Originally written in October 2017. With the increased visibility of transgender people in the news and other media, society has become more and more aware of the various issues people from this community face. Not only have high-profile celebrities transitioned, but there has also been activism concerning transgender rights. While society is certainly moving in…
Roma (2018): Solidaridad femenina (?) y representación
Desde las primeras líneas en el guión escrito por Alfonso Cuarón para su película Roma (2018), queda claro que el espacio doméstico va a ser de gran importancia en la narrativa. Después de describir la tarea de lavar el piso de una casa, Cuarón—quien escribió, dirigió y actuó como director de fotografía en Roma—introduce a…
Joker (2019) & The Return of the Celluloid
One Saturday afternoon, while browsing the Internet to buy a ticket for Todd Phillips’s highly anticipated Joker (2019), I was faced with an unexpected choice: 70mm, 35mm or digital. Although I must admit that my immediate reaction was to look for a theater that would show Joker on 70mm, I ended up watching it digitally….
Star Wars: The Rise of the Fandom or: How Star Wars Stayed Relevant
Movie franchises are one of the most commercially viable modes of production in Hollywood. They are easily marketable since audiences are already familiar with the characters and fictional world of a particular story. One of the most recognizable movie franchises of all time is Star Wars, with a worldwide gross of $9,307,186,202 and a total…
Güeros (2014), a Journey through Limbo and Mexico City’s Landscape
Directed by Alonso Ruizpalacios, Güeros follows the adventures of a group of young people living in Mexico City. Although conceived in 2014, Güeros is most likely set in 1999, a year in which the Autonomous University of México, UNAM, underwent student protests and a strike. The strike was caused due to the fact that the…
Familial Imprisonment in The Castle of Purity and the Dictablanda in Mexico
Based on true events that took place in Mexico during the decade of the 1950s, The Castle of Purity by Arturo Ripstein is an exemplary and upsetting film that reimagines a family’s imprisonment, which lasted approximately eighteen years. Written by Ripstein and José Emilio Pacheco, The Castle of Purity follows the lives of the family,…
The Femme Fatale and its Evolution through Time
The femme fatale, French for “fatal woman,” is one of the most recognizable archetypes of American cinema. She is usually characterized by creating sexual tension in the narratives, by having an independent or rebellious spirit, by desiring wealth and control, and by being punished at the end (161-163 Dickos). Historians and film scholars alike have…
Mexploitation and Mexican Identity
Just like Blaxpoitation, sexploitation and other exploitation genres, Mexploitation cinema is another group of typically low-budget movies that seek to appeal to a specific sector of the population. Specifically, Mexploitation films integrate elements of exploitation and Mexican culture. In addition to low budgets, these films have discernible characteristics that allow one to categorize and recognize…
Andy Warhol’s Empire (1964), Reproduction, Repetition, and the Destruction of the Aura
Andy Warhol, one of the most significant and influential figures of 20th century art, is best know as a pop artist and leader of several avant-garde movements of the 1960s. Although mostly associated with painting, Warhol was also a prolific photographer and filmmaker. One of his most recognizable films, Empire (1964), consists of an eight-hour,…
The Female Experience in Persona (1966) and Eve’s Bayou (1997)
Most films serve as windows to different eras. Some unveil folk customs, common beliefs and attitudes held in a particular period of time, and they reveal women’s place in society. Even though Ingmar Bergman’s Persona (1966) and Kasi Lemmons’s Eve’s Bayou (1997) were created in two different continents and in two different time periods, both…
Blade Runner (1982): Future Noir
Blade Runner (1982), an essential film in the science fiction canon, follows Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) as he tries to track down the last replicants (bioengineered androids) on Earth. His mission to “retire” the remaining replicants turns complicated when he falls in love with one of them, causing him an…
Modernism in Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Sunset Boulevard (1950), directed by Billy Wilder, depicts a struggling middle-aged screenwriter, Joe Gillis (William Holden) and a forgotten silent film star, Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson) who have become disillusioned with Hollywood. His lack of success and need to pay off debt leads him to accept a job from Swanson’s…
Fernanda Jiménez 