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The social & cultural conditions tied to the birth of cinema in Mexico, its evolution as a means of popular entertainment & culture, & the aspects which distinguish it from cinematic development in other countries are explored. It is suggested that the public's adoption of movies as popular entertainment was based on Mexico's tradition of religious festivals. The early, silent Mexican cinema appealed to the emotions, with dramatic themes, eg, obsession, sacrifice, passion, innocence, death, fate, & glory. Many films were based on Mexican literature, revolution, & nationalism. With the advent of sound, themes became less theatrical. Some saw this as the end of artistic cinema. Cinema became dominated by Hollywood, which did not speak the language of Mexico's culture. Because of widespread illiteracy, subtitles for English-language movies did not work, so eventually Mexico began to produce its own talking cinema. Although still dominated by United States capital & technology, it recovered some of its melodrama & ideological themes. S. Whittle.

This article contains surveys to important cultural figures of Peru to examine the real and ideal links between politics and culture in the country. ; Encuestas realizadas a importantes figuras peruanas de la cultura para examinar las vinculaciones que se dan o deberían dar en el Perú entre la política y la cultura.

This article contains surveys to important cultural figures of Peru to examine the real and ideal links between politics and culture in the country. ; Encuestas realizadas a importantes figuras peruanas de la cultura para examinar las vinculaciones que se dan o deberían dar en el Perú entre la política y la cultura.

La mirada (1978). Y seguimos en esta ocasión onomatopeya "democracia" sólo en los títulos de crédito. La mirada. (3):2-2. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/41574. ; Importación Masiva ; 2 ; 2 ; 3

The changes that occurred in Mexican cinema during L. Echeverria's presidency are traced. In 1971, at the beginning of his administration, the Mexican movie industry was largely in private hands, & film production was standardized & rigid. In 1976, Echeverria's last year in office, 31 of the 45 full-length films produced resulted from governmental initiative, & were financed by the Banco Nacional Cinematografico, established in 1974. This allowed diversification of themes & greater experimentation under the leadership of authors & directors, who in 1975 formed the Frente Nacional de Cinematografistas (National Front of Movie Producers). While the new Mexican cinema has produced such noteworthy films as Mezquital, it faces serious competition from television. Latin American cinema has the potential of reaching the broader, illiterate & semiliterate public, but it has not developed an antiimperialist conscience & an interest in the grave political, economic, & social problems of the continent. S. Whittle.

Reflecting on the connections between culture, politics, & power, the influence of class structure & the relations of production on culture are pointed out. References to a 'bourgeois' or a 'proletarian' culture reveal an insufficient understanding of history & the concept of culture. The daily exploitation & domination of the worker in a capitalist system are serious obstacles to the worker's access to culture; further, the culture imposed on workers through education is that of the dominant class. Capitalist ideology adapts & limits cultural demands to agree with the economic interests of the system. The petit bourgeois orientation of intellectuals, particularly in Mexico, merely serves this system. A greater awareness of class & political struggle among intellectuals would encourage true democratization of culture. S. Whittle.

Censorship of cultural products is discussed as a form of controlling & defending a particular social structure. The Mexican law which permits government censorship (Organic Law of Public Education), & its description of subjects which may be censored, are discussed. These subjects include sexually offensive material, sensually stimulating material, libertinism, & depiction of immoral conduct. A list of 135 publications which were censored in Mexico from 1971 to 1975, furnished by the Qualifying Commission on Illustrated Magazines & Books, is given, including some which were originally censored & then appeared under different titles. It is suggested that the law permits sensationalism, catastrophe, & violence in the mass media, but prohibits human love & togetherness. This is in accordance with a reactionary cultural situation, managed & controlled by private initiative, which discourages expression of working class culture. S. Whittle.