Examines the cinema of a particular national, ethnic or cultural group, with films typically shown in the original language with subtitles. Topics reflect themes and trends in the national cinema being studied.
C LIT 315 A / JSIS 480 A
Along with Brazil and Mexico, Argentina was one of the founders of Latin American cinema, from the silent era through the ‘New Cinema Movement’ of the 1960s. In recent years it has also been at the forefront of the new boom in Latin American cinema, producing a steady stream of innovative films in every genre, from documentary to avant-garde film. Some of these films examine the legacy of dictatorship and repression during the 1970s and 1980s, while others explore the subjectivities of new social actors, including women, gays and indigenous people. In this class we will watch films by nine key filmmakers of the past decade: Carlos Sorín (Bombón: el perro), Fabián Bieliski (Nine Queens), Juan José Campanella (The Secret in theirEyes), Lucrecia Martel (The Swamp and The Headless Woman), Adrián Israel Caetano (Bolivia and A Red Bear), Pablo Trapero (Lion’s Den and White Elephant), Benjamín Avila (Clandestine Childhood), Lisandro Alonso (Liverpool), and Lucía Puenzo (XXY and The Fish Child). We will read general overviews of contemporary film history, as well as analyses of specific films. Students will keep a viewing and reading journal, write a 5-7-page final analytical essay, and give a group presentation, in addition to participating actively in class discussions. Some of the films will be screened in class, while we will watch others at home on instant streaming. Our basic textbook will be Jens Andermann’s New Argentine Cinema (London: IB Taurus, 2012).