Imaginaries of the 2001 Crisis in Argentine Cinema. Film Analysis of Mercano el marciano

Abstract

The 2001 crisis influences the imaginaries that circulate between the Argentine society and they are manifested in its cultural and media production. We start from the view that the imaginary is an incessant creation of figures and images that conform what we call social reality (Castoriadis 2007). The goal of this work is to find out how a certain social imaginary related to the crisis and the consequences of the implantation of the neoliberal system in Argentina are represented in animated cinema. Through an analysis of the discourse of the animated film Mercano el marciano (Juan Antín, 2002), we establish which elements of the crisis are problematized. Findings show that the discourse of the film contrasts with that offered in the New Argentine Cinema, because it uses a pedagogical and anti-establishment discourse that legitimizes subversive violence, pointing directly to the main culprits of the crisis.