Filmic Context: Print--OnlineBach, Caleb. "Maria Luisa Bemberg tells the Untold." Americas March 1994: 20.
Caleb's article tells the story of Maria Luisa Bemberg. Coming from an upper-class Argentinian family, Bemberg felt oppressed by the limitation of propriety imposed on upper-class young women and decided, at 56, to denounce the double standard that exists in society regarding men and women. She began her careeer as a screenwiter, and then she decided that "no man could understand what was happening with the new awareness of women," so she decided to start directing films herself (2). Her six films propose images of independent women, who have the courage to protest and oppose the male-dominated society. Bemberg herself had to fight the oppression of the military regime that had the power in Argentina which curtailed the freedom of expression. Her movie Camila (1984) gained an Oscar nomination for best foreign film.
Bergmann, Emilie. "Abjection and Ambiguity: Lesbian Desire in Bemberg's "Yo, la peor de todas." Hispanisms and Homosexualities. Ed. Sylvia Molloy and Robert McKee Irwin. Durham: Duke UP, 1998.
Bergmann analyzes the homoerotic overtones of the film found in the relationship between Sor Juana and the Vicereine (Marquise de Lara). The author emphasizes the failure of the film to represent a Juana who has lesbian desires apart from their expression in the poems dedicated to the Vicereine. Bergmann's argument contains valuable scene analyses, with commentary on the lighting and camera angles, as well as the soundtrack.
Burton-Carvajal, Julianne. "Introduction: Changing Gender Perspectives in Latin American Film." Journal of Film and Video 44. 3-4 (Fall-Winter 1992-93): 3.
Burton's article is the introduction to a special issue of the Journal on Film and Video dedicated to Latin American cinema, which represents a review of the main names in this field and their increasing influence on international filmmaking. The films reviewed focus on gender as a category of cinematic discourse. Bemberg's name is mentioned in connection with her two movies, Camila and I, the Worst of All, and is included in the context of the discussion of Latin American film.
Carson, Diane, Linda Dittmar, and Janice R. Welsch, eds. Multiple Voices in Feminist Film Criticism. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 1994.
The book contains different essays representing perspectives on issues such as feminist film theory, race and gender representations in cinema, the politics of film canons, male and female spectator positions, and different other issues pertaining to the representation of women in film. It is recommended to those who have experience in film and/or literary criticism.
Erens, Patricia, ed. Issues in Feminist Film Criticism. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1990.
Issues is a collection of critical essays on film that take into account feminist perspectives on movies today. It is recommended to those who already have training in reading and analyzing movies, as it contains "hard core" criticism that comments on different representations of women in cinema (lesbians included), as well as spectator issues.
King, John. Magical Reels: A History of Cinema in Latin America. London & New York: Verso, 1990.
King attempts the difficult task of reconstructing a history of Latin American cinema, analyzing its different currents, from the silent era until the present. He undertakes this in the hope to prove wrong the English-speaking film critics who consider worthy of discussion only the period after the 1950s in Latin American cinema, known as the "New Cinema." Proving that this cinema cannot be stereotyped and filed under the label "Third World Cinema," King analyzes unfolding and overlapping histories of film on the South American continent. As for the title, "the phrase 'magical reels' refers to two arguments that permeate the book. The first attempts to cut through the myths of utopia and distopia which have surrounded the continent since it was originally 'named' by conquistadores and chroniclers in the sixteenth century. If this study seeks to demystify, it also hopes to underscore the continual fascination with the medium that drove the film-makers to produce work against the odds" (5).
Pick, Zuzana M. "An Interview with Maria Luisa Bemberg." Journal of Film and Video 44. 3-4 (Fall-Winter 1992-93): 76.
Bemberg asserts in this interview her desire to make films about women and to change the "uninteresting" representations of women in Latin American cinema (78). Generally presented as lacking agency and original thought, women are restricted to the erotic and the romantic realms in film. Bemberg intends to break the stereotype in Camila and I, the Worst of All, and concentrates on the energetic, dynamic side of these women, emphasizing their agency and their courage in opposing opression and denouncing abuse of authority. She recognizes in Juana "the first modern feminist writer" (78).
Ramirez, Susan E. "I, the Worst of All: The Literary Life of Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz." Based on a True Story: Latin American History at the Movies. Ed. Donald F. Stevens. Wilmington: SR Books, 1997. 47-62.
The article summarizes the film, emphasizing how Bemberg follows Octavio Paz's book in depicting life in convent and the convent itself as the center of culture and learning, not only because it was a school for young girls, but because of the presence of Juana, who had veritable literary "salons," entertaining her friends in the locutory. Ramirez discusses how the film focuses on the fight for power between the church and the state, and how Juana was unknowingly caught in its web. She also comments on the issues that the film poses, such as homoeroticism, the reason why Juana entered the convent, and Juana's feminism.
Turner, Graeme. Film as Social Practice. New York: Routledge, 1988.
Turner's book is destined to familiarize the reader with the way movies are made and analyzed by critics. It is a useful book for those who are not used to "reading" film in a critical way, and it contains comments on film language, film narrative, audiences, and the impact of film on culture and ideology.
Williams, Bruce. "The Reflection of a Blind Gaze: Marial Luisa Bemberg, Filmmaker." A Woman's Gaze: Latin American Women Artists. Ed. Marjorie Agosin. New York; White Pine Press, 1998. 171-90.
The book details the contribution of Latin American women artists to the construction of female subjectivity and explores the traditions they all share. This is a group of artists who remained largely ignored and who create outside of the confines of consumerism. The essay dedicated to Maria Luisa Bemberg dwells on Bemberg's articulation of her own views on women, on her way of making women (and their inner lives) the protagonists of her films. Williams comments on how her movies are autobiographical to some extent, and most of them reflect the loneliness and alienation that a woman has to face when she tries to break free from the confines of patriarchy. The article also contains a short biography of Bemberg, along with an analysis of Camila.
Latin American Film Page
http://www.igc.org/jhess/LACHOME.html
The Latin American Cinema Page was conceived to facilitate the search for information about Latin American cinema and other related topics. It also contains links to websites about Latin American cinema, film clubs, and magazines. These sites are in both Spanish and English.
Latin America, Spain, and Portugal: Internet Resources
http://www.lib.duke.edu/ias/latamer/internet.htm
From Duke University, this is a website that contains Latin American and Iberian links pertaining to cultural studies.
Copyright (c) 2000 by Irina Negrea, graduate student at Lehigh University
This text may be used in accordance with the fair-use provisions of the U.S. copyright law, and it may be archived and redistributed in electronic form, provided that the author is notified and no fee is charged for access. Archiving, redistribution, or republication of this text on other terms, in any medium, requires the consent of the author.