Lesson 14: So where are we, again?

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Lesson 14 So where are we, again?

• Professor Daniel Bernardi/
• Professor Michelle Martinez

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In the Last Lecture

• The Actors Role
• Using Acting as Subversion
• - Lupe Vélez
• - Gilbert Roland
• - José Ferrer
• Zoot Suit

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In this lecture

• Examine the present and future of Latino film
• Robert Rodriguezs use of genre
• Latinos behind the scenes
• Moctesuma Esparza
• NALIP
• Walkout

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The New Guard

• Lecture 14 Part 1

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1st Wave (1969-76)

• Cinematic expression of a culturally nationalist
  movement
• Radical documentary era
• Politically contestational and formally
  oppositional

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2nd Wave (1977-present)

• Marks changes in movement
• Still rebellious, not as separatist
• Accessibility to mainstream funding (includes
  PBS)
• Appearance of narrative films
• Emergence of Chicana filmmakers

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3rd Wave (late 1980s-present)

• Mostly made up of genre films
• Inside and outside of Hollywood
• Adheres closely to Hollywood paradigm

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3rd Wave (late 1980s-present)continued

• Films do not accentuate Chicano resistance or
  oppression
• Ethnicity is one of many facts that shape lives
  of characters

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The Mainstream

• this New Wave is much more mainstream then
  earlier Chicano filmmaking and far less overtly
  political, and its appearance raises some
  interesting issues for Chicano cinema. (219)
• -Charles Ramirez Berg

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Presently

• Many Latinos are involved in all aspects of the
  film industry
• Latino characters and actors are making prominent
  advances on television and in movies
• The population of Hispanics in the U.S. continue
  to grow and have viable spending power

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Discussion Topic

• Is it possible for ethnic or otherwise
  marginalized filmmakers to enter mainstream media
  institutions and maintain their ethnic identity?
• -Charles Ramirez Berg (219)

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Genre Bending

• Lesson 14 Part 2

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Remember Definition of Genre

• Stated simply, genre movies are those commercial
  feature films which, through repetition and
  variation, tell familiar stories with familiar
  characters in familiar situations. They also
  encourage expectations and experiences similar to
  those of similar films we have already seen.
• - Berry Keith Grant

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Robert Rodriguez

• Bedhead (1990)
• El Mariachi (1993)
• Desperado (1995)
• Four Rooms (1995)
• From Dusk Til Dawn (1996)
• Spy Kids (2001)
• Spy Kids 2 (2002)

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Robert Rodriguez

• Spy Kids 3 (2003)
• Once Upon a Time In Mexico (2003)
• Sin City (2005)
• The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl (2005)
• Grindhouse (2007)

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Mixing Genres

• Bedhead- mixes coming-of-age genre film with the
  Mexican myth of La Llorona
• El Mariachi- mixes the Mexican Police Genre of
  narcotraficante film with the Warrior Adventure
  genre

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Transnational Genres

• Narratively, El Mariachi is in the tradition of
  a species of the transnational adventure film-
  the warrior adventure genre- rooted in the
  Hollywood Western, which has blossomed because of
  cinematic cross-pollinations between Asia and
  Hollywood. (227)
• -Charles Ramirez Berg

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Warrior Adventure Genre

• Lone male protagonist with unusual physical power
• Hero adheres to personal code of justice and
  morality, directed toward altruistic ends
• Protagonist undergoes a severe test, involving
  loss
• Revenge motivates rehabilitation
• Undergoes spiritual rehabilitation
• Confronts and defeats the ruthless villain

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Other Warrior Adventure Films

• Lethal Weapon (1987)
• Die Hard (1988)
• The Chinese Connection (Bruce Lee 1972)
• Jackie Chans Police Force (1986)

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El Mariachi Subverts Warrior Genre

• Mexican hero
• No special physical skill
• Hero as antimacho
• Doesnt drink or smoke
• Is a balladeer looking for an audience
• Devoted to cultural roots
• All of society is corrupt
• Drug business analogous to maquiladoras

