Introduction to Latin American Film and Visual Arts

Catalog description

In this course, we will use film and the visual arts as a means to explore the complex histories and rich diversity of Latin America. We will analyze how important themes are represented from within the region, considering for example, conquest and colonization, the quest for independence, nation-building, dictatorships, civil wars and struggles for human rights, mass migrations due to political, economic and environmental factors in the late 20th and early 21st century. We will analyze how power relationships, differences in social class, gender and ethnic identities are represented. We will consider socio-political and economic factors that have influenced the access and availability to resources to produce, promote, and/or experience visual artifacts (be they film, or other forms of visual practices); how and why does this vary so greatly from country to country in Latin America, and how has it changed over time? We will review important movements in Latin American visual production, studying for example the Golden Age of Mexican Cinema and New Cinema in Latin America. In this process, we will explore some of Latin America's more prominent artists, producers, actors and directors, as well as question how and why production by certain groups and individuals has been marginalized or under/misrepresented, while others have thrived. We will also consider the ways in which Latin America, its cultural workers and their artistic production, have interacted with global trends. The course is taught in English, but Spanish, Portuguese, indigenous languages and/or previous courses about Latin America are not required but of course can be helpful.