DOCUMENTARY ANIMATED: GENESIS AND SPECIFICITY (PREVIEW ARTICLE)
Authors:   Moscow State University (Moscow, Russian Federation), Krivulya Natalia G. 
Published: December 2021

Animated documentary is becoming one of the fastest growing phenomena of modern screen art in the post-truth era. The review and analysis of scientific works devoted to animated documentary is seen as relevant both for the further development of scientific thought and the search for new research strategies that expand the problem field, and for the practical sphere. The research was conducted on the basis of a review and analysis of scientific literature (monographs and articles in international journals included in electronic research system international databases Scopus, Web of Science, eLibrary.ru) in English, Spanish and Russian for the period 1997-2019. The novelty of the review article is not only an attempt to present a systematic view of animated documentary as a phenomenon of screen art, but also to identify and systematize the areas in which scientific discussions are conducted. It introduces the reader to theoretical views on the terminology, Genesis, specifics, nature, and classification systems of documentary animation. Animated documentary appeared when the cinema was just taking first steps but its development began in the 1980s. At this time, animation begins to take an interest in reality, inner peace, and socially taboo topics. Since the 1990s, the foundations of animated documentary are laid, narrative strategies are developed, and a new language are actively sought. Interest in animated documentary from the scientific community arose only in the 2000s. On the one hand, it has been manifested by the increasing role of documentation in the art, which has taken on an attraction character since the advent of digital technology; on the other hand, and as a consequence of the convergence of screen arts and the emergence of hybridization trends. The academic community has focused around developing definitions and understanding what can be attributed to the field of documentary animation. By 2010, the scientific literature focused on issues related to the specifics of animated documentary, ways of presenting reality, and indexing. By the mid-2010s, animation is becoming the subject of interdisciplinary study. At this time, there are develop tools for analyzing works of animated documentaries, and its genre system begins to build. One of the main features of animated documentaries is hybridity. Its dual nature is born of fluctuations between the certainty of facts and artistic embodiment. The problems of authenticity and representation of reality become one of the most controversial topics in an animated film. The work provides an overview of theoretical studies on the genesis, history and particularities of animadoc. The theoretical texts identify three approaches that form the main directions in the analysis of animated documentary. The first group of researchers analyzes this phenomenon and its nature based on the theories of documentaries and the transformation with the advent of digital technologies, of the concepts of reality, authenticity and fact (document). The second group of authors considers animation as a phenomenon of modern animation that arose as a result of technological renewal and changes in its role as a socio-cultural practice. A third group of scientists believes that animadoc is a post-postmodern phenomenon that arose as a means of presenting a world in which there is mobility of borders and cyberspace becomes a new reality. The review allows us to conclude that animated documentary is a manifestation of a new mode of postphotographic vision of a reflexive nature, in which the imagination that refracts images of reality becomes of primary importance. Despite the interest in it from the academic community and the emergence of theoretical works, the study of this phenomenon is only at the initial stage. Despite the interest in it from the academic community, there is a small number of deep theoretical works caused by the hybrid nature of the phenomenon itself, the imperfection of working models and methods for analyzing representational strategies, and the problems of forming a conceptual apparatus.