Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Never Read History Again? The Possibilities and Perils of Cinama as Historical Depiction Chapter 2 Columbus Takes On the Forces of Darkness, or Film and Historical Myth in 1492: The Conquest of Paradise Chapter 3 Whose Conquest Is This, Anyway? Aguirre, the Wrath of God Chapter 4 I, the Worst of All: The Literary Life of Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz Chapter 5 The Mission and Historical Missions: Film and the Writing of History Chapter 6 Passion and Patriarchy in Nineteenth-Century Argentina: Maria Luisa Bemberg's Camila Chapter 7 Recasting Cuban Slavery: The Other Francisco and The Last Supper Chapter 8 Lucia: Inventing Women's History on Film Chapter 9 Gabriela: An Evocation of Elite Culture in Early Twentieth-Century Latin America Chapter 10 Why Tita Didn't Marry the Doctor, or Mexican History in Like Water for Chocolate Chapter 11 Depicting the Past in Argentine Films: Family Drama and Historical Debate in Miss Mary and The Official Story Chapter 12 Pixote: Fiction and Reality in Brazilian Life

Reviews

This collection of essays will come as a useful guide for conducting classroom discussions about films focusing on Latin American history. The editor's choice of films is good, as are the introduction and most of the essays, which are by historians rather than researchers in the field of cinema studies. Resenas This excellent volume will certainly stimulate an expanded use of film in the teaching of Latin American history. Donald Stevens and the other contributors have done an extraordinary job of providing a rich and provocative text for student discussion. -- Lyman L. Johnson, University of North Carolina at Charlotte A stimulating collection of essays that will be invaluable to anyone who has ever used film in the classroom or is thinking of doing so. The selections successfully provoke readers to explore what appears on the screen as well as to consider why constructions of both history and film are shaped the way they are. A welcome and long-overdue addition to the literature, Based on a True Story is accessible to a wide audience-historians and film critics alike. -- Susan Deans-Smith University Of Texas At Austin Stevens and the contributors...should be commended for providing additional tools to understand and teach Latin America's complex history. The Journal Of Latin American Studies and World Affairs