La ciudad que huye: cinema as sensitive expression of the ways of living in countries, and gated communities and neighborhoods in the Metropolitan Region of Buenos Aires

Author(s)

Suelen Caldas de Sousa Simião

• Document type: Doctoral Thesis
• Press: Campinas, SP.
• Institution: Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas
• Defense date: 2024-04-05

Examining board members

Josianne Francia Cerasoli; Robert Moses Pechman; Maria Stella Martins Bresciani; Silvana Rubino; Mônica Brincalepe Campo

• Advisor: Josianne Francia Cerasoli

Abstract

This doctoral dissertation investigates the historical process of ‘countries’, condominiums, and closed neighborhoods formation in the Metropolitan Region of Buenos Aires (MRBA), since 1970, in correlation with the production of contemporary Argentine cinema, seeking to think about the relationships between sensibilities, sociability and urban space. The work addresses sets of historical sources that cover different aspects of the issue, with emphasis on technical aspects, referring to documents written by architects, urban planners, geographers, and sociologists, concerning the urbanization of the MRBA; dimensions relating to the sensitive impacts of this specific form of urban organization, such as data on the formation and expansion of private urbanizations, changes to legislation, dissemination and communication strategies; and an artistic aspect, whose main source is the cinematography, which analyzes a short documentary and six Argentine films related to the theme. The central hypothesis is that this filmography presents itself as a symptom of a kind of (mis)matched city portrayed within the scope of criticism of the implementation of neoliberal policies, cultural changes, and the increase in discourse on urban violence, established in a new spatial logic. By historically problematizing the contemporary, we inquire into how films highlight subjective processes at the same time that they awaken feelings in us concerning what is being watched. We investigate how cinema makes indifference unbearable by playing especially with categories linked to the cinematographic horror and thriller genre while expressing ways of living in private urbanizations. It is considered the short documentary by Lucrecia Martel, "La ciudad que huye" (2006), and the films, "Cara de queso 'mi primer ghetto' (2006) by Ariel Winograd, "Una Semana solos" (2007) by Celina Murga, "Las vivedas de los jueves" (2009) by Marcelo Piñeyro, "Betibu" (2014) by Miguel Cohan, "Historia del Miedo" (2014) by Benjamín Naishtat, and "Los decentes" (2016) by Lukas Valenta Rinner (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 18/15067-7 - La ciudad que huye: cinema as a sensitive expression of the ways of living in countries, condominiums and gated neighborhoods in the Metropolitan Region of Buenos Aires
• Grantee: Suelen Caldas de Sousa Simião
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate