《Persepolis》 is a true story. It shows the Iranian society from the perspective of the protagonist through black and white animation, which is mixed with religious fanaticism, terrorism, political turmoil and lingering kinship. Personal growth experience also vividly reflects the changes in the political and social environment in Iran, enabling people to have a direct sensory understanding of the chaotic history of Iran.
Questions to consider:
• Could animated documentary potentially detract from the seriousness of the situation?
— No, I think the exaggeration of animation expression means exaggerates the seriousness of the situation to a greater extent.
• Could it prevent a direct engagement with the factual content of an animated documentary?
— No, because of the characteristics of documentary, it will be more objective and authentic
• Could this be positive?
— It can be positive, but I think it should be more neutral.
• There is a historical attitude that animation is for children and is not suited to grown up material? How far do you agree/disagree with this?
— I totally disagree with this view, because I think animation is just a form of expression, and more in-depth content suitable for adults can be expressed in this way.
• Could it lead to a more universal level of identification? Why do you think this might be?
— I think so, As Honess Roe points out ‘This use of animation demonstrates that envisioned information is easier to understand and retain, and that much factual information is communicated more efficiently via animation than the spoken word’
Q&A:
1.Consider what constitutes an animated documentary?
— On the basis of “fact core”, the creative subject carries out a subjective and creative reconstruction of history, reality, culture and psychology through audio-visual images.
2.What are the implications of using animation in a non-fiction context?
— Animated documentaries can not only reveal subjective, conscious experience via animation that is evocative rather that directly representational, but also encourage us to imagine from our own point of view and empathise with the unfamiliar experiences of other people.(Honess Roe)
What’s more, As Honess Roe points out ‘This use of animation demonstrates that envisioned information is easier to understand and retain, and that much factual information is communicated more efficiently via animation than the spoken word
3.What issues arise from the use of animation in documentary?
— As Honess Roe further points out however, animation, ‘presents problems for this documentary ontology and this means that animated documentaries do not fit easily into the received wisdom of what a documentary is’