The Never-Ending Movie: Precariousness and Self-reflexivity in Contemporary Argentine Cinema

Abstract

Resulting from a deep economic crisis, the New Argentine Cinema made precariousness an aesthetic resource; many recent independent films continue to echo the precarious conditions of the industry with self-reflexive modalities that intersect with other arts, with national history, and with the films of earlier eras to explore the dynamics of a creative process in an unpredictable economy. This chapter analyzes the occupational complexities of the film worker in Argentina, and explores how a film’s self-reflexivity illuminates the concept of precariousness and the relationships between materiality, economics, and cultural work. The theoretical framework is informed by García Canclini’s research on how a young generation of cultural workers defined by precariousness combines uncertainty and “connecting capitalism,” innovation, and interculturality; Rosalind Gill and Andy Pratt’s work on precariousness as the defining trait of cultural work in contemporary times; and Susan Christofferson and Katie Milestone’s reflections on gender and precariousness in cultural work. The film analysis revolves around Un rey para la Patagonia (Turturro, 2011), which deals with the present of filmmaking as it attempts to account for the unfinished works of the past, establishing links with older films, literature, drama, history, and art to highlight the precariousness present in its own contemporary creative processes. This chapter explores how, in this particular instance, self-reflexivity turns into a critical tool to interrogate the status of Argentine cinema and cultural production, and to delve into the artistic dimensions of economic precariousness.

The original version of this chapter was revised: Incorrect syllabication has been corrected. The erratum to this chapter is available at https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76807-6_15