Politics in The River and The Wall (2017)

• Main Author: Martina Moeller
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Prof. Dr. Vittoria Borsò, Prof. Dr. Frank Leinen, Jun.-Prof. Dr. Yasmin Temelli, Prof. Dr. Guido Rings 2020-07-01
• Series: iMex. México Interdisciplinario/Interdisciplinary Mexico
• Subjects: wild life films; donald trump's wall; hispanics in cinema; illegal immigration to the u.s.a.; identity in cinema
• Online Access: https://www.imex-revista.com/en/xviii-the-river-and-the-wall/

This study examines in how far Ben Masters manages to combine in his nature film The River and the Wall (2017) two goals: to document the borderlands and to explore the potential impact of a future wall on the natural environment. In this context, the study explores in detail how discourses around nature, border fences and immigration are presented in the film and to what extend they are critical of Trump’s wall project. The author comes to the conclusion that the film’s suggestion to create a bi-national park along the borderlands is strongly reminiscent of John Muir’s romantic legacy. However, precisely this romanticized focus on nature seems to undermine the political discussion, because it marginalizes key aspects of the debate, from illegal migration to drug trafficking, in its nostalgic proposal to go back to cowboy ‘roots’.