SAC 381

AC 381

This course examines the access and contributions of Latinas/os to the U.S. media from a range of creative positions: producer, performer, director, screenwriter, audience member, and activist. Following an historical overview that focuses on the periods in which Latinas/os were being most actively recuited for participation in, and consumption of, U.S. film and television (such as the early thirties, the forties, and the eighties), there will be a culminating emphasis on the contemporary period, with a survey of the forms taken by Latinas/os participation and key organizations and enterprises involved. The cultural scope is pan-Latino,from New York to Los Angeles, and a range of genres and formats, from documentary to experimental film, and Spanish-language billingual television is covered. Speical topics to be addressed include gender, language, and racial politics, the crossover phenomenon, community media and cultural citizenship, and the growing trend towards transnational production and distribution. The goal is to move beyond issues of stardom and marketing into the interconnected realms of aesthetics, agency, and advocacy.

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