Topics in Latin American and Caribbean Studies (391-0-22)

Topic

Mexican Cinema

Instructors

Nathaniel Rossi

Meeting Info

Louis Hall 119: Wed 2:00PM - 5:50PM

Overview of class

Mexican Cinema

This course seeks to introduce students to major themes and issues in the history of Mexican cinema. From considering the "Golden Age" of Mexican melodramas in the 1940s to the birth of the "Nuevo Cine Mexicano" in the late 90s to contemporary representations of domestic labor in films like Roma (Dir. Alfonso Cuarón, 2018) and La camarista (Dir. Lila Aviles, 2018), this course seeks to examine the role of cinema in negotiating a sense of Mexican national identity. In particular, we will focus on a tension central to understanding Mexican cultural production, that of a hybridity that attempts to situate Mexicanidad, or Mexicanness, between an Indigenous past and modern mestizo future. Central to our discussions will be an interrogation of the concept of Mexican cinema as "national" cinema, consideration of the effects of globalization on the Mexican film industry, an exploration of transnational film cultures and audiences, the role of "filmmaker as activist," and an examination of the relationship between memory, state/gender violence, and visual cultures. Themes of race/ethnicity, gender & sexuality, class & labor, and migration & exile will be emphasized. Content Note: This course deals with themes that include state, gender, and drug violence.

Learning Objectives

• Discuss how prominent themes in Mexican cinema relate to specific historical moments, industrial factors, and cultural beliefs and values in Mexican society
• Read and understand challenging critical and historical arguments about Mexican Cinema
• Discuss Mexican cinema as national cinema
• Evaluate the role of contemporary Mexican filmmakers and their responses to current social, political, and environmental crises
• Gain textual analysis or close-reading skills; Use these skills in a midterm and final essay that address major course themes

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Pre-Reg: Reserved for Latin American and Caribbean Studies Students