In the changing discourse on Mexican history, La Malinche has evolved from a historical figure of the Conquest to a national myth and a symbol of all those who have allied themselves with foreigners against their own country and its native values and traditions. On the other hand, La Malinche is regarded as the symbolic mother of the mestizos. This thesis proposes to analyze the figure of La Malinche as both a historical actor in the Conquest of Mexico and as a myth in the creation of contemporary Mexican national identity. Consequently, this study takes into account the chronicles of the conquerors, later Romantic versions, and contemporary cultural and historiographical studies. This study analyzes the changing image of La Malinche in national discourse, especially following Mexico's independence from Spain and the Mexican Revolution, whereupon Mexicans searched for a national identity. It also analyzes different interpretations of twentieth-century scholars as they attempt to vindicate La Malinche from her myth as traitor. Instead, in these interpretations, La Malinche is seen playing important roles as interpreter, strategist, mediator between two different cultures, and feminist symbol. Finally, I rely on twentieth-century Mexican theater to show how the myth of La Malinche is being used, questioned, and revised on stage in accordance with current historiography and socio-economic conditions in Mexico. / Master of Arts

Dissertation (Ph.D.)--The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2010. / Directed by Andrea Hunter; submitted to the Dept. of Human Development and Family Studies. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Jul. 7, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 96-115).

This research focuses on the study of Mexican comics and films from 1969 to 1976. It uses the language of humour to understand how these media expressed contemporary social and political concerns. After reviewing theories of humour and proposing an eclectic theory to analyse visual sources, three different comic books and four films were examined in order to gain an understanding of the issues that troubled the society at the time. This eclectic theory considered academic approaches from a variety of disciplines, including philosophy, sociology, linguistics, psychology, and others. The theory of humour proposed in this thesis can be used to study humorous visual expressions from other cultures and historical times. Thus, one of the novelties of this research is the proposal of an eclectic theory of humour to study visual culture. A second original contribution of this thesis is that it proposes an approach to social history through the analysis of two relevant cultural manifestations: humour and visual culture. This work also invites us to reflect on Mexican society during the presidency of Luis Echeverría Álvarez, as well as the circumstances of the mass media and the arts, both of which enjoyed some freedom in what was called the apertura democrática. Nevertheless, since some topics were still prickly and difficult, humour helped society discuss them, kept them on the social agenda, and acted as a safety valve to express the discomfort of the members of society. Finally, this thesis considers social manifestations, such as humour, as sources through which to study culture and history; it highlights the relevance of the cultural legacy of comics which have been considered as a sub-cultural product; and it shows how we can use films to discover something new about a specific time and social group.

Thesis (M.S.)--Brigham Young University. Dept. of Recreation Management and Youth Leadership, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references.

My dissertation, Perspectives of the Mexican Revolution from the exile: the disillusionment of the intellectuals in Mexican-American narratives (1926-1935), studies the migration from Mexico to the United States during the Mexican Revolution of 1910 and the literary production of the Mexican intellectuals in exile who build a transnational imaginary of national identity and interpretations of nationalism. I argue that the transnational experience of the Mexican Revolution influences the political discourse that questions the integration of the immigrant community in the reconstruction project of post-revolutionary Mexico, as reflected in the novels Las aventuras de don Chipote (1928) by Daniel Venegas, El sol de Texas (1926) by Conrado Espinoza and La patria perdida (1935) by Teodoro Torres. My work on these authors and their texts, all of them understudied and written in Spanish, focuses on the study of the parallels between the literary production during the Revolution in Mexico and also in the United States, pointing at a decisive moment where the transnational impact of the Revolution influences the incorporation of the immigrant and peasant community as citizens of Mexico or the United States. My dissertation consists of an introduction and four chapters. In the introduction, I present the theoretical framework that analyzes the literary production in both Mexico and the United States during this time period. Chapter 1 presents a historical context that explains the inevitable impact of the Mexican Revolution on the U.S.-Mexico border. Chapter 2 shows the perspective of Daniel Venegas in Las aventuras de don Chipote (1928) which presents a protest against the abuse of the immigrant communities and questions the success of the immigrant in the United States. Chapter 3 presents the perspective of Conrado Espinoza in El sol de Texas (1926) portraying the idea that the national imaginary can only be constructed in the nation and not in exile. Chapter 4 presents the perspective of Teodoro Torres in La patria perdida (1935) where the idea of the repatriation project is contested, and citizenship in the United States is favored. The dissertation intends to study two contrasting perspectives on the immigrant communities and their role in the reconstruction of post-revolutionary Mexico or in the booming U.S. economy. / text

Thesis (M.A.)--West Virginia University, 2005. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains v, 48 p. Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 43-47).

Thesis (M.A.)--Denver Seminary, 2004. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 35-45).

Thesis (M.A.)--Denver Seminary, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 35-45).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 116-135). Also available on the Internet.

Between 1950 and 1970 television emerged as one of the most important forms of mass communication in Mexico. An analysis of television news scripts and film clips located at the Televisa (the nation’s largest television network) Archives in Mexico City exposed tensions and traditions in television news. The tensions reveal conflicts between: the government and media producers; modernity and the desire to create traditions and maintain those already invented; elite controllers of the media and popular viewers; a male dominated business and female news producers and viewers; an elite (mostly white) group of media moguls and a poor mestizo and indigenous viewers; and the United States and Mexico in the midst of the Cold War. In contrast to the trend in scholarship on Mexican television, this dissertation demonstrates that media executives such as Emilio Azcárrraga Milmo and high ranking government officials within the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) maintained close connections, but the two groups did not always walk in lock-step. Analysis of newscast scripts and film clips located at Televisa’s (Mexico’s largest network) Archive reveal a more complex picture, which shows there were several and sometimes competing visions for the country's future. Examining the first twenty years of television news in Mexico City, the author focuses on production, content, and interpretations of the news. The dissertation finds evidence to prove that news producers and writers formed tele-traditions that influenced news production, content, and interpretation well into the 1980s. Unprecedented access to Televisa Archives allowed the author to ask and answer questions, that to date scholars have not treated, such as, what makes Mexican television news Mexican? The dissertation is grounded in a theoretical framework called hybridity of framing, which combines the concepts of cultural hybridity and news framing. The dissertation concludes that although news producers and writers attempted to frame events in certain ways, viewers often interpreted the news differently.