Cinematic Genres in Hispanic Cinema



In this class, we will study the development of cinematic genres in transnational Hispanic cinema and how the esthetic and narrative repetitions they employ have evolved due to the development of international filmmaking techniques, national ideology, and business models that financially determine the final product. Among the genres selected for the class, we will study melodramas such as Aventurera and El hijo de la novia, musicals such as El día que me quieras, Angelitos negros, and Chico y Rita, Catholic narratives such as Marcelino pan y vino and Camino, and horror films such as Santo contra las mujeres vampiro and Juan of the Dead. Genre cinema is often associated with conservative corporate structures, however, we will also analyze some samples of avant-garde films that twist genre conventions for political purposes, such as Luis Buñuel’s Los olvidados, Humberto Solás’ Lucía, and Fernando Solanas’ Tangos: El exilio de Gardel.

(1 unit)



Required text: Pablo Migliozzi, Tango (ISBN 978-84-8443-864-9) (Colección Marca America Latina).