Abstract
This chapter analyses the representation of girlhood in María, llena eres de gracia/María, Full of Grace (dir. Joshua Marston 2004) and La sirga/The Towrope (dir. William Vega 2012). Despite different aesthetic choices, these films focus on two Colombian underprivileged female adolescents who face the challenge of coming of age in a country with noticeable class differences and instability as a result of a prolonged civil war. Using Anita Harris’ postfeminist framework, I posit that these girls try to leave behind childhoods marked by destitution and a lack of emotional support, moving away from traditional gender roles. The films present female adolescents’ agency, highlighting pliability, strength, and the ability to improvise as necessary traits to lead productive adult lives in Colombia.
There is no place like home.
The Wizard of Oz
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Rocha, C. (2018). From Girlhood to Adulthood: Colombian Adolescence in María, llena eres de gracia and La sirga. In: Maguire, G., Randall, R. (eds) New Visions of Adolescence in Contemporary Latin American Cinema. New Directions in Latino American Cultures. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-89381-5_10
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