The representation of the dictatorship in the argentine animation cinema

Abstract

Cinematographic images allow the collective construction of memory. The representation of the disappeared is a challenge for documentary cinema that faces this problem in the reconstruction of traumatic memory. The aim of this work is to analyse the characteristics of the animation used in Argentine audiovisual production to tackle the dictatorship of the Military Junta. The corpus is made up of nine works that incorpórate animation, wholly or partly, as a strategy of representation: Los rubios (Albertina Carri, 2003), El Tiempo y la Sangre (Alejandra Almirón, 2004), La Matanza (María Giuffra, 2005), Padre (Santiago Grasso, 2008), Infancia clandestina (Benjamín Ávila, 2011), Zamba en la Casa Rosada (Fernando Salem, 2012), La mirada perdida (Damian Dionisio, 2012), La parte por el todo (Gato Martínez, Santiago Nacif and Roberto Persano, 2015) and Las muñecas de la Tía Tita (MaXi BearZi, 2017). From a qualitative perspective, the role played by animation in these works is analysed. The opinion of the authors is also incorporated to determine the elements that support its proliferation in the field of memory and the traumatic past. The results of the study reveal the potential of animation as a therapeutic tool with which to show the disappeared in an allegorical way. Additionally, animation allows the director to establish an emotional connection with the unconscious of the spectator. The link between animation and childhood favours the establishment of bridges that bring the memory of the dictatorship closer to the new generations, with the aim of consolidating democratic values in society.