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El Mariachi as Antimacho

• its the naturalized dominance of signifiers of
  masculinity, and the mariachis lack of them,
  that gets him into trouble. No one is prepared to
  believe that he is a male without any indicator
  of masculine powerthat he is a different kind of
  male. Therefore, his guitar case is misread as
  his masculine signassumed to be Azuls trademark
  arsenaland he is mistaken for the hitman. (237)
• -Charles Ramirez Berg

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The Big Point

• The new generation of Chicana/o and Latina/o
  filmmakers, such as Robert Rodriguez, have access
  to the mainstream and use this to make the kind
  of films they want to make. The resulting work
  combines genres and demonstrates a deep knowledge
  of the history of cinema of Hollywood and
  transnationally. These filmmakers use the
  Hollywood formula to subvert Hollywood formula.

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The New Old Guard

• Lecture 14 Part 3

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Moctesuma Esparza

• As Producer
• Only Once in a Lifetime (1979)
• The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez (1982)
• The Milagro Beanfield War (1988)
• Gettysburg (1993)
• Selena (1997)
• The Disappearance of Garcia Lorca (1997)
• Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (1999)
• Price of Glory (2000)
• God and Generals (2003)
• Walkout (2006)

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Rooted In Activism

• Moctesuma Esparza began as a political activist
• Organizer for the Chicano Movement and Chicano
  student walkouts
• Worked as liason between media and Strike
  Committee

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Reaching a Larger Audience

• I realized that in order to be successful in a
  mass-market medium, I needed to have alliances
  with other people who agreed with what I was
  proposing to do and who supported it. (312)
• -Interview with Moctesuma Esparza by Kathryn Galan

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The Human Story

• In creating human portrayals, my ultimate goal
  was to study what is to be human. As a History
  major, I had a tremendous interest in how we came
  to be through the paths we have taken. (313)
• -Interview with Moctesuma Esparza by Kathryn
  Galan

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The Birth of NALIP

• In 1988, there was a crisis in the Latino media
  community the one organization that was
  providing minimal funding for producers working
  in the PBS world had not provided any funding for
  three yearsthat led to a conferencethe outcome
  was a declaration by those in attendance that
  there was a need and wanting of a national
  organization and NALIP was born there. (318)

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NALIP

• The National Association of Latino Independent
  Producers (NALIP)
• Hosts a Producers Academy
• Writers Labs
• National Conference
• Resource Guides and Publications
• Internships and Job Boards
• Local Chapters in major cities across U.S.
• To learn more about NALIP click here

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The Big Point

• Members of the First Wave of Chicano Film and of
  the Chicano Political Movement of the 1960s,
  have shifted and changed to be more inclusive and
  to target a wider audience for their work, while
  still focusing on ethno-centric stories. The old
  guard, such as Moctesuma Esparza, have used their
  success to begin partnerships to provide support
  to up and coming Latino filmmakers.

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Walkout

• Lecture 14 Part 4

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Walkout (2006)

• Aired on HBO
• Released on DVD by HBO films
• Produced by Moctesuma Esparza
• Directed by Edward James Olmos
• Starred Alexa Vega (Spy Kids)

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Synopsis

• Walkout is a 2006 Home Box Office film based on
  a true story of the 1968 East L.A. walkouts.
  Student activist and Mexican-American Paula
  Crisostomo (played by Alexa Vega), tired of being
  treated unequally, decides to take action and
  stage a walkout at five East Los Angeles high
  schools in 1968 to protest educational conditions
  and complain of anti-Mexican educational bias
  along with some 10,000 students.
• -Wikipedia

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Years in the Making

• Early in my career as a filmmaker, in the early
  1980s, after I began doing narrative films with
  an emphasis on historical material, I started
  thinking about making this movie about the
  student strike. And its taken me since 1968 --
  twenty-eight years to finally get this movie
  made. (310)
• -Interview with Moctesuma Esparza by Kathryn Galan

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End of Lecture 14

• Next Lecture
• Wrap Up and Review