The Politics of Affect and Emotion in Contemporary Latin American Cinema (PDF)

LAURA PODALSKY Associate Professor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at Ohio State University, USA.

"This well-theorized, well-researched volume is a 'mapping project' that explores the ways in which aesthetics and politics intersect in the contemporary cinema of Latin America. Specifically, Podalsky (Ohio State) examines the important but understudied question of the emotional appeal and sensorial appeal of recent Latin American fiction and nonfiction films and the relation of those appeals to key sociopolitical issues and phenomena - for example, youth and their anxieties, the rise of neoliberal economic policies and consumerism, and the politics of memory in Southern Cone countries recently ruled by authoritarian military dictatorships. Specific topics examined include the influence of traditions of Mexican tabloid journalism on the artistry of Señorita extraviada (2001); the political-thriller genre as a way to stimulate reconsideration of a nation's recent dictatorial past; and the use of affect and emotion in The Jackal of Nahueltoro to criticize an unjust, uncaring Chilean society. Podalsky's analyses of individual films - e.g., Babel and Picado fino - are insightful, original, and frequently provocative. A useful, thorough scholarly apparatus is provided. The volume is carefully edited and produced... Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students, researchers, faculty." - D. West, emeritus, University of Idaho, CHOICE

"In this rich and engaging work, Laura Podalsky explores the sensorial and emotional appeals of recent Latin American films and offers an alternate account of their contemporary social and political significance. Drawing on studies of feeling from a variety of disciplines, The Politics of Affect and Emotion in Contemporary Latin American Cinema also goes beyond notions of "national" or "Third" cinemas to engage in expansive and productive dialogue about filmmaking within global, transnational, and pan-regional trends. This dynamic, interdisciplinary study skillfully accounts for the range and complexity of Latin American films to show