Queer Issues in Contemporary Latin American Cinema

Queer Issues in Contemporary Latin American Cinema

by David William Foster (Author)

Synopsis

Viewing contemporary Latin American films through the lens of queer studies reveals that many filmmakers are exploring issues of gender identity and sexual difference, as well as the homophobia that attempts to defeat any challenge to the heterosexual norms of patriarchal culture. In this study of queer issues in Latin American cinema, David William Foster offers highly perceptive queer readings of fourteen key films to demonstrate how these cultural products promote the principles of an antiheterosexist stance while they simultaneously disclose how homophobia enforces the norms of heterosexuality.

Foster examines each film in terms of the ideology of its narrative discourse, whether homoerotic desire or a critique of patriarchal heterosexism and its implications for Latin American social life and human rights. His analyses underscore the difficulties involved in constructing a coherent and convincing treatment of the complex issues involved in critiquing the patriarchy from perspectives associated with queer studies. The book will be essential reading for everyone working in queer studies and film studies.

The films discussed in this book are:

  • De eso no se habla (I Don't Want to Talk about It)
  • El lugar sin limites (The Place without Limits)
  • Aqueles dois (Those Two)
  • Convivencia (Living Together)
  • Conducta impropia (Improper Conduct)
  • The Disappearance of Garcia Lorca
  • La Virgen de los Sicarios (Our Lady of the Assassins)
  • Dona Herlinda y su hijo (Dona Herlinda and Her Son)
  • No se lo digas a nadie (Don't Tell Anyone)
  • En el paraiso no existe el dolor (There Is No Suffering in Paradise)
  • A intrusa (The Interloper)
  • Plata quemada (Burnt Money)
  • Afrodita (Aphrodite)
  • Fresa y chocolate (Strawberry and Chocolate)

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 208
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Published: 31 Mar 2004

ISBN 10: 0292705379
ISBN 13: 9780292705371
Book Overview: Professor Foster clearly and insightfully articulates the ways in which well-known contemporary Latin American films create and negotiate meanings of gender identity and homoerotic desire within their sociopolitical contexts... In sum, this is a very interesting queer reading of some of the most important contemporary Latin American films. -- Emilio Bejel, Professor of Spanish American Literature, University of Colorado-Boulder, and author of Gay Cuban Nation

Media Reviews
Professor Foster clearly and insightfully articulates the ways in which well-known contemporary Latin American films create and negotiate meanings of gender identity and homoerotic desire within their sociopolitical contexts... In sum, this is a very interesting queer reading of some of the most important contemporary Latin American films. Emilio Bejel, Professor of Spanish American Literature, University of Colorado-Boulder, and author of Gay Cuban Nation
Author Bio
David William Foster is Regents' Professor of Spanish and Women and Gender Studies at Arizona State University, where he also leads the Brazilian Studies Program. He is author of numerous books, including Argentine, Mexican, and Guatemalan Photography: Feminist, Queer, and Post-Masculinist Perspectives, Queer Issues in Contemporary Latin American Cinema, Mexico City in Contemporary Mexican Cinema, and Gay and Lesbian Themes in Latin American Writing.