Department of Spanish and Portuguese SPN 350K/LAS 370S: The Cuban Revolution: Film and Narrative Prof. César A. Salgado
Unique Number: 45625/39750 Office Hours: BEN 3.140 TTh 2-2:30PM Times: MWF 1-2 Spring 2016 Office Telephone: 232-4517 Room: MEZ 1.204 Email Address: [email protected]
Description: The Cuban Revolution has been both the result and the source of major political debates, disputes and confrontations on the world stage. Very early on, the island's revolutionary regime invested heavily in the arts, building and supporting an "industrial complex" for filmmaking and writing through state-owned cultural institutes, agencies, and publishers such as ICAIC (Cuban Film Arts and Industry Institute), UNEAC (Cuban Writers and Artist Union), and the Casa de las Américas research center. This structure inspired and generated many interpretations of the purpose and the consequences of the Revolution in Cuban history and some of its main protagonists and precursors in great works of literature and film. This course will survey diverse accounts of the Cuban Revolution and of Cuba's pre-Castro history in fictional and documentary films and narrative produced both in the island and abroad by pro- and counter-revolutionary, island and diaspora, Cuban and non- Cuban, and international directors and writers. For the most part, film screenings will take place on Fridays, discussion based on questions about screened films distributed on Fridays will take place on Mondays, and discussion of literature connected to the film (original literary sources in the case of adaptations; local or international reception and criticism of hit movies, etc.) on Wednesdays. After watching a film, students are expected to post impressions and responses to assigned questions on Canvas by noon on Monday to facilitate discussion. The course will be divided into three sections. The first will cover local and foreign- produced films and writings about the 1950s and 60s Cuban revolutionary process-- specially the Sierra Maestra guerrilla insurgency and underground urban resistance led by Fidel and Raúl Castro and Ernesto Guevara against the Fulgencio Batista's dictatorship. We'll study ICAIC and Soviet film and documentary productions done during the first decade of the Revolution, including Historias de la revolución (1960), Yo Soy Cuba (1964), and Memorias del subdesarrollo (1967), and read some of their source materials. We will also consider the recent Steven Soderbergh film 2008 Che (Part 1), about Che Guevara's iconic role in the Revolution and beyond and some of its source materials. The second section will highlight several "period" films about Cuban 19th C. and First Republic (1902-1933) and their historical themes and characters (slavery, revolution from Spain, "founding father" José Martí, the "dance of the millions"). All of these are ICAIC films produced during and after the Revolution's notorious "Stalinist" period known as the "grey years" (1968-1976) based on iconic canonical novels that we'll read to consider the ideological and technical aspects of adaptation in ICAIC literature-to-film productions The third section will focus on "post-Soviet" film and narrative trends and developments, official and extra-official, that have taken place during the years of great economic and ideological turmoil that overtook in Cuba known as the "Special Period." Some questions that we’ll address are: Who are some of the major writers and filmmakers working on stories about the Cuban Revolution worldwide and what are their main works? How radical or experimental does narrative form or film technique get when telling the story of Cuba Revolution and its aftermaths? What role does conventional genre formulas (film noir, melodrama, crime fiction) play? Who benefits from what versions of the story? How differently are these works produced, disseminated, and received in the island from how they are abroad? What roles do the national state and the international market play in the success of these productions?
