After attending a discussion on Monday that discussed the new writings of animation academic Cristina Formenti, I discovered several pieces of information that may prove very vital in my own thesis research. One of the key elements of this speech was the categorisation of the animated documentaries genre fitting into a third and more loosely formed category of ‘docudrama’ which allows space for more re-enacted and fictional standpoints within this field.
A key point Formenti brings to attention is the lack of scholarly writings about the historical roots of the animated documentary, as there seems to be arising conceptions that it is purely a contemporary form of factional representation. She went on to discuss how her book help categorises the different ’ages’ in which a variety of animated documentaries can be placed, and expands on a more International view of animated documentaries that branches outside of purely just The United States and Great Britain in which a lot of focus has been placed within the animation field. Another more ethically driven point she argues within her work is the lack of focus on the female leads within the animated documentary field that are potentially overshadowed by features such as “Waltz with Bashir” (2008, Folman) and also expresses that too much literature is conceived on the basis of that particular film creating a wall between newer and older works that are deserving of attention.
The talk overall has left me with various thoughts and considerations to expand on my own thesis writings, and that is largely the inclusion and consideration of different categoric elements and international standpoints when writing about viewer engagement with animated documentaries.
References
Formenti, Cristina. The Classical Animated Documentary and Its Contemporary Evolution, Bloomsbury Academic & Professional, 2022. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ual/detail.action?docID=6904339.