Course Description
A historical survey of cinema and related audio(visual) media, including radio, television, and digital media, in Latin America. The course traces the role played by cinema and media in nation-building in Latin American countries as well as the relationship between film aesthetics, politics, and globalization.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Graduate students will be required to read additional essays
from a supplemental reading list. Each graduate student will be
responsible for presenting two mini-lectures, each on a selected
reading, to the class. They will also complete a research paper
of 15-20 pages. Note: There is currently no graduate degree in
Film Studies, hence the graduate students come from a wide
range of departments and programs, often with little training
in film.
Athena Title
Lat Am Film/Med
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in FILM 4640I, LACS 4640I or FILM 6640I, LACS 6640I
Semester Course Offered
Offered every even-numbered year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
By the end of the course, students should be able to: - identify and explain broad trends of regional development in Latin American cinema, considering economic, aesthetic, and political factors - explain how and why particular national cinemas and individual films deviate from these broad trends - develop and support hypotheses about how filmmakers viewed their work in relation to national, regional, and/or global contexts - write a clear, persuasive research paper that shows his/her ability to write a detailed visual analysis of a film text that takes into account social and historical context
Topical Outline
I. From Silent Cinema to National Industries A. Silent Cinema B. Early Sound Film and Radio - Argentina C. The "Golden Age" of Mexican Cinema D. Brazilian Cinema: Carnival and Parody II. New Latin American Cinema: Aesthetics and Politics A. Critical Realism - Bolivia B. Radical Experimental Film - Argentina C. Film and Revolution - Cuba D. Chicano and Latino Cinema IV. After New Latin American Cinema: Rethinking National Cinema A. Filmmakers in Exile B. Post-dictatorship Documentary (Chile) C. Post-conflict Fiction (Peru) IV. Globalization and New Media Networks A. Co-productions and Global Auteurs B. Global Spanish-Language Television C. New Media and Politics
Syllabus