La historia oficial :

With the arrival of democracy in Argentina, many film-makers reflected on the tragic history of Argentina and used film to show this to the world. Puenzo´s film, La historia oficial, controversially uses the life of a middle-class woman to represent these events. Discuss the advantages and drawbacks of Puenzo´s approach to Argentinian history in La historia oficial.

Bibliografy:
Argentina:
FOWLER, W. Latin America 1800-2000 (London: Arnold 2002) (SL)
BIGGINS, A. Argentina. (Oxford: Clio Press, 1991.)
GARCIA, A. La crisis argentina: 1966-1976. (Murcia: Universidad de Murcia, 1994.)
JAMES, D. Resistance and Integration. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1976.
PENDLE, G. Argentina. London: University of Oxford Press. 1963.
ROCK, D. Argentina 1516-1982. London: Taurus, 1986.

Argentine Film: Post-dictatorship Argentine Cinema
FOSTER, D.W. Contemporary Argentine Cinema. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1992. (SL)
KING, J. Magical Reels: A History of Cinema in Latin America. London: Verso, 2000.
PICK, Z. The New Latin American Cinema: A Continental Project. Texas,1993
FALICOV, T. L. The cinematic tango: contemporary Argentine film (London: Wallflower, 2007). (SL)
ELENA, A. & DIAZ LOPEZ, M. Ed. The Cinema of Latin America. London:
Wallflowers Press, 2003. (SL)
MARTIN, M. T. Ed. New Latin American Cinema. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1997.
RIX, R. & RODRIGUEZ-SAONA, R., Ed. Changing Reels: Latin American Cinema against the Odds. Leeds: Trinity and All Saints University College, 1997. (SL)
STOCK, A.M. Framing Latin American Cinema. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1997.

Topics that were discussed during the classes:
Historical context: The “dirty war” and “Las madres de la Plaza de Mayo”. Cinema & democracy.
Introduction to characters: “Goodies and Baddies”
Preparation: Think of examples of the dichotomy of the characters of Alicia and Roberto.
Representation of History in film. Melodrama and documelodrama.
Preparation: Find references to the political situation in the film (dirty war, repression, torture, kidnapping, etc). How is Argentina´s political situation in the late 1970s and early 1980s presented in the film?