Mexico's Cinema - (Latin American Silhouettes) by Joanne Hershfield & David R Maciel (Paperback)

About the Book

In recent years, Mexican films have received high acclaim and impressive box-office returns. Moreover, Mexico has the most advanced movie industry in the Spanish-speaking world, and its impact on Mexican culture and society cannot be overstated. Mexico's Cinema: A Century of F...

Book Synopsis

In recent years, Mexican films have received high acclaim and impressive box-office returns. Moreover, Mexico has the most advanced movie industry in the Spanish-speaking world, and its impact on Mexican culture and society cannot be overstated.

Mexico's Cinema: A Century of Film and Filmmakers is a collection of fourteen essays that encompass the first 100 years of the cinema of Mexico. Included are original contributions written specifically for this title, plus a few classic pieces in the field of Mexican cinema studies never before available in English. These essays explore a variety of themes including race and ethnicity, gender issues, personalities, and the historical development of a national cinematic style.

Each of the book's three sections-The Silent Cinema, The Golden Age, and The Contemporary Era-is preceded by a short introduction to the period and a presentation of the major themes addressed in the section.

This insightful anthology is the first published study that includes pieces by Mexican and North American scholars, including a piece by the internationally acclaimed essayist Carlos Monsivais. Contributors include other acclaimed scholars and critics as well as young scholars who are currently making their mark in the area of film studies of Mexico. These authors represent various fields-community studies, film studies, cultural history, ethnic studies, and gender studies-making this volume an interdisciplinary resource, important for courses in Latin America and Third World cinema, Mexican history and culture, and Chicana/o and ethnic studies.

Review Quotes

A valuable contribution to knowledge of the film industry in a country with a long and rich film history.

Hershfield and Maciel have brought together a collection that illuminates Mexico's cinema over the last century.

Hershfield and Maciel have performed a valuable service to English-language scholarship on Mexican cinema. The essays brought together in this volume cast a new light on the historical dynamics of an important cinematic tradition-its films and stars, its representations of national identity, its crises, and its problematic relations with Hollywood, the market and the state. A welcome addition to the growing bibliography on Latin American cinema.

In 12 essays, specialists and researchers from both sides of the border examine various aspects of the history and the current state of Mexican cinema. Especially well written and intriguing are essays on the decline of the golden age of film and a fascinating look at Mexican border cinema. Highly recommended.

About the Author

Joanne Hershfield teaches media studies and production at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. David R. Maciel is professor of history and chairperson of the Department of Chicano/Chicana Studies at California State University.