Transnational Communication and Indigenization: Cinema

In my Hispanic Studies classes I have been learning a lot about the differences between film industries in the United States and Latin American countries. This is perfectly applicable to the idea of transnational communication vs. indigenization. The United States has been the dominant cultural influence for Latin American (and other) countries for years. This means that these countries receive an influx of fashion, music, television, and cinema from American industries. As I commented in my previous blog, Hollywood has been sending products all over the world, and creating a certain vision of what America must be like.

The Latin American film industry is a perfect example of indigenization, because they took the idea of cinema as a form of mass media and used it for purposes that were relevant to them. Each country had its own issues, and these issues are what they present through film. They have rejected "lo ideal" from Hollywood and prefer to present "lo real" instead. It began with propaganda to present leftist and right-wing views and to evoke the action of its viewers.

Unlike Hollywood films, which for the most part serve to entertain and require passive audiences, Latin American films at first sought to inform and persuade their audiences. Then, they continued to distinguish themselves from Hollywood by presenting social and political themes which were relevant and problematic to their people. The way Latin American film industries used the transnational influence of the United States film industry is a perfect example of indigenization.