Mediating Two Worlds: Cinematic Encounters in the Americas

The five hundredth anniversary of the landing of Columbus in the Americas was the occasion for a prolonged debate on the consequences for both Americans and Europeans of that fateful event. Now another anniversary looms, the centenary of the invention of the cinema, a moment in its way no less revolutionary in its effect on consciousness. Cinematic encounters between Europe and America have taken place almost throughout the entirety of this period.
This collection of essays is the first to take stock of mutual enrichment that has been the result. In the first half of the book, the contributors explore the many and varied ways in which European and North American cinemas have attempted to represent the societies of Latin America. In the second part, the focus shifts to Latin American cinema in its own terms.

John King is Senior Lecturer in Latin American Cultural History at the University of Warwick. Manuel Alvarado is Head of Education in the Research Division of the British Film Institute. Ana M. Lopez is Associate Professor of Communications at Tulane University, where she teaches Film and Cultural Studies with a Latin American focus.