Stereotypically, Latin Americans are viewed as “emotional people”—often a euphemism to mean irrational, impulsive, wildly heroic, fickle. This course takes this expression at face value to ask: Are there particular emotions that identify Latin Americans? And, conversely, do these “people” become such because they share certain emotions? Can we find a correlation between emotions and political trajectories? To answer these questions, we will explore three types of films that seem to have, at different times, taken hold of the Latin American imagination and feelings: melodramas (1930s-1950s), documentaries (since the 1960s), and “coming of age” narratives (in the 21st century.)
- Instructor of record: Martín Gaspar