| Maria Rogal: | |
| Name: | Maria Rogal |
| Academic Institution: | University of Florida |
| email: | mrogal@ufl.edu |
| Country: | Estados Unidos/United States |
| Paper Title | Mexico: My, Your, Our Fantasy. The Problem of Flatness in Intercultural Representations of Mexicanidad |
| Abstract: | Mexico: My, Your, Our Fantasy. The Problem of Flatness in Intercultural Representations of Mexicanidad*. Representations of Mexicanidad are prolific on a global scale, and they are essentially “flat” – without depth or complexity or difference. During recent visits to several US and European cities and Mexican tourist locations, I found myself thinking that I continue to discover that there is no other culture or place that is so ubiquitously portrayed. These representations are intercultural and at the same time hauntingly familiar in their homogeneity. Globalization and interconnectivity, which presumably offers us the opportunity to know and experience “more” (of the “real,” the “authentic,” or the complexity) of the “Other,” in this case of Mexico, as a postmodern and hybrid culture, has not significantly altered the globally representative and common visual culture that defines Mexicanidad. In fact, it can be argued, that the increasingly competitive tourism, commercial, media, and entertainment industries have played a major role in shaping and concretizing both the homogenous and colonial representation of the Mexican imaginary. This being said, there are factors which move vertically (social, economic, political) and horizontal (across place and time) to continue to develop a common language which speaks to us of Mexicanidad. In essence, Mexico continues to be colonized for mass cultural consumption. This paper explores the range of contemporary visual culture representations that are prolific and, I argue, function to articulate and define Mexicanidad in a narrow framework of identity construction. I do not seek to make value judgements on individuals, groups or on the commodification of culture per se, but rather seek to identify the common language used – interculturally – to define a place and people, one which attempts to simulate the experience of being “there.” Drawing from diverse source materials, I will suggest patterns of representation that become criteria for communicating a specific identity and subsequently which allow for the consumption of culture. Finally, I will suggest alternate strategies – strategies of resistance – as a response to this “flatness” in visual culture. NOTES * Mexicanidad translates into English as Mexicanness, with some loss of meaning in the author’s opinion. The author’s area of research is graphic design and visual/material culture. The range of representations mentioned therefore are objects and concepts which are produced for mass cultural consumption. |