Mexican melodrama : film and nation from the Golden Age to the New Wave

In __Mexican Melodrama__, Elena Lahr-Vivaz explores the compelling ways that new-wave Mexican directors use the tropes and themes of Golden Age films to denounce the excesses of a nation characterized as a fragmented and fictitious construct. Analyzing big hits and quiet successes of both Golden Age and new-wave cinema, the author offers in each chapter a comparative reading of films from the two eras, considering, for instance, __Amores perros__ (__Love’s a Bitch__, Alejandro González Iñárritu, 2000) alongside __Nosotros los pobres__ (__We the Poor__, Ismael Rodríguez, 1947). Through such readings, Lahr-Vivaz examines how new-wave directors draw from a previous generation to produce meaning in the present. Mexico’s Golden Age of film—the period from the 1930s to the 1950s—is considered “golden” due to both the prestige of the era’s stars and the critical and popular success of the films released. Golden Age directors often turned to the tropes of melodrama and allegory to offer spectators an image of an idealized Mexico and to spur the formation of a spectatorship united through shared tears and laughter. In contrast, Lahr-Vivaz demonstrates that new-wave directors of the 1990s and 2000s use the melodramatic mode to present a vision of fragmentation and to open a space for critical resistance. In so doing, new-wave directors highlight the limitations rather than the possibilities of a unified spectatorship, and point to the need for spectators to assume a critical stance in the face of the exigencies of the present. Written in an accessible style, __Mexican Melodrama__ offers a timely comparative analysis of critically acclaimed films that will serve as key referents in discussions of Mexican cinema for years to come. Mexican Melodrama Offers A Timely Look At Critically Acclaimed Films That Serve As Key Referents In Discussions Of Mexican Cinema. Elena Lahr-vivaz Artfully Portrays The Dominant Conventions Of Historical And Contemporary Mexican Cinema, Showing How New-wave Directors Draw From A Previous Generation To Produce Meaning In The Present--provided By Publisher. Introduction -- Melodrama And Mexico. Key Terms ; Melodrama's Golden Age (1930-1958) ; Crisis And Resurgence (1959-1990) ; The New-wave Nation (1991-2005) -- Taming Nosotros. Enamorada (woman In Love, Emilio Fernández, 1946) ; Como Aguapara Chocolate (like Water For Chocolate, Alfonso Arau, 1992) ; Entre Pancho Villa Y Una Mujer Desnuda (between Pancho Villa And A Naked Woman, Sabina Berman And Isabelle Tardán, 1996) -- The Ties That Bind. La Mujer Del Puerto (the Woman Of The Port, Arcady Boytler, 1933) ; La Tarea Prohibida (forbidden Home Work, Jaime Humberto Hermosillo, 1992) ; Modelo Antiguo (vintage Model, Raúl Araiza, 1992) ; Ángel De Fuego (angel Of Fire, Dana Rotberg, 1992) -- Nosotros No More. Nosotros Lospobres (we The Poor, Ismael Rodríguez, 1947) ; Amores Perros (love's A Bitch, Alejandro González Iñárritu, 2000) ; El Crimen Del Padre Amaro (the Crime Of Father Amaro, Carlos Carrera, 2002) -- Seeing Stars. Cuando Los Hijos Se Van (when The Children Leave, Juan Bustillo Oro, 1941) ; Japón (japan, Carlos Reygadas, 2002) ; Batalla En El Cielo (battle In Heaven, Carlos Reygadas, 2005) -- Re-sounding Melos. ¡¿qué Ha Dado Esa Mujer?! (what Has That Woman Given You?!, Ismael Rodríguez, 1951) ; Sólo Con Tu Pareja (love In The Time Of Hysteria, Alfonso Cuarón, 1991) ; Y Tu Mamá También (and Your Mother Too, Alfonso Cuarón, 2001) -- Conclusion. Elena Lahr-vivaz. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.