Conclusion

Abstract

I have attempted to show how a selected body of contemporary Argentine and Brazilian films address national concerns in a globalized context while dialoguing with transnational aesthetics. The way in which the films consciously comment on the countries’ situations is evidence that these texts do not naturalize discourses that render neoliberalism “inevitable,” nor do they neglect the domination of hegemonic countries. Instead, by self-reflexively addressing the notions of collective identities that inform their own making and staging how a community can be formed within and outside national boundaries, the films demand a reconsideration of Argentine and Brazilian film culture that goes beyond the description of a “marginal” culture, or even “Third Text.” Considering that Third Texts are usually understood as “national allegories” (Jameson, 1986) and “allegories of underdevelopment” (Xavier, 1997), the films analyzed here do not suggest the kind of collective action that Third Cinema does. In part due to the changes in the development paradigm, marginalized subjects such as the inhabitants of barren lands are now portrayed as a part of the process of reconciliation rather than social unrest. This can be seen in Central Station, Born and Bred , and Cinema, Aspirins and Vultures .