Overview
1. Write a paragraph that contains the following contents:
Part 1: One 150-word statement and/or question related to at least one of the following key terms. (I will list the key terms later, on Tuesday)
Part 2: One 150-word statement and/or question responding to the film. (I will tell you the film later as well)
Part 3: One 150-word analysis connecting the film to one of the key terms. You can use different key terms from part 1.
2. Reply to other two posts, 150 words per response. I will show you the posts that you need to reply later, do the first question first.
Comments: Read the three articles and write 5 comments for each article.
Reply:
Here are the two posts that you need reply, and finish them in 6 hours:
Post 1: Melodrama literally means “music plus drama” and its influence in film as well as other mediums is widespread, especially in Mexican media like the telenovela. It’s a mode of storytelling which aims to heighten emotions and style with the goal of eliciting a response from the audience. As we saw in many of the films from the Mexican Golden Age that we discussed this week, this usually results in flat, stereotypical characters that deliver sensational and sentimental dialogue, like in the hospital scene from Nosotros Los Pobres. This scene has characters completely changing their entire outlook and attitude in response to obtaining singular pieces of information, all backed by an almost overwhelmingly dramatic musical score which is brimming with emotion. These types of films became massive successes, in large part due to how enjoyable they are to consume with a large audience that can cheer, boo, laugh, or cry in response to the over-exaggerated emotional states being acted out on screen (we saw this first-hand during our screening of Aventurera).
Speaking of Aventurera, it follows these descriptors of melodramatic storytelling to a tee. Within the first couple minutes of the film there are multiple shocking reveals (and even a suicide) which are not off-putting in the slightest due to how well the film manages to stay on track. We talked in class about how for a film as “trashy” as this one, it is extremely well-made and maintains nearly perfect narrative clarity throughout for a plot that continuously jumps all over the country. By nature of the simple characters involved, the audience can almost immediately tell what an individual is thinking, feeling, or planning at any given moment of the plot since there isn’t much depth. For many films, this would be a significant drawback, but here it gives more room for the narrative to excel in the absurd twists and turns that it delivers. It also manages to work in discussions on class disparity between the rich, poor, and middle class which seems especially novel for a film of this nature.
Aventurera is also a good example of the star vehicles present in the Golden Age of Mexican Cinema. In the Mora reading from this week, it was discussed how certain actors would have more recognition among the public and even control over the film itself than the directors, writers, or producers of the age. These types of “stars” would usually stick to one genre that they excelled in, and Aventurera is not only an example of the cabaretera genre, but one of the most famous and notable ones (also according to Mora). Ninón Sevilla “was undoubtedly the queen of the cabaretera,” and the narrative highlights of the film were never again matched by the directing/producing group that developed it, but Sevilla had and would continue to have a hugely successful career. These situations were not uncommon and it sounds like some directors would have a massive hit because of the big-name lead actor they were able to get only to be unable to replicate this success in future endeavors.
Post 2: Cultural nationalism is a reflection of national identity. Within films, cultural nationalism can be shown after the ideals of dubbing and the idea of production in which casts were always switched out in order to try to appeal to all audiences of all languages. However, in Mexico, film reproduced cultural nationalism by representing the Mexican Revolution during the Golden Age and producing films with traditions, culture, and customs. These films, while elucidating directly to the Mexican Revolution, also have representations of folklore and art. Along with lecture it is considered this "construction of or belief of a common shared culture." Within the films during this time period, films focused on the Mexican Revolution sharing this common understanding of this shared history and patriotism. Having all the films follow these guidelines, it unified the people in knowing the common struggles that occurred during this specifically hard era.
The film Adventurera is interesting as it is indicative of the dramatic representations of Mexican cinema. In this epic drama that contains sexual content, murder, and death, it focuses on the lead actress named Elena. This film also shows the modernization going on throughout Mexico as this film is taking place. Elena lives in an extravagant home with stairs and banisters and a large interior along with her father and mother. It was surprising to me in the beginning when Elena witnesses her mother having an affair with another man that is not her father. After this, her father commits suicide; therefore leading to her trying to find a job to make money that will allow her to sustain herself and her living expenses. In doing this, she finds jobs that doesn't suit herself and lands a job with a corrupted lady and man. During this job, she must deal with both of them and also the entourage that comes with the job as well.
Classical Mexican cinema goes along the lines of Adventurera. Adventurera focuses on the modernization of cities in Mexico and how they have progressed to become the modern cities that are represented throughout films. This film exhibits Mexico in this transitional state. In this state, the people of Mexico began to understand the differences of rural and urban areas. Rural areas were often perceived as traditional and hard to reach and rather difficult in a sense opposed to urban areas which were difficult in different ways; often corrupted, impoverished, and dangerous. In Adventurera, it serves this ideal well as the city begins to corrupt Elena and put her in dangerous situations; alike to meeting Rengo and almost being cut by him and so forth. This film falls under classical Mexican cinema as it portrays these different ideals in the life of Elena.