Documentary, Non-Fiction, Trauma, Memory, Ari FolmanAbstract
This article aims to analyze *Waltz with Bashir* from the perspective of cultural studies on memory and trauma, using a methodology based on textual analysis. Our research hypothesis is based on the idea that Ari Folman's animated documentary proposal accepts the legitimacy of fiction to construct metaphors that reflect the trauma of events that are not remembered accurately. To support this idea, a narratological analysis is proposed, focusing on those dreamlike scenes that underpin the film's discourse around the problem of non-existent images. The main conclusion is that the constructs of fiction are validated to the extent that, although they do not refer to entirely truthful events, they are legitimized through the testimony of survivors. Beyond this fact, although it is not the main objective of the film, which focuses on recreating non-existent images of the Sabra and Shatila massacre, the work ultimately reveals the filmmaker's own trauma as the final representation.
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