The Fall of Virtuous Men: Mexican Film Noir, and the Crisis of Values in the Postrevolutionary State, 1950–1959
International reconsideration of Mexican film noir is a recent phenomenon. For decades, Mexican film criticism tended to dismiss the importance of this tradition and even to deny its existence, often citing the presence of melodramatic elements in would-be noir films and the lack of a crime novel tr...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Latin American Research Review |
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| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1542427823000111/type/journal_article |
| _version_ | 1797404932849008640 |
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| author | Daniel Chávez Landeros |
| author_facet | Daniel Chávez Landeros |
| author_sort | Daniel Chávez Landeros |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | International reconsideration of Mexican film noir is a recent phenomenon. For decades, Mexican film criticism tended to dismiss the importance of this tradition and even to deny its existence, often citing the presence of melodramatic elements in would-be noir films and the lack of a crime novel tradition for screen adaptations. By comparing two Mexican films to similar American productions and examining the local political and economic conditions of the former, this article argues that Mexican film noir had its own pessimistic viewpoints, which were borrowed from journalism and the illustrated press. These viewpoints were based on existing social ailments and delivered relevant criticism of the institutions, classism, and sexual norms of the postrevolutionary Mexican state of the 1940s and 1950s. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T03:02:14Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b896c616f8d448b4afcaf78eed6e0b6a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1542-4278 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T03:02:14Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Latin American Research Review |
| spelling | doaj.art-b896c616f8d448b4afcaf78eed6e0b6a2023-12-04T13:13:24ZengCambridge University PressLatin American Research Review1542-42782023-12-015879781610.1017/lar.2023.11The Fall of Virtuous Men: Mexican Film Noir, and the Crisis of Values in the Postrevolutionary State, 1950–1959Daniel Chávez Landeros0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0378-2573University of New Hampshire, Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, Durham, New Hampshire, USAInternational reconsideration of Mexican film noir is a recent phenomenon. For decades, Mexican film criticism tended to dismiss the importance of this tradition and even to deny its existence, often citing the presence of melodramatic elements in would-be noir films and the lack of a crime novel tradition for screen adaptations. By comparing two Mexican films to similar American productions and examining the local political and economic conditions of the former, this article argues that Mexican film noir had its own pessimistic viewpoints, which were borrowed from journalism and the illustrated press. These viewpoints were based on existing social ailments and delivered relevant criticism of the institutions, classism, and sexual norms of the postrevolutionary Mexican state of the 1940s and 1950s.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1542427823000111/type/journal_articleMexican cinemafilm noirgovernmental corruptionjustice systemsexual violencefilme mexicanofilme noircorrupçãosistema judiciárioviolência sexual |
| spellingShingle | Daniel Chávez Landeros The Fall of Virtuous Men: Mexican Film Noir, and the Crisis of Values in the Postrevolutionary State, 1950–1959 Latin American Research Review Mexican cinema film noir governmental corruption justice system sexual violence filme mexicano filme noir corrupção sistema judiciário violência sexual |
| title | The Fall of Virtuous Men: Mexican Film Noir, and the Crisis of Values in the Postrevolutionary State, 1950–1959 |
| title_full | The Fall of Virtuous Men: Mexican Film Noir, and the Crisis of Values in the Postrevolutionary State, 1950–1959 |
| title_fullStr | The Fall of Virtuous Men: Mexican Film Noir, and the Crisis of Values in the Postrevolutionary State, 1950–1959 |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Fall of Virtuous Men: Mexican Film Noir, and the Crisis of Values in the Postrevolutionary State, 1950–1959 |
| title_short | The Fall of Virtuous Men: Mexican Film Noir, and the Crisis of Values in the Postrevolutionary State, 1950–1959 |
| title_sort | fall of virtuous men mexican film noir and the crisis of values in the postrevolutionary state 1950 1959 |
| topic | Mexican cinema film noir governmental corruption justice system sexual violence filme mexicano filme noir corrupção sistema judiciário violência sexual |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1542427823000111/type/journal_article |
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