The Politics of Mexican Documentary Distribution
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THE POLITICS OF MEXICAN DOCUMENTARY DISTRIBUTION: THREE CASE STUDIES, 1988-2006 By C2009 Manuel Antonio Pérez Tejada Domínguez Submitted to the graduate degree program in Theatre and Film and the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Tamara Falicov ________________________ Chairperson Committee members Charles Berg ________________________ Catherine Preston ________________________ John Tibbetts ________________________ Danny Anderson ________________________ Date Defended: January 13, 2009 The Dissertation Committee for Manuel Antonio Pérez Tejada Domínguez certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: THE POLITICS OF MEXICAN DOCUMENTARY DISTRIBUTION: THREE CASE STUDIES, 1988-2006 Committee: Tamara Falicov ________________________ Chairperson Charles Berg ________________________ Catherine Preston ________________________ John Tibbetts ________________________ Danny Anderson ________________________ Date Approved: ________________ ii Abstract This dissertation examines the politics involved in the distribution of Mexican documentaries during the 1988-2006 period, as a way to pinpoint the factors shaping the circulation of these films. The research explores inequalities in audiovisual distribution, which have affected the circulation of Mexican documentaries in the domestic market. In my argument, I sustain that these inequalities are the result of complex political and economic tensions within the field of cultural production in a country that has entered an era of neoliberalism and transitional democracy. To narrow the scope of this study to feasible and attainable proportions, I analyze three distribution case studies applying a cultural industries approach within critical political economy, informed by Pierre Bourdieu’s field theory and concepts borrowed from cultural studies. The case studies under analysis involved the documentary production and distribution of three production houses. Each of them participates in a different field of cultural production: film, video, or television. These production houses are the film company La Media Luna, the video collective Canal 6 de Julio, and the publishing and video company Clío. By examining these case studies, I highlight what is at stake when some audiovisual texts have greater access to audiences and markets than others. This is important since documentaries have helped to ensure a diversity of voices, both social and political, in the Mexican public sphere. In order to ensure this diversity, it is crucial to understand how Mexican documentaries can gain access to larger Mexican audiences. This is what this dissertation seeks to address. iii Acknowledgements First, I would like to express my enormous gratitude to my superb committee chair, Dr. Tamara Falicov, for her guidance and assistance in planning, writing, and editing this dissertation. Her encouragement and constant support through this process were crucial to finish what at times seemed as an insurmountable task. I would also like to thank my committee members, Dr. Danny Anderson, Dr. Charles Berg, Dr. Catherine Preston, and Dr. John Tibbetts, for their support to this project and their thorough, critical, and insightful suggestions and feedback on this research. My acknowledgements also go to my numerous interviewees. I am very grateful for the cooperation and support I received from many documentary filmmakers, film officials, and film executives who were willing to share with me their experiences, data, and files on documentary distribution. The information I collected through these interviews and electronic messages made a significant contribution to my research work. In many ways, my family made possible the completion of this dissertation. I would like to thank my mother, Ana, my sisters Ana, and Lorena, my brothers Luis, Juan, and Arturo, my brother-in-law Sergio, my nieces, Lorena, Mariana, and Ana Lilián, and my nephews Juan Paulo, and Jorge. Their love and friendship were always my emotional strength and motivation. Finally, I dedicate this dissertation with all my love to my late father, Luis Ángel Pérez Tejada Rodríguez, M.D., who was always my inspiration through this process. He was a pneumologist who years ago silently wished one of his children would become a doctor. iv Table of Contents Acceptance Page ii Abstract iii Acknowledgments iv Table of Contents v Chapter 1. Introduction. 1 Chapter 2 - Juan Carlos Rulfo’s documentary films and theatrical distribution: neoliberal policies, Hollywood, and smoke screens 48 Chapter 3 - Canal 6 de Julio: distribution of social documentaries in an era of neoliberalism 94 Chapter 4 - Walking with Dinosaurs: PRI, Televisa, Clío, and the made-for-television historical documentary 141 Chapter 5 – Conclusions 185 Works Cited 201 Interviews and Email Communication 229 v Chapter 1 Introduction Mexican documentaries have rarely appeared on movie theatre screens, in video releases, or even on public television within their own territory’s distribution circuits. It is well known that documentaries around the world receive limited distribution. Traditionally, academics have explained this circumstance based on the arguably noncommercial status of the documentary genre. Bill Nichols notes that a circuit of documentary distribution works tangentially to the commercial one, either duplicating it or operating in a less commercial form (Representing 15). According to this argument, this occurs because documentaries only appeal to specialized audiences or because their political content becomes problematic for commercial distribution. I believe these assumptions demand further study in order to analyze more in detail why this scarcity in documentary distribution occurs, since the argument has become almost formulaic with no regard for differences in markets, historical contexts and documentaries. Nationally, the limited distribution of Mexican documentaries is a political, economic, and cultural issue. It is possible to trace how these dimensions of the problem have affected, in very particular manners, the distribution of Mexican documentaries in different historical periods. This is a way to initiate a discussion about how distributors give preference to some audiovisual texts over others, making an impact on the repertoire of texts that audiences have available to make sense of their everyday life, that is, as part of the meaning making processes that produce culture. After a strong presence during the early era of Mexican cinema, the production and distribution of Mexican documentaries started to diminish in the 1920s due to a lack of government support and Hollywood’s dominance over distribution circuits. Later, during the so-called golden age of Mexican cinema, documentaries only played a minor role. In the 1 1960s, efforts to spark documentary production clashed with political repression, which confined some documentaries to clandestine circuits. Thereafter, the co-opted state film industry of the 1970s and 1980s, while increasing documentary production, achieved little progress in terms of expanding distribution outside alternative circuits. In this study, I will examine the 1988-2006 period since tensions between economic and cultural aspects of audiovisual production and distribution have intensified during these years. During the 1988-2006 period, audiovisual industries in Mexico faced changes in media policies that mirrored political and economic trends such as neoliberalism. In 1989, faced with the lack of distributors’ interest in documentaries, filmmakers created alternative distribution channels amidst political turmoil (Mendoza "Canal 6" 55; Rovirosa 2: 101). In the mid 1990s, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and ensuing neoliberal media policies sparked the renovation of movie theatres and the birth of a public TV channel (Rosas Mantecón 12). Yet, national and transnational media corporations continued to dominate most audiovisual outlets (García Canclini Consumers 114). At the turn of the century, more Mexican documentaries received theatrical distribution than in previous decades. However, their circulation remained limited when compared to the volume of distribution of other audiovisual products. Relegated to the margins, documentaries have mostly circulated through film festivals, art house circuits, or special screenings. In 2003, distributors overlooked Marcela Arteaga’s Recuerdos (Remembrance, 2003), an award-winning documentary about Jewish immigrants during the Spanish Civil War and World War II. These distributors described the artistic qualities of this film as problematic for commercial distribution (Arteaga Email). This context demands further research. The present analysis of specific case studies of documentary distribution will investigate the impact of political and economic factors on distribution. 2 This research study will examine three case studies of documentary distribution during the 1988-2006 period to pinpoint the factors shaping the circulation of Mexican documentaries. By examining these case studies, I will highlight what is at stake when some audiovisual texts have greater access to audiences and markets than others. This is important since documentaries have helped to ensure a diversity of voices, both social and political, in the Mexican public sphere. In order to ensure this diversity, it is crucial to understand how Mexican documentaries can gain access to larger Mexican audiences.