Memory, Transitional Justice, and Theatre in Postdictatorship Argentina (Theater in the Americas)

Author Noe Montez considers how theatre, as a site of activism, produces memory narratives that change public reception to a government’s transitional justice policies. Drawing on contemporary research in memory studies and transitional justice, Montez examines the Argentine theatre’s responses to the country’s transitional justice policies—truth and reconciliation hearings, trials, amnesties and pardons, and memorial events and spaces—that have taken place in the last decade of the twentieth century and the first two decades of the twenty-first century. Montez explores how the sociohistorical phenomenon of the __Teatroxlaidentidad__—an annual showcase staged with the support of Argentina’s Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo—acted as a vehicle for drawing attention to the hundreds of children kidnapped from their families during the dictatorship and looks at why the memory narratives regarding the Malvinas Islands (also known as the Falklands) range from ideological appropriations of the islands, to absurdist commentaries about the failed war that signaled the dictatorship’s end, to the islands’ heavily contested status today. __Memory, Transitional Justice, and Theatre in Postdictatorship Argentina__ explores the vibrant role of theatrical engagement in postdictatorship Argentina, analyzes plays by artists long neglected in English-language articles and books, and explores the practicalities of staging performances in Latin America. Author Noe Montez considers how theatre, as a site of activism, produces memory narratives that change public reception to a government’s transitional justice policies. Drawing on contemporary research in memory studies and transitional justice, Montez examines the Argentine theatre’s responses to the country’s transitional justice policies—truth and reconciliation hearings, trials, amnesties and pardons, and memorial events and spaces—that have taken place in the last decade of the twentieth century and the first two decades of the twenty-first century. Montez explores how the sociohistorical phenomenon of the Teatroxlaidentidad —an annual showcase staged with the support of Argentina’s Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo—acted as a vehicle for drawing attention to the hundreds of children kidnapped from their families during the dictatorship and looks at why the memory narratives regarding the Malvinas Islands (also known as the Falklands) range from ideological appropriations of the islands, to absurdist commentaries about the failed war that signaled the dictatorship’s end, to the islands’ heavily contested status today. Memory, Transitional Justice, and Theatre in Postdictatorship Argentina explores the vibrant role of theatrical engagement in postdictatorship Argentina, analyzes plays by artists long neglected in English-language articles and books, and explores the practicalities of staging performances in Latin America. Charting The Performances Of An Emergent Generation Of Playwrights, Directors, Actors, Designers, And Multimedia Artists, This Book Illustrates How The Argentine Theatre Has Presented The Country's Shifting Discourses On The Dictatorship And Transitional Justice Policies From The 1990s To The Early Years Of The Twenty-first Century-- Machine Generated Contents Note: 1. Resisting The Menem Administration's Narratives Of Reconciliation And Forgetting -- 2. Teatroxlaidentidad: The Right To Memory And Identity -- 3. Reparation, Commemoration, And Memory Construction In The Postdictatorship Generation -- 4. Performing Public Memorialization Of The Malvinas War. Noe Montez. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Cover Title Page Copyright Dedication Contents Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction 1. Resisting the Menem Administration's Narratives of Reconciliation and Forgetting 2. Teatroxlaidentidad: the Right to Memory and Identity 3. Reperation, Commemoration, and Memory Construction in the Postdictatorship Generation 4. Performing Public Memorialization of the Malvinas War Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index About the Author About the Series Other Titles in the Series Back Cover "Charting the performances of an emergent generation of playwrights, directors, actors, designers, and multimedia artists, this book illustrates how the Argentine theatre has presented the country's shifting discourses on the dictatorship and transitional justice policies from the 1990s to the early years of the twenty-first century"-- Provided by publisher