Interplanetary Border Imaginaries in <i>Upside Down</i>: Divisions and Connections in the American Continent
<p>This paper provides a close analysis of <em>Upside Down</em> (dir. Juan Solanas, 2012), a science fiction film that presents two radically different portraits of two neighboring planets to metaphorically explore and negotiate the economic divide between the US and Latin America....
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doaj-2b27c5ac90ad4a0eb329dfe10831d6902020-12-15T08:16:47ZengeScholarship Publishing, University of CaliforniaJournal of Transnational American Studies1940-07642016-07-0171ark:13030/qt61j566s9Interplanetary Border Imaginaries in <i>Upside Down</i>: Divisions and Connections in the American ContinentPablo Gómez Muñoz0University of Zaragoza<p>This paper provides a close analysis of <em>Upside Down</em> (dir. Juan Solanas, 2012), a science fiction film that presents two radically different portraits of two neighboring planets to metaphorically explore and negotiate the economic divide between the US and Latin America. The film focuses on the role of borders, legal provisions, and contact between humans in structuring interactions and movement between Latin America and the US. Gómez Muñoz employs Mark Shiel's geographic approach to film and pays special attention to characters' movements in the spaces that the film depicts. The first part of the paper focuses on boundaries and discrimination practices in the Americas. The second part considers exceptions to the limitations that borders try to impose in the film and examines the potential of transnational love in bridging differences and advancing understanding. <em>Upside Down</em> suggests that people infuse their images of borders and other nations with their own personal and local perceptions. Their transnational/trans-American relationships allow them to draw from different sources and bring disparate practices together for their own and their societies' benefit.</p>http://escholarship.org/uc/item/61j566s9transnationalamerican studiesscience fictionfilmbordersthe americasupside down |
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DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Pablo Gómez Muñoz |
spellingShingle |
Pablo Gómez Muñoz Interplanetary Border Imaginaries in <i>Upside Down</i>: Divisions and Connections in the American Continent Journal of Transnational American Studies transnational american studies science fiction film borders the americas upside down |
author_facet |
Pablo Gómez Muñoz |
author_sort |
Pablo Gómez Muñoz |
title |
Interplanetary Border Imaginaries in <i>Upside Down</i>: Divisions and Connections in the American Continent |
title_short |
Interplanetary Border Imaginaries in <i>Upside Down</i>: Divisions and Connections in the American Continent |
title_full |
Interplanetary Border Imaginaries in <i>Upside Down</i>: Divisions and Connections in the American Continent |
title_fullStr |
Interplanetary Border Imaginaries in <i>Upside Down</i>: Divisions and Connections in the American Continent |
title_full_unstemmed |
Interplanetary Border Imaginaries in <i>Upside Down</i>: Divisions and Connections in the American Continent |
title_sort |
interplanetary border imaginaries in <i>upside down</i>: divisions and connections in the american continent |
publisher |
eScholarship Publishing, University of California |
series |
Journal of Transnational American Studies |
issn |
1940-0764 |
publishDate |
2016-07-01 |
description |
<p>This paper provides a close analysis of <em>Upside Down</em> (dir. Juan Solanas, 2012), a science fiction film that presents two radically different portraits of two neighboring planets to metaphorically explore and negotiate the economic divide between the US and Latin America. The film focuses on the role of borders, legal provisions, and contact between humans in structuring interactions and movement between Latin America and the US. Gómez Muñoz employs Mark Shiel's geographic approach to film and pays special attention to characters' movements in the spaces that the film depicts. The first part of the paper focuses on boundaries and discrimination practices in the Americas. The second part considers exceptions to the limitations that borders try to impose in the film and examines the potential of transnational love in bridging differences and advancing understanding. <em>Upside Down</em> suggests that people infuse their images of borders and other nations with their own personal and local perceptions. Their transnational/trans-American relationships allow them to draw from different sources and bring disparate practices together for their own and their societies' benefit.</p> |
topic |
transnational american studies science fiction film borders the americas upside down |
url |
http://escholarship.org/uc/item/61j566s9 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT pablogomezmunoz interplanetaryborderimaginariesiniupsidedownidivisionsandconnectionsintheamericancontinent |
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1724382604844597248 |