The Latin American (Counter-) Road Movie and Ambivalent Modernity

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xiv

   PDF

2. Introduction

   • Nadia Lie

   Pages 1-30

3. Traveling Across Latin America

   • Nadia Lie

   Pages 31-61

4. Nations in Crisis

   • Nadia Lie

   Pages 63-93

5. The Patagonian Pull

   • Nadia Lie

   Pages 95-121

6. Heading North: Migrants and the US–Mexican Border

   • Nadia Lie

   Pages 123-153

7. Internally Displaced People Roaming the Roads

   • Nadia Lie

   Pages 155-178

8. Gazing at Tourists

   • Nadia Lie

   Pages 179-208

9. Back Matter

   Pages 209-245

   PDF

This book offers a comprehensive and systematic overview of the flourishing genre of the contemporary Latin American road movie, of which Diarios de motocicleta and Y tu mamá también are only the best-known examples. It offers the first systematic survey of the genre and explains why the road movie is key to contemporary Latin American cinema and society. Proposing the new category of “counter-road movie,” and paying special attention to the genre’s intricate relationship to modernity, Nadia Lie charts the variety of the road movie through films by both renowned and emerging filmmakers. The Latin American (Counter-) Road Movie and Ambivalent Modernity engages with ongoing debates on transnationalism and takes the reader along a wide range of topics, from exile to undocumented migration, from tourism to internally displaced people.

• Road Film
• Latin American Cinema
• Migration
• Transnational Studies
• Globalization

“The Latin American (Counter -) Road Movie and Ambivalent Modernity is an excellent source of study for academics and students. … The book deftly incorporates relevant theory and criticism while contextualizing the topics addressed within the growing field of transnational cinema.” (Carolina Rueda, Transnational Screens, April 26, 2019)

“Thanks to the extent of the author’s investigation we can comprehend the cultural imagery and the social and political panorama of the Latin American road movie. … This book will provide invaluable interpretations for students and scholars of Latin American film and of the road movie as a very engaging genre.” (Rhoda Desbordes-Vela, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, Vol. 38 (3), 2018)

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“Nadia Lie’s brilliant book demonstrates how reconsideringthis film genre from the perspective of Latin American cinema allows us to enrich and refine not only our understanding of the road movie itself, but also the definition of modernity and of the ‘road’, as a way of transport and communication and as a metaphor for (modern) life.” (Sophie Dufays, Image & Narrative, Vol. 18 (4), 2017)

“This is the most comprehensive study of the Latin American road movie to date. Expertly written and researched, it … references a wide range of films while providing close and original analysis of some of the most significant examples of the genre. This is an excellent, well-informed and insightful study that will be a key reference point for students and academics alike.” (Deborah Shaw, Reader in Film Studies, University of Portsmouth, UK)

“A comprehensive study of the Latin American road movie, Lie's engaging and original book has expanded my understanding of the genre and its adaptibility, not least through the paradoxical but intriguing concept of the counter-road movie, the road movie where travel is impeded and the traveller gets stuck.” (Michael Chanan, Professor of Film and Video, Roehampton University, UK)

“Lie’s book engages with recent scholarship on the road movie and complements existing bibliography through its in-depth and broad take on the road movie genre as it has appeared in Latin America. Its focus on modernity and on how the genre engages with modernist discourses will appeal to scholars working outside of film studies and will prove a valuable contribution to academic scholarship on Latin America.” (Sara Brandellero, editor of “The Brazilian Road Movie: Journeys of (Self) Discovery”)

• KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

  Nadia Lie

Nadia Lie is Professor of Latin American Literature and Film at KU Leuven, Belgium.

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