Time Schedule:
Cynthia Steele
C LIT 315
Seattle Campus
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. .
Class description
An overview of the current New Wave of Latin American Cinema, including examples from Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia and Cuba. Genres range from the road movie to the crime caper; from the biopic to the political satire and historical epic. Issues explored include endemic poverty, underdevelopment and colonialism; increasing levels of urban violence; revolution and dictatorship; recovery from authoritarianism and human rights abuse; and struggles for human rights of marginalized groups and for democratization. Students will write two five-page analytical essays and keep a journal of responses to films and readings. Spanish majors and minors will write and do at least half of their research in Spanish. The course will be conducted in Spanish and films will be in Spanish or Portuguese with English subtitles.
Student learning goals
Text: Shaw, Deborah, ed. Contemporary Latin American Cinema. Ranham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2007.
Films: Los diarios de motocicleta/The Motorcycle Diaries (2004). Dir. Fernando Mireilles (Brazil); Y tu mamá también/And Your Mother, Too (2001). Dir. Alfonso Cuarón (Mexico); Cidade de Deus/City of God (2002). Dir. Fernando Mireilles and Katia Lund (Brazil); Nueve reinas/Nine Queens (2000). Dir. Fabién Bielinski (Argentina); Madame Sata (2002). Dir. Karim Ainouz (Brazil); Kamchatka (2002). Dir. Marcelo Piñyero (Argentina); Bolívar soy yo/Bolívar is Me (2002). Dir. Jorge Alí Triana (Colombia); Lista de espera/The Waiting List (2000). Dir. Juan Carlos Tabío (Cuba); and La otra conquista/The Other Conquest (1999). Dir. Salvador Carrasco (Mexico).
General method of instruction
Lecture/discussion
Recommended preparation
Class assignments and grading
