The Contention of Space in Contemporary Cuban and Brazilian Film Item Type text; Electronic Dissertation Authors Martinez, Alexandra 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 30/09/2021 19:50:41 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/193970 1 THE CONTENTION OF SPACE IN CONTEMPORARY CUBAN AND BRAZILIAN FILM By Alexandra Martínez _____________________ 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 2010 2 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA GRADUATE COLLEGE As members of the Dissertation Committee, we certify that we have read the dissertation prepared by Alexandra Martínez entitled The Contention of Space in Contemporary Cuban and Brazilian Film and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy ____________________________________________________________Date: 8/6/10 Kátia da Costa Bezerra ____________________________________________________________Date: 8/6/10 Malcolm A. Compitello ____________________________________________________________Date: 8/6/10 Amy Williamsen ____________________________________________________________Date: 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: 8/6/10 Dissertation Director: Kátia da Costa Bezerra 3 STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This dissertation has been submitted in partial fulfillment of 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 accurate acknowledgment of 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 head of the major department or the Dean of the Graduate College when in his or her judgment the proposed use of the material is in the interests of scholarship. In all other instances, however, permission must be obtained from the author. SIGNED: Alexandra Martínez 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would first like to begin by thanking my dissertation director Dr. Kátia da Costa Bezerra who has been an exceptional mentor to me. Without her guidance, encouragement, and dedication none of this would have been possible. I could not have asked for a more wonderful director. I am grateful to the other committee members of this dissertation, Dr. Williamsen and Dr. Compitello for their contributions and guidance on this project. I would like to thank Dr. Compitello for all of his years of support in my development as teacher and as a graduate student. Furthermore, I would like to recognize all of my professors over the years for their support and encouragement as well as their inspiration which have greatly contributed towards the development of this dissertation. I am grateful to my mother Carlota Suárez, my father José Martínez and my sister Teresa Franco, all of whom have supported me immensely through their encouragement and guidance. I would also like to thank Carlos Preciado and Blanca Coronado for their friendship, guidance, and support throughout my graduate education. Lastly, I would like to thank my wonderful son Gabriel Martínez who has been with me throughout my graduate education on a daily basis, and spent countless hours with me at the library. Thank you for being such a great son. 5 DEDICATION: This dissertation is dedicated to my loving parents, José Martínez and Carlota Suárez 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………………………………8 INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………………..9 CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL APPROACH: FEMINIST GEOGRAPHY……………....................................................................................................18 1.1 Feminist Geography: Literary Review…………………………………………………...20 1.2 Revisiting Concepts: Landscape, the City and the Household…………………………..22 1.3 Women and the Nation…………………………………………………………………..33 CHAPTER 2: REVOLUTION, WOMEN, AND CINEMA: A BRIEF PORTRAYAL OF CUBA AND BRAZIL……………………………………………………………………….41 2.1 Cuban Political Climate…………………………………………………………………..41 2.2 Cuban Women‟s Movements..............................................................................................50 2.3 Brazilian Political Climate………………………………………………………………..54 2.4 Brazilian Women‟s Movements………………………………………………………….59 2.5 Cuban Film Industry……………………………………………………………………..61 2.6 Brazilian Film Industry…………………………………………………………………..66 CHAPTER 3: WOMEN IN CUBAN CINEMA…………………………………….………….73 3.1 Retrato de Teresa...............................................................................................................74 3.2 The contention of space in Retrato de Teresa...................................................................83 3.3 De Cierta Manera.............................................................................................................94 3.4 Mujer Transparente…………………………………………………………………......107 CHAPTER 4: GABRIELA AND A HORA DA ESTRELA AND THE SPACE OF THE CITY………………………...................................................................................................113 4.1 Gabriela: The Dynamic of Space in a Traditional Oligarchic Order…………………..115 4.2 The Portrayal of Gender………………………………………………………………..117 4.3 Space in Gabriela………………………………………………………………………………..122 7 4.4 A Hora da Estrela and the Marginal Spaces of São Paulo……………………………..128 4.5 The Portrayal of Gender Roles…………………………………………………………133 4.6 Space in A Hora da Estrela.............................................................................................135 CONCLUSION………………………………………………………………………………..143 WORK CITED………………………………………………………………………………...153 8 ABSTRACT: The purpose of this dissertation is to study women‟s representation and the contention of space in contemporary Brazilian and Cuban films, in order to analyze the way in which the films reflect societal values regarding gender roles and, consequently the way the nation is represented. The Cuban films I examine are: Retrato de Teresa (1979) and De Cierta Manera (1964), the short “Julia” from Mujer Transparente (1990) and from Brazil I work with the films Gabriela (1983) and A Hora da Estrela (1984.) All of the films have a protagonist that is a woman, and all were successful in the box office and had some international recognition. The films have strong female protagonists and share similar socio-political contexts- the socialist government in Cuba and the military dictatorship in Brazil, as well as a time period marked by social unrest as women‟s rights groups were very active in both countries. My hypothesis is that although these films were commercially successful, groundbreaking and innovative; they ultimately were marked by some of the gendered contradictions and the feminist questionings of their time. In fact, my analysis reveals that, although they each raise many issues and questions about an egalitarian society for both men and women, they fall short in terms of a progressive politics of gender. A notable exception, the film A Hora da Estrela provides a striking difference to the other films. 9 INTRODUCTION: In general terms, what was at stake in Cuba‟s revolution in 1959 and the Brazilian dictatorship in 1964 was nothing less than the struggle to define the terms through which the country would be integrated into an increasingly global political economy. Although following different sociopolitical and economic models, Cuba and Brazil implemented structural adjustment policies that impacted all sectors of the population. As a means to gain support for the reforms and legitimize their presence in power, Fidel Castro and the military regime in Brazil employed populist strategies and nationalist policies in addition to arrests, murders, kidnappings, and censorship against those who criticized and opposed the regime. As in many other Latin American countries, the gendered dimensions of these policies had a strong impact on women‟s lives. This period was also marked by the increasing presence of films that would reflect on the state of the nation. Thus we have this study. The purpose of this dissertation is to study women‟s representation and the contention of space in contemporary Brazilian and Cuban films, in order to analyze the way in which the films reflect societal values regarding gender roles and, consequently the way the nation is represented. To be more specific, the goal is to compare films produced both in Cuba and Brazil from 1960 to 1990‟s – a time characterized by a boom in film production. The study consists of two films selected from each country and an additional short is analyzed in the case of Cuba. One of the films is produced by a male director and one by a woman, and the short is directed by a woman. All of the films have