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Latin American Cinema: Race, Nation and Representation

Module description

When we think of ‘Latin American cinema’, whom do we picture? What language do we hear? The image of Latin America as a predominantly white or mestizo, Spanish- or Portuguese-speaking area is an enduring legacy of European colonialism, often rendering invisible the indigenous and Afro-descendent communities. However, recent successes from Latin America, such as the award-winning Roma and Embrace of the Serpent, have brought indigenous languages and experiences to screens across the world, while films like Bad Hair have drawn attention to endemic racism. 

In this module, we will explore how recent films from across Latin America raise these key issues and the responses that these films provoke among critics and viewers.

Knowledge of Spanish and/or Portuguese is helpful but not necessary.

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module will consider how Latin American cinema today contributes to a questioning of the boundaries of the nation and the legacies of colonialism in Latin America. You will gain a sophisticated knowledge of a selection of contemporary films, and will be enabled to make connections between these texts, and the historical, cultural, linguistic and ideological contexts associated with them.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Demonstrate advanced understanding of debates around race, nation and colonialism in Latin American cinema.
• 2. Demonstrate an advanced ability to analyse Latin American film texts using appropriate formal and critical terminologies.

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 3. Demonstrate a sophisticated and intellectually mature ability to analyse cultural texts and to relate their concerns and their modes of expression to their cultural, linguistic and ideological contexts.
• 4. Engage critically with relevant theoretical discourses

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 5. Through essay-writing and other assignments, demonstrate advanced research and bibliographic skills, an advanced and intellectually mature capacity to construct a coherent, substantiated argument and to write clear and correct prose
• 6. Through the planning and organisation of research projects, demonstrate independence of thought and confidence in developing ideas and formulating questions

Syllabus plan

Part 1: An introduction to issues of nation, race, language, colonialism and ‘otherness’ in Latin American cinema and introduction to relevant theory

Part 2: Case studies of contemporary films from different Latin American countries that explore our key issues. These may vary from year to year. Check the ELE page for details.

Part 3: Students sharing their own research and examples, and presenting conclusions.

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 50%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 50%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Select secondary reading

• Appelbaum, Nancy P., Anne S. Macpherson, and Karin Alejandra Rosemblat (eds). Race and Nation in Modern Latin America. (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2003).
• D'Lugo, Marvin, Ana M. López, and Laura Podalsky. The Routledge Companion to Latin American Cinema (New York, NY: Routledge, 2018)
• King, John. Magical Reels: A History of Cinema in Latin America (London: Verso, 2000).
• Wade, Peter, James Scorer and Ignacio Aguiló (eds). Cultures of Anti-Racism in Latin America and the Caribbean (London: University of London Press, 2019).

Key words search

Latin America, film, race, nation, indigenous, decolonizing