Geographies of Violence
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ABSTRACT Title of Document: GEOGRAPHIES OF VIOLENCE: CONTEMPORARY CHRONICLES OF VIOLENCE IN THE AMERICAS Luciana Beroiz, Doctor of Philosophy, 2005 Directed By: Dr. Phyllis Peres Department of Spanish and Portuguese Comparative Literature Program This dissertation analyzes the works of contemporary artists from the Americas who produce representations of urban violence through multi-media chronicles. The chroniclers studied are the Chilean Pedro Lemebel, the Brazilians Paulo Lins, Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund, and the U.S. Latinos Joseph Rodríguez, Rubén Martínez, and Luis Rodríguez. The texts produced by these artists not only represent and explain contemporary geographies of violence but also become geographies of violence that audiences need to learn to inhabit and traverse. This dissertation addresses how the chronicle, in particular, articulates violence, identifies the advantages of using this genre to represent urban violence, considers how existing geographies of violence are distributed within the city and discusses how relevant the notion of space is to both their material development and manifestation and their symbolic presence through the chronicle. The comparative textual analysis of the selected chronicles demonstrates how violence is understood and represented by contemporary artists with different backgrounds and exposes the differences and similarities of their representations. Reading these chroniclers comparatively enables the consideration of a variety of different media through which violence is expressed in order to determine how the choices made by the artists affect the reception of their works. Such analysis allows an in-depth study of what these artists do with the genre of the chronicle: first, how having chosen the chronicle affects their particular renditions of violence; second, how the chronicle as a genre is affected by the specific content of urban violence; and, ultimately, how the chronicle is redefined by specific aesthetic manipulations. Finally, because each of the chroniclers selected for this study engages in translation practices, either as translators of their own work or as translators of other artists’ work, this dissertation considers how their representations of urban violence are affected when they “travel” across a variety of media— that is, not only how the choice of media shapes these artists’ representation of urban violence and their manipulation of the chronicle but also how their translation or transference from one medium to another impacts on their original representation of violence. GEOGRAPHIES OF VIOLENCE: CONTEMPORARY CHRONICLES OF VIOLENCE IN THE AMERICAS By Luciana Beroiz Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2005 Advisory Committee: Professor Phyllis Peres, Chair Professor Lynn Bolles Professor Sandra Cypess Professor Saul Sosnowski Assistant Professor Zita Nunes Dr. Lisa Rose Bradford © Copyright by Luciana Beroiz 2005 Dedication To my parents, Cristina Trivisonno and Roberto Beroiz. Mom, you have sparked my passion for learning and teaching through your own performance as an educator and your unconditional generosity. Dad, your professional dedication and integrity have been and will always be my model to follow. Both of you have taught me to be enthusiastic and responsible about my choices and actions, to do what I love, and to love what I do. To my nephew, Antonio, whom, one day, I hope to inspire with my effort and commitment. ii Acknowledgements I would like to express my profound gratitude to the people who have supported me professionally and personally throughout my PhD studies and the writing of this dissertation. - To the Fulbright Commission, for the opportunity and trust given to me. - To my advisor, Dr. Phyllis Peres, for mentoring me and respectfully responding to my ideas and writing with extremely valuable suggestions. - To each of my committee members, Dr. Zita Nunes, Dr. Lynn Bolles, Dr. Sandra Cypess, Dr. Lisa Bradford and Dr. Saul Sosnowski, for your support, suggestions and time. I was blessed to be surrounded by such caring and dedicated professionals. - To Lisa, my academic mentor and friend, for inspiring me with your love for literature, your zest for scholarship, your commitment to research and your intellectual generosity. - To Dr. Ana Patricia Rodríguez, Joseph Rodríguez, Rubén Martínez, Rodrigo Sá da Bandeira, Marina Silva, Marina Kienast, Pedro Lemebel, and Marcia, for your valuable contribution to my dissertation chapters. iii - To Dr. Merle Collins and Dr. Sangeeta Ray, for your guidance and thought- provoking seminars. - To my dissertation support group and my CMLT colleagues, for your suggestions and continuous help. - To the Rotary Club Puerto Mar del Plata, the Georgia Rotary Student Program, and my “American parents” Margaret-Anne and Walter, for making my first experience as a student in the United States so special and enriching. - To María Luz and Eduardo Corbacho, for encouraging me to study abroad. - To my “Maryland” and my “Mar del Plata” friends, for your care and friendship. - To my brother Nicolás, for believing in my potential and motivating me with yours. - To my parents, for EVERYTHING that I have and I am. Your respect, understanding and love have shown me how to behave personally and professionally in order to make a difference. Thanks to each and every one of you! MUCHAS GRACIAS iv Table of Contents Dedication..................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements......................................................................................................iii Table of Contents.......................................................................................................... v Geographies of Violence: Contemporary Chronicles of Violence in the Americas.... 1 Introduction............................................................................................................... 1 II- Modern “Exiles” vs. “Postmodern Tourists:” Representations of the Urban Experience in the Late Twentieth Century ............................................................. 31 III- The Testimonio and the Contemporary Chronicle: Genres that Voice Realities ................................................................................................................................. 42 Chapter 2: Cidade de Deus: Godless Experiences in a Hellish Geography................ 52 Introduction............................................................................................................. 52 I- Cidade de Deus: Violent Spaces, Fearful Conditions ......................................... 59 II- Cidade de Deus: An Aesthetic of Violence ....................................................... 94 III- Cidade de Deus vs. Cidade dos Homens ........................................................ 108 Chapter 3: Images that Say, Words that Show: Chronicles of Gang Violence in East L.A. ........................................................................................................................... 120 Introduction........................................................................................................... 120 I- Alternative Readings, Alternative Meanings .................................................... 126 III- “Gang Nations:” Practices of Symbolic Violence and the Quest for Visibility ............................................................................................................................... 152 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 170 Chapter 4: “Scarred” realities, Hidden “Pearls:” Pedro Lemebel’s Chronicles of Urban Anger.............................................................................................................. 176 II- Contemporary Chronicles of Social Violence ................................................. 189 III- Dangerous Consumption: Foreign Temptations and Media Lies................... 198 IV- Snapshots of Violence in the Streets of Santiago........................................... 205 V- A Multi-media Aesthetic of Violence.............................................................. 213 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 229 Chapter 5: Conclusions: Morphologies of Fear, Chronicles of Violence................. 234 I- Multi-Media Rhetorical Paradigms of Urban Violence ................................... 234 II- Violent Subjects, Violent Spaces, Frightening Encounters ............................. 250 Works Cited .............................................................................................................. 278 v Geographies of Violence: Contemporary Chronicles of Violence in the Americas Introduction Today […] it may be space more than time that hides consequences from us, the ‘making of geography’ more than the ‘making of history’ that provides the most revealing tactical and theoretical world. Edward Soja A photograph of a young man teaching his baby girl to hold a gun in the living room of their home. A movie scene of a favela gang member ordering a child to kill another child. A narrative of a group of school boys beating their homosexual classmate at recess. A newspaper article about deadly warfare between drug- dealing