Lesson 14:
So where are we, again?
Professor Daniel Bernardi/
Professor Michelle Martinez
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In the Last Lecture…
• The Actor’s 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 Rodriguez’s
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
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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 crosspollinations 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 18
Other Warrior Adventure Films
• Lethal Weapon (1987)
• Die Hard (1988)
• The Chinese Connection (Bruce Lee
1972)
• Jackie Chan’s Police Force (1986)
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El Mariachi Subverts Warrior Genre
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Mexican hero
No special physical skill
Hero as “antimacho”
Doesn’t 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
“…it’s the naturalized dominance of signifiers of
masculinity, and the mariachi’s lack of them, that
gets him into trouble. No one is prepared to
believe that he is a male without any indicator of
masculine power—that he is a different kind of
male. Therefore, his guitar case is misread as
his masculine sign—assumed to be Azul’s
trademark arsenal—and 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
years…that led to a conference…the
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
• Writer’s 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 1960’s, 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
1980’s, after I began doing narrative films with
an emphasis on historical material, I started
thinking about making this movie about the
student strike. And it’s 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
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