The Politics of Affect and Emotion in Contemporary Latin American Cinema The Politics of Affect and Emotion in Contemporary Latin American Cinema Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, and Mexico Laura Podalsky THE POLITICS OF AFFECT AND EMOTION IN CONTEMPORARY LATIN AMERICAN CINEMA Copyright © Laura Podalsky, 2011. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2011 978-0-230-10955-1 All rights reserved. An earlier version of chapter 3 appeared as “Affecting Legacies: Historical Memory and Contemporary Structures of Feeling in Madagascar and Amores perros.” Screen 44.3 (Autumn 2003): 277–94, and is reappearing here by permission of Oxford University Press. An earlier version of chapter 4 appeared as “Out of Depth: The Politics of Disaffected Youth and Contemporary Latin American Cinema.” In Youth Culture in Global Cinema. Timothy Shary and Alexandra Seibel, eds. Austin: University of Texas Press, December 2006. A section of chapter 5 appeared as “Migrant Feelings: Melodrama, Babel, and Affective Communities.” Studies in Hispanic Cinemas 7.1 (Winter 2011). First published in 2011 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN® in the United States—a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, r egistered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-29223-3 ISBN 978-0-230-12011-2 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9780230120112 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Podalsky, Laura, 1964– The politics of affect and emotion in contemporary Latin American cinema : Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, and Mexico / Laura Podalsky. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Motion pictures—Political aspects—Latin America. 2. Motion pictures—Social aspects—Latin America. 3. Motion pictures—Latin America—History—20th century. 4. Motion pictures—Latin America—History—21st century. I. Title. PN1993.5.L3P63 2011 791.43098909051—dc22 2011005257 A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library. Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India. First edition: August 2011 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Contents List of Figures vii Acknowledgments ix Introduction 1 Chapter 1 Of Passion, Aesthetics, and Politics: Rethinking the New Latin American Cinema 25 Chapter 2 Thrilling Histories: Replaying the Past in Genre Films 59 Chapter 3 Affecting Legacies and Contemporary Structures of Feeling 81 Chapter 4 Alien/Nation: Contemporary Youth in Film 101 Chapter 5 Migrant Feelings: Global Networks and Transnational Affective Communities 125 Notes 161 Works Cited 199 Index 213 Figures 1.1 Students at the Catholic University in La memoria obstinada 27 1.2 A student from Ernesto Malbrán’s class in La memoria obstinada 28 1.3 A middle-class class woman curses Allende in La batalla de Chile 29 1.4 José crushes the baby in El chacal de Nahueltoro 50 3.1 The suffocating family environment in Amores perros 87 3.2 The floor gestures toward latent dangers that lie off-screen in Amores perros 92 4.1 José, Vero, and the others wait for Momi to reappear in La ciénaga 109 4.2–4.4 The textures of longing in Nada 118 5.1 Plot segmentation of Babel 133 5.2–5.4 The iconography of ecstatic emotion in Babel 141 Acknowledgments As this project developed over several years, I have many people I wish to thank. Luisela Alvaray, Gilberto Moisés Blasini, Marvin D’Lugo, Sergio de la Mora, Tamara Falicov, Paula Félix-Didier, Claire Fox, Juan Antonio García Borrero, Ana López, Kathleen Newman, Patrice Petro, Victoria Ruétalo, Ann Marie Stock, Dolores Tierney, Patricia Torres San Martín, Juan Carlos Vargas, and Cristina Venegas have offered insights, specific suggestions, and general encouragement for which I am extremely grateful. It is a pleasure, indeed, to work over the years with such thoughtful and provocative colleagues, all of whom have helped me think more pro- foundly and thoroughly about Latin American film. Dan Balderston has always been an inspiration—a mentor and friend on whom I rely for feed- back, big and small. I also have been extraordinarily lucky to find a professional home in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at The Ohio State University and to enjoy the friendship and intellectual companionship of colleagues such as Maureen Ahern, Jonathan Burgoyne, Ignacio Corona, Lucia Costigan, Elizabeth Davis, Ana del Sarto, Salvador García, Richard Gordon, John Grinstead, Ileana Rodríguez, Eugenia Romero, Steve Summerhill, Abril Trigo, Fernando Unzueta, and Juan Zevallos Aguilar. Their smart inter- ventions and warm collegiality over the past ten years have been greatly appreciated. Ignacio and Ana provided valuable suggestions and insightful commentary on particular aspects of this project. For his calm manner, sly sense of humor, and generous support. I am grateful to Fernando who has served as our department chair for the past eight years. Ileana, in particular, has been a provocative interlocutor keeping me on my toes and making me laugh—reminding me that intellectual inquiry is a joyous and passionate endeavor. I am likewise thankful for wise and thoughtful colleagues in the Film Studies program, among them John Davidson, Ron Green, and John