Rita returned this morning from her excursion to Mexico City where she presented a talk on her research at UNAM (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México).
This afternoon Rita and I hosted her Spanish classes for a viewing and discussion of the 1954 film made from B. Traven's "Rebelión de los Colgados" (Rebellion of the Hanged). Rita introduced the context of the film in terms of 1950s nationalism in Mexico. She discussed characteristics of Mexican cinematic melodrama and advised students to pay attention to three main cinematic elements: text, image, and music. When the film concluded she opened a discussion of ways in which the film departed from the book which the students have read. A lively discussion followed. It was noted that the role of Candido Castro, as the starring role played by Mexican superstar Pedro Almendáriz, took on a greater and more extended importance than in the book. Much discussion surrounded the movie's ending, which reverses the theme of the second half of the book. In the book, the rebelious workers realize they must fight rather than just return to their homes, but in the movie the short rebellion culminates in a quick return home with the prospect of complete future happiness. This expresses the prominent post-revolutionary nationalist ideology of indigenismo with utopian fervor that is far more positive and simplistic than Traven's novel.
No comments:
Post a Comment