This thesis examines constructions of Chicano (or Mexican American) identity in literature and film. I explore how writers and filmmakers negotiate the dominance of Hollywood models over the culture. In Chapter One, I argue that literature gives way to film in articulations of Chicano identity; Gonzales and Anzald6a use cinematic imagery and Castillo's short story adopts the characteristics of film. Chicano documentaries were made to correct Hollywood's negative images of the culture. In Chapter Two I study Luis Valdez's Zoo! Suit (1981), a film that celebrates the Chicano icon of the pachuco by subverting the Hollywood musical genre. Chapter Three considers two films by Lourdes Portillo in which Chicano culture is scrutinised through the frames of ethnography and film noir. In Chapter Four I examine John Sayles' revisionist Western, Lone Star and the extent to which history dominates the present in Texas. Robert Rodriguez's Mexican action heroes and his ethnic humour are the subject of Chapter Five. Chapter Six examines two films by Allison Anders in the light of her self-confessed obsession with Chicano culture. In conclusion I argue that Anders' autobiographical character in Gas, Food, Lodgi»g (1991), articulates Anglo anxieties about identity, bringing the trajectory around full circle.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:251878 |
| Date | January 2001 |
| Creators | Taylor, Candida Louise Buddie |
| Publisher | University of Birmingham |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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