Fathers, Masculinity, and Authoritarianism in Latin American Cinema

How contemporary Latin American filmmakers are usingthe father figure to critique political leadershipIn this book, throughan analysis of twenty-first-century films created in Latin America, Irina Dzeroargues that contemporary filmmakers are using the figure of the father as ametaphor for political leadership. Dzero makes the case that the abusive andcontrolling fathers in many recent films reflect a growing rejection of predatoryand coercive authority in the region. The chapters in Fathers,Masculinity, and Authoritarianism in Latin American Cinema focus on filmsmade in Peru, Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, and Chile. Dzeroidentifies different types of authoritarian leaders represented in these worksthehistrion who basks in the admiration of crowds; the disciplinarian enforcingrules; the profiteer without principle; the backslapping charmer; the rapistwho awes with transgression; and the scold who berates and gaslights. Many ofthese films are based on plays, novels, and memoirs written under oppressivedictatorships in the 1970s, and Dzero shows how todays cinematic retellingsrevise the original stories to portray children confronting and even defeatingtheir fathers. Dzeros thought-provokinginterpretations establish an innovative new way of understanding societies withpolitical histories of authoritarianism. By tracking the shift within thesecountries toward accountability for leaders and their actions, this volumedemonstrates the potential of creative work to represent, shape, and change culturalbeliefs.Publication of this work made possible by a Sustaining the Humanitiesthrough the American Rescue Plan grant from the National Endowment for theHumanities.