Greater global economic integration and neoliberalization processes, characterized by privatization (of roads, public services, etc, private sector led development, deregulation, etc.), have produced urbanization trends that we can observe in different contexts across the globe. One of these trends has been the increasing development of gated communities in countries across the Americas, for example. While gated or walled communities have always existed in one form or another, rapid urbanization, economic instability and a generalized sense of heightened insecurity in conjunction with a distrust of the state and its capacity to provide certain public services have contributed to the rapid proliferation of new gated developments. Yet, in each context (Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, Los Angeles) the types of gated communities that are created depend on the existence of local antecedents and on the local social, political and economic context. The humanities provide a window into the complexities of gating communities. Literature and film can delve deeply into the mental, social, political, cultural – individual and collective – constructs that gating represents and produces. What can we learn from fictionalized accounts of Gated Communities about the gating phenomenon and its consequences?
The film La Zona, for example, expresses the sense that the society in which the action takes place is putrefying. Gated communities here seem to function as a metaphor for social (and political) decay. What does the film tell us about the society and political order in which the gated community is embedded? What is the basis of urban citizenship in these places?
In your examination of the film La Zona, think of the underlying motivations of the characters. Why do they take “refuge” in or seek “recognition” in gated communities? What role do Miguel and Alejandro play in the narratives? What might their characters represent in terms of the future?
Here are some other questions you might keep in mind:
How does the film suggest that the characters might feel a sense of dislocation or a sense of belonging?
How is “belonging” in the gated community constructed?
How do the relationships among the characters highlight / intensify experiences of isolation and / or belonging?
As you watch the film:
How does the medium of the film create (or not) a sense of shared consciousness with the characters and the audience (you)?
How does the film use music to heighten a sense of identification or dislocation?
Is music used to set up juxtapositions, to highlight contradictions, or to reinforce a feeling of shared understanding/experience?
Your assignment:
Make sure your essays has a thesis / argument and that you illustrate your thesis through specific references to the film (you are analyzing the film).
You may want to take a look at the Burke (2001) article, which we read at the beginning of the semester, again to see what kind of metaphors he discusses – e.g. gated communities as “fascist min-states” (Burke 2001, 120). You can develop and argument around this theme, for example. You may also want find a different kind of theme.
• Write your initial post in a word document (2 pages single-spaced), save it with your name in the document name (_La Zona). Upload the word document to Assignments. Find the appropriate assignment name, click view complete and browse for your document).
• Copy and paste your post your text from your word document into the dialogue box for the discussion board thread. (Discussion Board / La Zona / Create Thread).
• Main Post due Saturday night 10/21, (at least 2 pages single spaced).
Some film terminology and strategies you might look for (Film studies: an introduction By Ed Sikov):
Mise-en scene is “the totality of expressive content within the image” it is like the stage set, and the assumption is that everything has meaning and was chosen to speak to, engage, shock, manipulate the audience.
The shots – the first shot of a character tells you a lot. How are the different characters introduced to the audience?
Can you identify some of the following shots? How do they relate to the development of the narrative or of particular characters?
Extreme close-up shot – might be a person’s mouth, eye, hand, etc. – any element isolated.
Medium shot – might be a shot of a person from the waist up.
Long shot – places a human, for example, in the surrounding by creating the illusion that the image was taken from a far distance.
Point of View (POV) shot – creates the impression that the viewer is seeing the scene through a particular character’s eyes.
At the edge shots – might be framed by windows, doors, etc., which create a sense of division – the sense of being on the other side.
Shots that frame some characters as being “on the same side.”
References
Burke, M. (2001). Fortress dystopia: Representations of gated communities in contemporary fiction. The Journal of American Culture, 24(1/2), 115–122.
Pla, Rodrigo, director. La Zona. Morena Films, 2007.