Films to be covered: Historias de la Revolución (Tomás Gutierrez Alea, 1960) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NNNMWOoojc Soy Cuba (Mikhal Kalatozov 1964) Available through Fandor. Clips available on YouTube. Memorias del subdesarrollo (Tomás Gutierrez Alea, 1967) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biKWerrei5A Che, Part 1 (Steven Soderberg, 2008) Available through Netflix. El otro Francisco (Sergio Giral, 1974) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNkKZ_Tp1VE Cecilia (Humberto Solas, 1982) To be projected during class time. Lucía, Part 1 (Humberto Solás, 1968) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbV_b-WzqSI José Martí: el ojo del canario (Fernando Pérez, 2010) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ff8amV9VWCo La Bella del Alhambra (Enrique Pineda Barnet, 1989) http://www.metacafe.com/watch/7896733/la_bella_del_alhambra_1989/ Conducta impropia (Nestor Almendros/Orlando Jiménez Leal, 1984) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oATGXqa69TA Fresa y chocolate (Tomás Gutiérrez Alea/Juan Carlos Tabío, 1994) http://www.videos.cubacineonline.com/peliculas-cubanas-gratis-y-completas/fresa-y- chocolate-1994 Azúcar amarga (León Ichaso, 1996) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eb8AMXpX2C0Gerar La Habana: Arte Nuevo de Hacer Ruinas (Florian Borchmeyer, 2006) http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xl1b13_habana-arte-nuevo-de-hacer-ruinas Suite Habana (Fernando Perez, 2003) http://www.veoh.com/watch/v62380886jCZWPN8H Juan de los muertos (Alejandro Brugués, 2011) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yzLgobxGEw Texts to be covered: Many of the class sources are available free online to you through the UT Library System. Three books should be bought at the COOP or via Amazon. A fourth book should be purchased as a Kindle or ebook. Other textual materials will be available as pdfs from our Canvas webpage or other sites on the Internet. Works of scholarship available for access online at the UT Library Website: 1. Gale Cuba Encyclopedia. Editors, Alan West-Durán, Victor Fowler-Calzada, Marel García Perez, Louis A. Perez Jr., César A. Salgado, María de los Angeles Torres 2. Ted Henken, Cuba: A Global Handbook 3. Emilio Bejel, Jose Martí: Images of Memory and Mourning Works of fiction available for purchase at the Co-op: 1. Anselmo Suárez y Romero, Francisco o las delicias del campo 2. Miguel Barnet, Canción de Rachel 3. Antonio José Ponte, Arte nuevo de hacer ruinas Work of scholarship to be purchase as a Kindle or ebook 1. Rafael Rojas, Historia mínima de la Revolución Cubana (2015)
Note: I have drawn from the following works of scholarship to prepare and document this course. These books will be on reserve for optional consultation. 1. Michael Chanan, Cuban Cinema (2004); 2. Ann Marie Stock, On Location in Cuba: Filmmaking during Times of Transition (2009) 3. C.Venegas, Digital Dilemmas: The State, the Individual and Digital Media in Cuba (2010)
Grading: Three essays combining literary and film analysis, 3-5 pages each: 45% Final term paper, 8-10 pages: 25 % Class participation and oral reports: 30% These essay assignments will be based on the questions about screenings and readings that I will be posting every Friday. The topic of the final paper is open and should be discussed with the instructor by the end of the term.
