1 the Nafta Spectacle: Envisioning Borders
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The NAFTA Spectacle: Envisioning Borders, Migrants and the U.S.-Mexico Neoliberal Relation in Visual Culture Item Type text; Electronic Dissertation Authors Wilson, Jamie Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 27/09/2021 05:25:38 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/299070 1 THE NAFTA SPECTACLE: ENVISIONING BORDERS, MIGRANTS AND THE U.S.- MEXICO NEOLIBERAL RELATION IN VISUAL CULTURE by Jamie A. Wilson __________________________ Copyright © Jamie Wilson 2013 A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY WITH A MAJOR IN SPANISH In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 2013 2 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA GRADUATE COLLEGE As members of the Dissertation Committee, we certify that we have read the dissertation prepared by Jamie A. Wilson, entitled The NAFTA Spectacle: Envisioning Borders, Migrants and the U.S. – Mexico Neoliberal Relation in Visual Culture” and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. _______________________________________________________________________ Date: (Enter Date) Dr. Laura Gutiérrez _______________________________________________________________________ Date: (Enter Date) Dr. Javier Duran _______________________________________________________________________ Date: (Enter Date) Dr. Laura Briggs Final approval and acceptance of this dissertation is contingent upon the candidate’s submission of the final copies of the dissertation to the Graduate College. I hereby certify that I have read this dissertation prepared under my direction and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement. ________________________________________________ Date: (Enter Date) Dissertation Director: Dr. Laura Gutiérrez 3 STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This dissertation has been submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this dissertation are allowable without special permission, provided that an accurate acknowledgement of the source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the copyright holder. SIGNED: Jamie A. Wilson 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS While writing a dissertation can be a solitary experience, it is but one element of a much larger social scholarly endeavor that could not be survived, nor much less enjoyed, without the friendship and intellectual support of many individuals. I wish to express my gratitude to the people who have guided and assisted me thus far in my academic journey. This dissertation was inspired in great part by my studies with my dissertation committee members, Dr. Laura Gutiérrez, Dr. Javier Duran and Dr. Laura Briggs, each of whom imparted on me their extensive expertise in their fields of study. I wish to thank my director, Dr. Laura Gutiérrez, for introducing me to the study of visual culture and for her unending patience, in-depth feedback on my writing, and continuous support throughout my graduate studies. Similarly, I am grateful to Dr. Javier Duran for his teachings in Border Studies and for his guidance. I also extend my gratitude to Dr. Laura Briggs for her mentorship, feedback and for inspiring and challenging me. I also wish to thank the Department of Spanish and Portuguese for developing and supporting the Border Studies track. Similarly, I wish to thank Dr. Malcolm Compitello for his generous support, thoughtful guidance and unending dedication to the development of his students as professional scholars. I also wish to thank the many inspirational teachers I have had over the years, in particular Dr. Paul Robbins, Dr. Mercedes Niño-Murcia and Kathy Routh. I also want to thank my friends and classmates for their mutual support and kindness. In particular, I am grateful to my fellow Borderologos, Andrés Guzmán, Willie Costley, Claudia Salgado de la Rosa Fuller, Alejandrina Barajas and Beatriz Jiménez, for their solidarity. I also thank Dr. Eva Romero, Olimpia Rosenthal and Dr. Susan Divine for their travel companionship. I also wish to thank my office mates, Tasha Campbell, Leslie O’Toole, Tacila Bezerra, Brian Funk, Erin Vinton, and Dr. Juliana Luna Freire, for “keeping it real” and my fellow lab mates, Kristin Helland, Mike Child, Jessica Zeitler, Maria Silvia Montenegro, Liliana Castañeda González, Joseph Casillas and Laura Vasquez Blazquez, for the camaraderie. Similarly, I thank Andrea Pope and Dr. Errol King for their invaluable insight on reading and gender performance. I also extend my appreciation to Dr. Lucy Blaney-Laible, Maisa Taha, Peri Costley, Steve Sagin, Cathy Gawronski, Linda Luft and Dr. Silvia Rode for their faithful friendship. I owe my deepest gratitude to my family who has loved and supported me throughout my lifetime, most of which I have spent as a student. In particular, I wish to thank my mom, Penny, for her love and for reminding me in countless letters and cards to enjoy each day. And thank you to my Dad, Jim, for the laughs, the boat rides and for teaching me to slow down. I also extend my gratefulness to all of my grandparents for their years of encouragement. Thank you to my sister, Kim, for the unabridged understanding. I am sincerely grateful to my loving husband, Cheo, for his patience, support, cariño y amor. I also wish to thank my sister-in-law Ana for her guidance and my nieces Annabelle and Sophia, who inspire me to do great things. 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ 8 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 9 The Neoliberal Dispositif: ........................................................................................................ 11 Structure of Dissertation ......................................................................................................... 22 CHAPTER ONE: THE FRONTERA AS FRONTIER .................................................... 31 Unexpected Oppression: Anti-immigration Rhetoric and Outdoor Exploration Texts ................................................................................................................................................ 37 Environmental Discourses: Protecting the Natural Environment for Some or for All? .................................................................................................................................................... 40 Frontier Adventure in the Wilderness: Defining the Borderlands ......................... 44 The “Migrant Highway” and the “Garbage Dump”: Imagining Migrants as Polluting Invaders ...................................................................................................................... 48 “Victoria’s Dirty Secret” and The “Swiss Miss”: Ventriloquizing Contaminating and Vulgar Migrants .................................................................................................................. 66 “It’s a Drug Battle Ground”: Crafting the Borderlands as the Frontline on the War on Drugs and the Border Crosser as Drug Smuggler .......................................... 96 “It’s an Occupied Territory": Manifest Destiny in the Twenty-First Century ... 107 CHAPTER TWO: THE SPECTACLE OF DETENTION AND REMOVAL: ENVISIONING AND DISAPPEARING MIGRANTS ON THE AMERICAN FRONTIER ..................................................................................................................... 114 Visual Production of the Lived Conditions of Detainability and Deportability 122 Embedding the Military in the Media: “Observational Doc” Style and “Scientific Credibility” .................................................................................................................................. 125 “You are a Border Agent”: Inviting the Spectator to adopt the Militarized Gaze of the Border and Migrant ......................................................................................................... 135 “The Shadow Wolves: Border Warriors”: The Border Spectacle on the Tohono O’odham Frontier ..................................................................................................................... 159 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 165 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS — Continued CHAPTER THREE: SCREENING NAFTA: BORDERS, MIGRATION, FLEXIBLE CITIZENSHIP AND NEOLIBERALISM IN MEXICAN FILM .................................. 170 Neoliberalism as the Directors Imagine It ...................................................................... 179 Post-NAFTA Mexican Cinema .............................................................................................. 180 Synopses of Sin dejar huella and Sleep Dealer ............................................................... 190 “Traigo divisas al país, es lo que hay que hacer en estos