Fathers, Masculinity, and Authoritarianism in Latin American Cinema

How contemporary Latin American filmmakers are using
the father figure to critique political leadership

In this book, through
an analysis of twenty-first-century films created in Latin America, Irina Dzero
argues that contemporary filmmakers are using the figure of the father as a
metaphor for political leadership. Dzero makes the case that the abusive and
controlling fathers in many recent films reflect a growing rejection of predatory
and coercive authority in the region.

The chapters in Fathers,
Masculinity, and Authoritarianism in Latin American Cinema focus on films
made in Peru, Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, and Chile. Dzero
identifies different types of authoritarian leaders represented in these works--the
histrion who basks in the admiration of crowds; the disciplinarian enforcing
rules; the profiteer without principle; the backslapping charmer; the rapist
who awes with transgression; and the scold who berates and gaslights. Many of
these films are based on plays, novels, and memoirs written under oppressive
dictatorships in the 1970s, and Dzero shows how today’s cinematic retellings
revise the original stories to portray children confronting and even defeating
their fathers.

Dzero’s thought-provoking
interpretations establish an innovative new way of understanding societies with
political histories of authoritarianism. By tracking the shift within these
countries toward accountability for leaders and their actions, this volume
demonstrates the potential of creative work to represent, shape, and change cultural
beliefs.

Publication of this work made possible by a Sustaining the Humanities
through the American Rescue Plan grant from the National Endowment for the
Humanities.