Citation

Martin D. Bull. Latin Am. Res. 2009; 28(3): 381-393.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, Society for Latin American Studies, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1470-9856.2009.00301.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

La Sierra (Martínez and Dalton, 2005), a portrait of a paramilitary-run community on Medellín’s eastern edge, is both anthropological study and self-conscious creator of narratives. The documentary is both globally and locally inserted, and straddles both generic and public/private boundaries. The article discusses the film’s self-conscious examination of gender performances, describing the way it plays out the conflicting demands of masculinity on the male body. It argues that the responses of feminine desire and identity to the various masculine models may subvert dominant codes through (re) citation and failed interpellation. Central to the article’s argument is the notion that through female desire, the film performs Colombian undecidability surrounding masculine violence.