CLASS SCHEDULE Week 1 Jan 20 Introduction to the course 22 Introduction and screening of Historias de la Revolución, part one ("El herido") Reading: Ted Henken, Cuba: A Global Handbook, p. 95-121 (Online & Canvas) Rafael Rojas, Hístoria mínima de la Revolución, Intro., ch. 1, 2 Week 2 25 Discussion of Historias. Clips from part II ("Los rebeldes") & III ("Santa Clara") Reading: Gale Cuba Entries: "Film: 1931-1959"; "Film: 1959-1989" Rafael Rojas, Hístoria mínima de la Revolución, ch. 3, 4, 27 Fidel Castro and the July 26 Guerilla Movement Readings: Gale Cuba entry: "The Cuban Revolution of 1959" Fidel Castro,"La historia me absolverá" (Canvas) Rafael Rojas, Hístoria mínima de la Revolución, ch. 5, 6, 7 29 Introduction and screening of the third scene of Soy Cuba Reading: Richard Gott, "From Russian with Love" http://www.theguardian.com/film/2005/nov/12/cuba Week 3 Feb 1 Discussion of Soy Cuba. Clips from part I and II. Reading: Carlos Espinosa Dominguez,“The Mamooth that Wouldn’t Die” (Canvas) 3 From the Bay of Pigs to the Cuban Missile Crisis: The Making of Memorias Readings: Gale Cuba entries "Bay of Pigs Invasion: 1961"; "Cuban Missile Crisis." Rafael Rojas, Hístoria mínima de la Revolución, ch. 8, 9, 10, 11 5 Screening of part one of Memorias del subdesarrollo Readings: Gale Cuba entry: “Memories of Underdevelopment (T Gutiérrez Alea)" Week 4 Feb 8 Discussion of Memorias del subdesarrollo. Readings: Edmundo Desnoes, script of Memories of Underdevelopment translated by Michael Chanan; essays and interviews by Chanan (Canvas pdf) 10 Literature adapting to film: Desnoes rewrites Memorias after the movie Readings: Edmundo Desnoes, versions 1 and 2 of Memorias del subdesarrollo (Canvas pdfs) 12 ICAIC Documentarians: Santiago Alvarez, Sara Gómez, and Rebeca Chávez Readings: Peter Rist, "Agit-prop Cuban Style" (online) http://offscreen.com/view/agit_prop_cuban_style Week 5 Feb 15 Discussion of ICAIC Documentaries and Documentarians Readings: Gale Cuba entry: "Gender: Women Behind the Camera" 17 Ernesto "Che" Guevara as icon, ideologue, intellectual, man of action. Readings: Ernesto Guevara, "El hombre y el socialismo en Cuba," "Carta a Fidel Castro," selections from Pasajes de la guerra revolucionaria (Canvas) Gale Cuba entries “Che Guevara and the New Man,” “Che Guevara, Social and Political Thought” 19 Screening of Part 1 of Soderbergh's Che. Readings: Amy Taubin, "Why Che?" https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/1350-why-che Rafael Rojas, Hístoria mínima de la Revolución, ch. 12, 13 First paper due Week 6 22 Discussion of Che. Other clips from movie. Readings: Gale Cuba entry o “Guerrillero Heroico (Korda)” J.P. Spicer-Escalante, “From Korda’s Guerrillero Heroico to Global Brand: Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara” (Canvas) 24 Context and consequences of the Quinquenio Gris. Readings: Selection of poems from Fuera de juego by Heberto Padilla (Canvas) Rafael Rojas, Hístoria mínima de la Revolución, ch. 14, 15, 16, 17 26 Introduction to Sergio Giral and screening of El otro Francisco Reading: Gale Cuba entry "Gómez, Guillén, Giral: Three Underappreciated Filmmakers" Ashley Clark, "Sergio Giral: a giant of Cuban cinema" (online) Anselmo Suárez y Romero, Francisco, part 1 Week 7 29 Discussion of El otro Francisco and Sergio Giral's career Readings: Judylyn Ryan, "Dismantling Slavery's Master Narratives" (Canvas) Mar 2 Discussion of Francisco o las delicias del campo Readings: Anselmo Suárez y Romero, Francisco, finish. 4 Introduction to Humberto Solás and partial screening of Cecilia Readings: Michael Chanan, "Humberto Solás" http://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/sep/20/cuba Week 8 7 Screening of Cecilia, ctnd. Introduction to Cirilo Villaverde Readings: Chapter selection from C. Villaverde's Cecilia Valdés (Canvas) 9 Discussion Cecilia Valdés Readings: Chapter selection from C. Villaverde's Cecilia Valdés (Canvas) 11 Screening of Humberto Solás' Lucía (part 1) SPRING BREAK Week 9 21 Introduction to José Martí as icon of Cuban revolution Readings: E. Bejel, José Martí: Images of Memory and Mourning, ch. 1,2 (Canvas) Gale Cuba entries "José Martí: Political Essays"; "José Martí: Exile in New YorK" 23 On Martí's youth and political radicalization in 1860s Cuba Readings: José Martí, El presidio político en Cuba (Canvas) 25 Introduction to Fernando Pérez. Partial screening of El ojo del canario Readings: Julio Ramos, "Fernando