The Question of Class in Contemporary Latin American Cinema responds to the renewed interest in class within and outside academia by examining the aesthetics and politics of class in a representative selection of films from the contemporary cinemas of Venezuela, Cuba, Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina. It explores the relationship of cinematic practices to conflicting socio-political transformations taking place in these five countries such as the intensification of neoliberalism, the Turn-to-the-Left, and the growth of the middle classes in the period from 2003 to 2015. Utilizing a critical comparative method , it sheds a critical light on the presumed depoliticization (or new, aestheticized politicization) of contemporary Latin American cinema. The combined textual and industrial analyses of films from strikingly different cinemas and directors through the lenses of class allows for a contextualization of this trend and the observation of its limitations. Furthermore, this book distinguishes cinematic figurations that correspond to new conceptualizations of class introduced in social studies from figurations of class that have yet to be conceptualized.

This volume examines some of the ways that Brazil has been represented and seeks to represent itself in popular media. It looks at social inequalities, racial divisions, and legacies of political restructuring as it illuminates the challenges and opportunities that the nation faces at present and going into preparations for and recovery from the upcoming mega events, both the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics. Drawing on the expertise of scholars in the fields of film and media studies, political science, social movement analysis, and cultural studies this volume features chapters examining the role of stereotyped Brazilian identity and myths of what it means to be Brazilian, the growing interest in favela-slum-culture, and sites of resistance in contemporary Brazilian society.