Aisthesis (Jul 2010)
Estrategias para (no) olvidar: notas sobre dos documentales chilenos de la post-dictadura Strategies for (Not) Forgetting: Notes on Two Chilean Documentary Films of the Post-Dictatorship
Abstract
El retorno de la democracia originó un número creciente de documentales interesados en mantener viva la memoria de la dictadura. Aunque tradicionalmente caracterizados por su compromiso social, los documentales recientes han preferido en cambio, centrarse en mundos privados. A través de relatos autobiográficos, la generación de la post-dictadura desarrollará nuevos modos expresivos para referirse a este trauma cultural. Este artículo analizará dos documentales recientes -Remitente: Una Carta Visual (2008) y La Quemadura (2009)-para explorar las estrategias que los realizadores adoptan para entrelazar sus reflexiones personales sobre memoria e identidad con la experiencia colectiva de la dictadura. A pesar de no ser precisamente narraciones de 'segundas generaciones' buscan desde la 'post-memoria' dar cuenta del pasado reciente y exhibir sus ruinas en el presente.The return to democracy saw a growing number of documentary films interested in keeping the memory of the dictatorship alive. Although traditionally characterized by their commitment to social issues, recent documentaries shifted to narratives centered on the private sphere. Through autobiographical stories, filmmakers of the post-dictatorship generation have developed new expressive ways to refer to this cultural trauma. This article focuses on two recent films -Postage: A Visual Letter (2008) and The Burn (2009) - to explore the different strategies that filmmakers adopt to merge their personal reflections on memory and identity with the collective experience of the dictatorship. Although not precisely 'second generation' accounts, they will be understood as 'post memory' narrations that critically address the recent past and exhibit its remnants today.
