University of Southampton Research Repository ePrints Soton Copyright © and Moral Rights for this thesis are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder/s. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given e.g. AUTHOR (year of submission) "Full thesis title", University of Southampton, name of the University School or Department, PhD Thesis, pagination http://eprints.soton.ac.uk UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON FACULTY OF HUMANITIES Film Studies The Representation of Hispanic masculinity in US cinema 1998-2008: Genre, Stardom and Machismo by Victoria Lynn Kearley Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy May 2014 UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON FACULTY OF HUMANITIES Film Studies Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy ABSTRACT The Representation of Hispanic masculinity in US cinema 1998-2008: Genre, Stardom and Machismo Victoria Lynn Kearley This thesis examines how the conventions of four distinct genres, the star personas of two key Hispanic male stars and conceptions of Hispanic men as 'macho' intersected in constructing images of Hispanic masculinity in Hollywood between the years 1998 and 2008. The work makes an original contribution to knowledge as the first extensive study of Hispanic masculinity in contemporary Hollywood and affording new insights into the way in which genre conventions and star personas contributed to these representations. The structure is based around four genre based case studies. The first analyses how Hispanic masculinity has been represented in action adventure films, with a specific focus on Antonio Banderas' performances in The Mask of Zorro (1998) and Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003). The second case study chapter examines representations of Hispanic masculinity in the contemporary family film, its two case studies being the male members of the Cortez family of spies in Spy Kids (2001) and the animated Puss in Boots in Shrek 2 (2004). The third focuses on the cross genre form of the border film discussing images of Mexican masculinity in the drug trafficking drama Traffic (2000),with a specific focus on the performance of Benicio Del Toro, and border Western The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005). The fourth and final case study chapter centres around the representation of Hispanic masculinity in contemporary Biopics, analysing the performances of Banderas in And Staring Pancho Villa as Himself (2003) and Del Toro in Stephen Soderbergh's Che (2008). This research demonstrates that, in a decade where Hispanics became the US' largest ethnic minority, Hispanic males were cast in increasingly central and heroic roles across a range of genres but were still subject to long standing stereotypes than represent Hispanic men as excessively macho. i Contents ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................. i Table of Contents .................................................................................................................... ii List of figures ........................................................................................................................... v DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP ...................................................................................... vi Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ vii 1. Introduction: ....................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Aims and Scope ........................................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Methodology and Literature Review .............................................................................. 3 1.3 Representation, Fantasy and Realism ............................................................................ 9 1.4 A Brief Introduction to the place of Hispanics and Latinos in US History and Culture .................................................................................................................................. 10 1.5 Hispanics and Latinos in the US 1998-2008 .............................................................. 13 1.6 Hispanics and Latinos in US Cinema ............................................................................. 17 1.7 Hollywood and Hispanic, or more broadly Latin, Machismo .............................. 24 1.8 Genre ......................................................................................................................................... 29 1.9 Stardom .................................................................................................................................... 36 1.10 Antonio Banderas .............................................................................................................. 37 1.11 Benicio del Toro .................................................................................................................. 39 1.12 Thesis Stucture ................................................................................................................... 42 2. Hispanic Masculinity, Hispanic Action Heroes .................................................... 46 2.1 Action, Pastiche and Nostalgia ......................................................................................... 46 2.2 A New Hollywood, A New Zorro ..................................................................................... 48 2.3 Pastiching Zorro, The Original Adventurer ................................................................ 50 2.4 Hispanicising Zorro, Taming the Animal ..................................................................... 58 2.5 From Bandido Buffoon to Action Hero: Action as a Civilising Force ................ 61 2.6 Performing Masculinity and the Action Hero Masquerade .................................. 65 2.7 Once Upon a Time in Mexico and Pastiche ................................................................... 69 2.8 Barillo and the White Bandido ........................................................................................ 71 2.9 El Mariachi and Mexican Nationalism .......................................................................... 72 2.10 Conclusion............................................................................................................................. 77 ii 3. Hispanic Masculinity in the Family Film: .............................................................. 78 3.1 Introdution .............................................................................................................................. 78 3.2 What is a Family Film? ........................................................................................................ 78 3.3 Robert Rodriguez Reborn as a Hispanic Family Man ............................................. 83 3.4 The Hispanic Action Hero Becomes a Post Feminist Father ................................ 88 3.5 Creativity Versus Machismo in the Hispanic Family Film .................................... 91 3.6 Puss in Boots: Animating Hispanic Masculinity ........................................................ 92 3.7 The Hispanic Adventurer in a Cat's Body .................................................................... 96 3.8 Puss in Boots: From Lone Bandit to Part of the Family ......................................... 99 3.9 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 100 4. Hispanic Masculinity at the US Border .................................................................. 104 4.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 104 4.2 The Border Film ................................................................................................................. 105 4.3 'Indiewood', the Network Narrative and Realism ................................................ 106 4.4 Benicio del Toro in Traffic .............................................................................................. 110 4.5 The 'Narc Hero' Crosses the Border ........................................................................... 114 4.6 The Good Neighbour Within.......................................................................................... 118 4.7 Melquiades' Body in Three Burials .............................................................................. 121 4.8 'I Am Just a Cowboy': Three Burials and the Western ......................................... 123 4.9 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 126 5. Hispanic Masculinity and the Star as Biographical Subject ........................... 127 5.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 127 5.2 Pancho Villa