Wikipedia Article Topic

The article that I am considering on expanding on and improving is called “Latin American cinema.” After viewing a number of articles on Wikipedia, this one appeared to be quite brief for such a broad topic. It mostly includes a short synopsis of the history of film in Latin America, as well as a small list of movies and filmmakers that were pivotal to a few Latin American countries. One positive aspect of the article, however, is that it provides a series of hyperlinks towards the bottom of the page which gives more information about cinema that pertains to each Latin American country.

Primarily, I would like to elaborate on the relation of the United States with Latin American film. The article itself includes solely a sentence of how a Latin American film movement has occurred within the United States and offers one example. However, I would like to add to this because the audience of a film is integral. For example, there have been several Latin American film festivals within the Untied States, including the New York Latino Film Festival which is “widely hailed as the the premier Latino event in the country.” (https://filmfreeway.com/festival/NewYorkLatinoFilmFestival). I think it would be interesting to include information about this event and the objectives for bringing Latino films to an American audience.

On the talk page, Wikipedians only discuss some edits of various citations, so the content of the articles is not greatly considered. This is where I find fault because I am certain that a lot of information can be added. Another example can be extracted from Yale News. The university holds a Latino and Iberian film festival annually and the 2016 event was very “important in unifying the Latin American immigrant community during a divisive political moment.” (http://yaledailynews.com/blog/2016/11/16/film-festival-highlights-latin-american-culture/). With film festivals like these, we see a sort of cross-cultural encounter, which can relate to our course themes. The identity of Latin America can be revealed through cinema, allowing audiences to gain a better understanding of a culture that differs than that of their own. 

4 thoughts on “Wikipedia Article Topic

  1. Tanaka

    Awesome analysis! I do share your view that in analyzing a film, it is important to consider its intended audience. Your article suggests to me that films are made for the viewers, not for the actors. It seems such an obvious thing, but I had never thought of it before. Thanks for sharing this!

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  2. Jovi

    I liked your unique analysis as well. I found the same issue when looking into Latin American music. It was a broad topic with few and scattered (time periods) articles. I think its great you already found other sources to use for when you revise/add to the wiki page.

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  3. Maggie

    This is a very interesting idea that I never thought of. Is there anything in particular between the relationship of Latin American film and the United States that you are thinking of mentioning, other then the New York Film Festival? Have Latin American films impacted the way Americans have viewed things? Are the producers of Latin American Films Latino? Has there been a film that had an American producer, and if so, how did the popularity of this film compare in Latin American countries and in the U.S.?

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  4. Cesar

    I know a lot can be gained about a culture from the arts, especially from movies and media representation. Oddly for some reason your blog post reminded me of an iconic (slightly problematic and not “politically correct”) character, “La india Maria” played by actress María Elena Velasco. Growing up her movies were iconically hilarious and ended playing an important cultural significance in the development and presentation of Latin America, especially Mexico within the first-generations of American born latinos. So by you researching more into the role of the United States, which is considered to be a huge center for cinematic works appealing to international audiences, in relation to Latin American film productions would be a great topic to further explore.

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