The Reel Latina/O Soldier in American War Cinema
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Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 10-26-2012 12:00 AM The Reel Latina/o Soldier in American War Cinema Felipe Q. Quintanilla The University of Western Ontario Supervisor Dr. Rafael Montano The University of Western Ontario Graduate Program in Hispanic Studies A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree in Doctor of Philosophy © Felipe Q. Quintanilla 2012 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Film and Media Studies Commons Recommended Citation Quintanilla, Felipe Q., "The Reel Latina/o Soldier in American War Cinema" (2012). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 928. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/928 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE REEL LATINA/O SOLDIER IN AMERICAN WAR CINEMA (Thesis format: Monograph) by Felipe Quetzalcoatl Quintanilla Graduate Program in Hispanic Studies A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of PhD in Hispanic Studies The School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies The University of Western Ontario London, Ontario, Canada © Felipe Quetzalcoatl Quintanilla 2012 THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN ONTARIO School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies CERTIFICATE OF EXAMINATION Supervisor Examiners ______________________________ ______________________________ Dr. Rafael Montano Dr. William A. Nericcio Supervisory Committee ______________________________ Dr. Silvia Perpiñán ______________________________ Dr. Victoria Wolff ______________________________ Dr. Anabel Quan-Haase ______________________________ Dr. Juan Luis Suárez The thesis by Felipe Quetzalcoatl Quintanilla entitled: The Latina/o Soldier in American War-minded Cinema is accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of PhD in Hispanic Studies ______________________ _______________________________ Date Chair of the Thesis Examination Board ii Abstract This study carries out archaeological research around the representation of the Latina/o soldier in American war-minded cinema. The theoretical orientation is comprised of a synthesis of sociological, New Historical, and genre-studies frameworks. I start from the assumption that images of Latinas/os in war-minded cinema—whether “negative” or “positive,” marginal or center-stage—come to propose, and in most cases reinforce, modes of “being” in the nation. Whether in the form of a colourful tokenism, vile-stereotypes, or suspect models of identity, these representations are hardwired to prescribe specific valances, to heed or to follow, of patriotism, sacrifice and positionality vis-á-vis the (white) heroes and all Others. It is by way of these prescriptions, I propose, that the filmic bodies of Latinas/os are effectively mobilized through the spaces opened up by war: those spaces typically imagined as being part of the homefront/warfront, as well as those less obvious sites forming around the imaginaries of the past, present and future, class, gender, language and citizenship. In sum, the tales of mobility we will encounter are ultimately also narratives of assimilation whereby the Latina/o is finally “accepted” into the fold of the nation. Of course, there are certainly films where the Latina/o is represented in more ambiguous terms. Hence, the Latina/o may be altogether absent from the narrative, for instance, or present in such a way that the predominant mobilization of his/her currency is challenged. It is here, I argue, where the Latina/o may transcend the tyranny of the “negative/positive,” in order to find a more richly represented existence. There are a small number of articles which have tangentially touched on the representation of a few Latino-soldier characters and a few others focusing specifically on the emergence of the warring Latina. As there is no current work holistically tackling the representation of the Latina/o soldier in war films, this dissertation aims to be the first comprehensive approach. Keywords Motion pictures, United States, Hispanic Americans, Latina/o studies, war film, ethnic representation, Second World War, Vietnam War, Korean War, Cold War, Gulf War, War on terror, homefront, warfront, imagined nation, stereotypes, models of identity, film stars, Mexican-American history, Mexican American culture, Hollywood, Hollywood history iii Acknowledgments I am forever indebted to my professors, colleagues and friends who have inspired me on my path. I would not be writing these words had it not been for you. Thus, I thank my grade eleven English teacher, Monsieur Charland, who fresh out of school came to us with music and queer readings of Shakespeare. I credit my academic mother/father, Dr. Rosalía Cornejo- Parriego, in whose classes I first heard the concepts, names and images that have come to influence this very work, as likewise I thank the other great professors at the University of Ottawa who also had a hand at turning me on to literature, film and criticism: Dr. Gastón Lillo, Dr. Juana Liceras, Dr. Guillermo Renart, Dr. Rodney Williamson, and Dr. Fernando de Diego. I thank the kind professors at the University of Western Ontario: Dr. Joyce Bruhn de Garavito, Dr. Dominique Russell, Dr. Juan Luis Suárez, and Dr. Christopher Gittings. Special words of appreciation should go to Dr. Nandi Bhatia who first opened my eyes to the possibility of pursuing the PhD, as well as to el condenado Dr. William A. Nereccio (from San Diego State University, in Califas) whose many ideas I have stolen taken for the purposes of this study. I am infinitely agradecido towards my dear supervisor, friend and fellow salvatrucha, Dr. Rafael Montano. Big gracias also go out to my insightful second reader, Dr. Victoria Wolf, librarian extraordinaire Peggy Ellis, Teresa Aconito, the vatos locos Rolando Aguilera-Moradipour and Kennet Schmitz, Miharu Miyasaka, Mike Gordon, Russell Burrell, Steve Marty, Agnieszka Herra, Dr. Shiddarta Vasquez, los tres gatos Dr. Andrea Ávila Becerril, Manuel Sánchez López and Randol Pérez Alas, Dr. Eduard Arriaga, Dr. Marie Eugenia de Luna Villalón, my Twitter informants (#FF xicano007, sjrivera, Chicano_Soul, eyegiene, mividavixen, AztlanReads, SheriBiesen, herreraylozano, NickRivera, mexicanwoman, ginaruiz, torqueflite, sordaradical, brownboyrocks, luisracuna, GustavoArellano, AztecMuse, sarachild, iamsharpe, SheriBiesen, BobbyRiversTV), and my dear carnales Juan G. Sánchez and Dr. Gerardo Barajas-Garrido. Finally, mil gracias a mi familia: my abuelitos Felipe and Josefina Nava, my parents Dolores and Mario Quintanilla, my tío-guerrillero Chito, my tío-soldado José, mi hermano Itzcoatl, mi hermana Ayenia, my ex-partner-in-all-crimes, Ivonne, and our little monster, Emma Nicte-ha. iv Table of Contents CERTIFICATE OF EXAMINATION ........................................................................... ii Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iii Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................. iv Table of Contents ................................................................................................................ v List of Figures .................................................................................................................. viii Preface................................................................................................................................ ix Chapter 1 ............................................................................................................................. 1 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 2 ............................................................................................................................. 6 2 Hi/story, War Film and Archaeology ............................................................................. 6 2.1 A Hi/story of Representation .................................................................................. 6 2.2 Genre, Temporality and Archaeology ................................................................... 15 2.2.1 Genre ......................................................................................................... 15 2.2.2 Temporality ............................................................................................... 29 2.2.3 Archaeology .............................................................................................. 42 Chapter 3 ........................................................................................................................... 51 3 Latina/o representation ................................................................................................. 51 3.1 Between Stereotypes and Models of Identity ....................................................... 51 3.2 Latina/o Brownness ............................................................................................... 60 3.2.1 Whiteness /Brownness .............................................................................. 69 3.2.2 Latina/o Brownness .................................................................................