Pérez o las alternativas del cine cubano" http://www.80grados.net/fernando-perez-o-las-alternativas-del-cine-cubano/ Week 10 28 Discussion of El ojo del canario and its polemic in Cuba Readings: E. Bejel, José Martí: Images of Memory and Mourning, ch. 3 (Canvas) Walfrido Cancio Isla, "Dos miradas críticas a José Martí" (online) http://cafefuerte.com/cine/742 30 Miguel Barnet, la novela testimonial y Canción de Rachel Readings: Miguel Barnet, Canción de Rachel April 1 Introduction to Enrique Pineda Barnet, screening of La bella del Alhambra Readings: Selection on EPB by Michael Chanan from Cuban Cinema (Canvas) Second paper due Week 11 4 Discusión de La bella del Alhambra as adaptation of Canción de Rachel Reading: From Roberto González Echevarría, "Fiesta and Film in Cuba" (Canvas) 6 Fresa y chocolate as adaptation phenomenon on the outset of the Special Period Reading: Senel Paz, "El lobo, el bosque y el hombre nuevo" (Canvas) Ted Henken, Cuba: A Global Handbook 143-154 (Canvas) 8 Partial screening of "Fresa y chocolate" Reading: Gale Cuba entry "Sexuality: Gay and Lesbian Representation in Cuban Art, Film, and Literature" Week 12 11 Discussion of Fresa y chocolate and "El lobo, el bosque y el hombre nuevo" Reading: E.M.Santi,"Fresa y Chocolate: The Rhetoric of Cuban Reconciliation" (C.) 13 Visualizing the Special Period in Cuba from Within and from Without Reading: Gale Cuba Entries “Film: Cuban Cinema of the Diaspora”; "Economy: Special Period"; “Sexuality: Jinetera and the Special Period”; "Rafter Crisis: 1994" 15 Introduction to León Ichaso and Partial Screening of Azúcar amarga Reading: César A. Salgado, "Re-viewing Bitter Sugar Twenty Years After" (online) Week 13 18 Discussion of Azúcar amarga. Tentative Skype interview with León Ichaso 20 Viewing revolutionary ruins from within: poet and writer Antonio José Ponte Reading: Selections from Ponte, Un arte de hacer ruinas 22 Presentation and Screening of "La Habana: arte nuevo de hacer ruinas" Reading: Lucia M. Suárez, "Ruin Memory - Havana Beyond the Revolution" (C.) Week 14 25 Discussion of "Arte nuevo" with clips from Fernando Pérez's Suite Havana Reading: Gale Cuba entries “Suite Habana”; “Film: 1989-2010” 27 "Dirty realism" in fiction and film: Pedro Juan Gutierrez's abject narrative Reading: Selections from Pedro Juan Gutiérrez, Carne de perro (Canvas) Gale Cuba entry "Dirty Havana Trilogy (Pedro Juan Gutiérrez)" 29 Presentation of Gerardo Chijona and screening of Boleto al Paraíso Reading: Fernando Pérez, "Gerardo Chijona, cámara y audacia" (online) Week 15 May 2 Discussion of "Boleto al Paraíso" as filmic dirty realism Reading: Selections from Marta Hernández-Galván, Mínima Cuba (Canvas) 4 Ruins in independent genre horror and sci fi films: Juan de los Muertos Reading: Emily Maguire, "Walking Dead in Havana" (Canvas) 6 Sci fi as genre in recent Cuban fiction: The Work of Yoss (Miguel Angel Sánchez) Reading: J. Wolfe, "Sci Fi Writerss Find Warmer Climate Amid Cuban Thaw" Selection from Yoss, Se alquila un planeta (Canvas) Third paper due Last paper due May 13 at 4PM
Make-up policy: If you fail to turn in homework and essays on the dates due, you lose the full points. Only serious illness or accident or a real family emergency will count as a valid excuse. Students with Disabilities: The instructors will make themselves available to discuss appropriate academic accommodations for students with a disability. These students may be required to provide documentation from the Office of the Dean of Students-Services for Students with Disabilities. By UT Austin policy, you must notify me of your pending absence at least fourteen days prior to the date of observance of a religious holy day. If you must miss a class, an examination, a work assignment, or a project in order to observe religious holidays, you will be given an opportunity to complete the missed work within a reasonable time after the absence.