Animated documentary is a good way to discuss social and political issues. It gives you a distinctive way to view these serious topics. However, some may argue that animation may distance the audience from the subject matter, making it harder to connect with the reality, Animated documentaries merge factual storytelling with creative visuals, raising questions about authenticity and audience engagement. In all, the major conflict while talking about animated documentaries is whether the artistic part of animation would affect the truth in documentary. But sometimes some animation can help the audience visually see the truth when there’s lack of visual evidence, in this case animation is more of a method.
There are many animated film that are aimed at recording the reality, that can be considered as animated documentary. One example is “Waltz with Bashir” (2008, Ari Folman). It explores the unreliability of personal and collective memory. The director interviews his former comrades-in-arms, but each person’s memories are fragmented and contradictory. The animation perfectly visualizes the traumatic memories, dreams, and flashbacks of the 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacre in Beirut. It can fall into categories like Politics and war.
