Aesthetics and Politics in the Mexican Film Industry

Aesthetics and Politics in the Mexican Film Industry is the first English-language analysis of what some called a "renaissance" at the turn of the twenty-first century. It examines the years surrounding Mexico´s presidential elections in 2000 and the fall of the ruling party after seventy one years in power in order to better understand a moment when politics and cinema shared the limelight. Moving beyond the international blockbusters, the research evaluates a broad selection of films, produced from the early 1990s to the present, to help demystify this period for scholars and students. It explains in clear language how production methods, audience demographics, and aesthetic approaches have changed throughout the past two decades of Mexican cinema and how these changes relate to Mexico's transitions to a democratic political system and free-market economy.

Misha MacLaird is an independent writer and film curator specializing in Latin American cinema and audiovisual policy. She received a PhD from Tulane University, USA and has taught courses on Latin American cinema at the University of California, Davis. A native of Oakland, California, she currently resides in Mexico City.