Latin American History and Culture through Film
Essay II
The people, popular culture and globalisation in the periphery
A. The New Man as Revolutionary Icon and Representative of the People
A central goal of the Cuban Revolution has been the construction of the “New Man”: his difference from the bourgeoisie, his historical role, his responsibility, and his relation to the “people” and to property. All of these aspects crystallise in the icon of el Che. Choose two of the following films and analyse the ways in which each film reinforces, challenges and/or deconstructs the New Man as he relates to popular culture: Lucía (1968), Memories of Underdevelopment (1968), Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), Strawberry and Chocolate (1993), Before Night Falls (2000), Motorcycle Diaries (2004). You may also analyse the documentary Sixth Sun with reference to Marcos.
B. The New Man and the Gay Subject
Beso de la mujer araña (1976) by Manuel Puig was one of the first Latin American novels by a gay author with gay protagonist, widely read by a mainstream audience. The film Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985) by Hector Babenco constructs his gay character as a representative of popular culture, in conflict with the “New Man” militant. Analyse the relation between the new man, the gay subject and popular culture in this film and Strawberry and Chocolate OR Plata quemada (2000) by Marcelo Piñeyro, which opened the Auckland Out Takes Gay and Lesbian Festival in 2003. You may choose another Latin American film on this subject, but I must approve the choice first.
C. The Mexican Revolution Feminised – Frida Kahlo and the People
Frida (2002) by Julie Taymor depicts the life of the now iconic artist, Frida Kahlo, with the Mexican Revolution as a backdrop. Analyse this film in comparison with Paul LeDuc’s Frida, naturaleza viva (1984) paying particular attention to the way in which each director relates the extraordinary events of her life and work to the socio-cultural context of the time, paying particular attention to the construction of “the people”. How does Kahlo’s work critique Mexican culture more generally in these films with reference to the people and are there any principles of Third Cinema in either of these two films?
D. Central Station, City of God and Popular Culture in Brazil
Walter Salles’s Central Station (1998) portrays the globalised city of Rio de Janeiro from a working class or unemployed perspective in contrast to a far more humane landscape in the rural northeast. Fernando Meirelles and Katia Lund offer a sociological study of the development of the favela in a neighbourhood of Rio, called Cidade de Deus, City of God (2002) from what appears to be an insider’s point of view. How do the directors portray popular culture under globalisation in each of these films and within this portrayal, is there any remaining memory of Cinema Novo?
E. The First September 11: 1973 An Unarmed People under Attack
The Battle of Chile (1975-1979) by Patricio Guzmán is the only documentary we have studied in the course, but it is historically the most compelling documentary ever made in Latin America. Although it attempts to erase the line between construction and reality, a close reading will highlight elements of its construction in the era it was produced. What elements of the construction of “the people” in this film make the representation striking for today’s viewer? You may also consider other documentaries such as La memoria obstinada, El caso Pinochet or the Ken Loach 11 minute 9 second segment on Chile in the documentary 11’.09”01 – September 11 (2002).
Post 2001 films and the child’s gaze: Compare Machuca (Chilean state terror) with Kamchatka (Arg. state terror). What advantage does a child’s perspective give to the director in telling this story?
You may choose another Latin American film, but keep to the topic of how “the people” are defined, and you must get approval from me first.
Follow the same guidelines in writing this essay as for Essay 1.
Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com
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