Borderland films : American cinema, Mexico, and Canada during the Progressive era

Cover 1 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Contents 6 List of Illustrations 8 Acknowledgments 10 Introduction 14 1. Constructing the Filmic Borderlands 30 2. Liminal Borderlands 54 3. Racialized Borderlands 104 4. Gendered Borderlands 146 5. Crime and Punishment 194 6. Revolution and War 238 Epilogue 298 Notes 308 Filmography 370 Bibliography 388 Index 432 The concept of North American borderlands in the cultural imagination fluctuated greatly during the Progressive Era as it was affected by similarly changing concepts of identity and geopolitical issues influenced by the Mexican Revolution and the First World War. Such shifts became especially evident in films set along the Mexican and Canadian borders as filmmakers explored how these changes simultaneously represented and influenced views of society at large. Borderland Films examines the intersection of North American borderlands and culture as portrayed through early twentieth-century cinema. Drawing on hundreds of films, Dominique Brégent-Heald investigates the significance of national borders; the ever-changing concepts of race, gender, and enforced boundaries; the racialized ideas of criminality that painted the borderlands as unsafe and in need of control; and the wars that showed how international conflict significantly influenced the United States’ relations with its immediate neighbors. Borderland Films provides a fresh perspective on American cinematic, cultural, and political history and on how cinema contributed to the establishment of societal narratives in the early twentieth century. Examines the intersection of North American borderlands and culture as portrayed through early twentieth-century cinema. Drawing on hundreds of films, Dominique Bregent-Heald investigates the significance of national borders; the ever-changing concepts of race, gender, and enforced boundaries; and the racialized ideas of criminality that painted the borderlands as unsafe. "An examination of the intersection of North American borderlands and culture, as portrayed through early twentieth-century cinema."--Résumé de l'éditeur "An examination of the intersection of North American borderlands and culture, as portrayed through early twentieth-century cinema"-- Provided by publisher