Literature, Film, and Justice in Neoliberal Argentina, Brazil and Chile
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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO Solidarity at the Margins: Literature, Film, and Justice in Neoliberal Argentina, Brazil and Chile A Dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements of the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Literature by Jennie Irene Daniels Committee in charge: Professor Milos Kokotovic, Co-Chair Professor Luis Martín Cabrera, Co-Chair Professor Jody Blanco Professor Jaime Concha Professor Michael Monteon 2012 Copyright Jennie Irene Daniels, 2012 All rights reserved. The Dissertation of Jennie Irene Daniels is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication on microfilm and electronically: Co-Chair Co-Chair University of California, San Diego 2012 iii Dedication For my family, whose love, patience and constancy guided me along this journey. And for my other “families” and our many adventures. iv Epigraph Por que a cegueira em relação ao próprio sofrimento e ao sofrimento do outro? Por que consentimos na violência se podemos ser solidários? [Why such blindness in the face of one’s own suffering and the suffering of others? Why do we consent to violence when we could be like-minded?] - Jurandir Freire Costa v Table of Contents Signature Page................................................................................................ iii Dedication....................................................................................................... iv Epigraph.......................................................................................................... v Table of Contents............................................................................................ vi Acknowledgements......................................................................................... vii Vita................................................................................................................. ix Abstract of the Dissertation............................................................................ x Introduction........................................................................................ ............ 1 Space, Relationships, and the Constriction of the Middle Classes in Hotel Atlântico and Una sombra ya pronto serás. ................................................... 25 Lessons from the Past: Racial Minorities in Rubem Fonseca and José Miguel Varas ............. .................................................................................................... 67 Elite in Crisis: The Marginalized as a Site of Resistance in La ciénaga and Coronación .................................................................................................... 109 From the City to the Countryside: A Comparative Analysis of Solidarities.. 157 Afterword....................................................................................................... 208 Works Cited................................................................................................... 215 vi Acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to thank my committee members for their countless hours of consultation regarding this project. Their professional support and encouragement throughout the past several years has been indispensable. Aline Lopes in Campinas and Joanna Mastronardi in Buenos Aires generously opened their homes to me as I conducted preliminary research for this dissertation and searched for primary sources in Brazil and Argentina. Their friendships, long hours of conversation, coffee, tea and pastries have also fueled this investigation, and I am grateful to them and their families. In Buenos Aires in particular, several organizations and bookstore staff provided guidance as I began this research: they include Centro Cultural España Buenos Aires, Centro de Documentación e Investigación de la Cultura de Izquierdas en Argentina, Memoria Abierta, and several staff of many bookstores across the city, including Losada, Prometeo, Edipo, and Madres de Plaza de Mayo. Finally, the Academic Year Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship was immeasurably useful in continuing Portuguese language learning; the University of California, San Diego Department of Literature Summer Research Awards enabled travel to Argentina in 2010 and to the libraries on the University of California, Berkeley campus in 2011; and a One-Quarter Dissertation Fellowship and a Mid-Year Research Award from the same department facilitated and expedited the writing process. vii Chapter 3, in part, has been submitted for publication of the material as it may appear in Confluencia: Revista Hispánica , 2012, Daniels, Jennie Irene, University of Northern Colorado, 2012. The dissertation author was the primary investigator and author of this paper. viii Vita 2003 Bachelor of Arts, Point Loma Nazarene University 2007 Master of Arts, University of California, San Diego 2012 Doctor of Philosophy, University of California, San Diego ix ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Solidarity at the Margins: Literature, Film, and Justice in Neoliberal Argentina, Brazil and Chile by Jennie Irene Daniels Doctor of Philosophy in Literature University of California, San Diego, 2012 Professor Milos Kokotovic, Co-Chair Professor Luis Martín Cabrera, Co-Chair This dissertation investigates literature and film of post-dictatorship Argentina, Brazil and Chile. Certain political continuities and the implementation of neoliberal economic policies by transitional regimes, as well as the discrediting of leftist projects x with the fall of the Soviet Union, left the opposition to these policies with few political alternatives. Although the severity and posterior influence of each country’s dictatorship differed, many novels and films of the 1980s and 1990s reconstruct space in such a way that social “others” experience restricted movement or limited possibilities to act. Writers represent spaces in which marginalized characters operate as a labyrinth, as places physically removed from mainstream society, as racially separate, or as seemingly inescapable. In addition to the role of national politics and economics, international intervention plays a large part in the creation of restricting marginalized spaces. I argue that even as these works represent constrictive marginalized spaces, they also construct possibilities for social justice through bonds of solidarity that certain socially marginalized characters form with one another. Solidarity takes the form of communication, building relationships, sharing resources and, in its most developed form in the novels and films, political mobilization. I show how solidarity between characters must be intentional, as well as between society’s marginalized as opposed to solely collaboration with an intellectual vanguard, in order to have the possibility of successful enactment of social justice. Together, these works call for a raised awareness of political, social and economic oppression even as proponents of the neoliberal model hail the economy as the way to access social incorporation. In a time period when there appeared to be few alternatives, these works suggest that a more equal distribution of wealth, resources and political power is not only possible, but that the potential lies within marginalized sectors in solidarity with each other. xi Introduction In recent months, protests have erupted worldwide. From the so-called Arab Spring of 2011 to austerity protests in Europe, and from Southern Cone student movements to the Occupy movement here in the United States, these demonstrations address a wide array of political and economic issues. Yet in spite of disparate foci, many of those involved see a common thread between their protest and those that have occurred elsewhere. Participants seek unity in the face of governments or economic policies that seem benefit only a minority of their nation’s population or the international elite. Solidarity is a key component of these movements, as actors from many sectors of their respective civil societies working together to call attention to target issues and help to produce a more just society. This dissertation investigates earlier, literary and filmic manifestations of solidarity that imagine socially marginalized characters joining together to improve their lives. Many novels and films of post-dictatorship Argentina, Brazil and Chile portray solidarity as a primary means of resistance to injustice. Through a discussion of the historical context and a variety of novels and films of the late 1980s through the early 2000s, I argue that during this period of relatively little political opposition, certain intellectuals continued to imagine the possibility of social justice and to consider solidarity as the basis for social mobilization. A Brazilian therapist and theorist, Jurandir Freire Costa, has asked the perennial questions, “Why such blindness in the face of one’s own suffering and the suffering of others? Why do we consent to violence when we could be like-minded?” 1 2 The second question is even more potent when we consider the connotations of the Portuguese word “ solidários ”: supportive, mutually obligated, like-minded, in solidarity. This question is the epigraph to this dissertation because of its pertinence not only during the dictatorial regimes of the 1960s, 70s, and 80s in the Southern Cone and Brazil, but also because of its continued relevance. Post-dictatorship Argentina, Brazil and Chile produced several authors and filmmakers who represented the increase of marginalization under neoliberalism. An analysis of their work is the