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.