Luces, Camara, Accion - Hispanic Cinema And Film

Modern cinema in America, while often viewed as the standard which other countries cinematic output aspire to, is actually somewhat of an amalgam, made up of many contributions from different cultures. Over the years, Hispanic culture has contributed in many ways to American film, and like many of the cultures that have contributed to American film; its cinematic roots and origins are linked to its history. Mexican cinema is well regarded for its innovation and ingenuity; both qualities were necessary in order to overcome initial obstacles like lack of knowledge or available resources in the motion picture industry; these qualities became cornerstones of the Hispanic film community out of necessity.

Mexico's film industry managed to evolve quickly, creatively, and energetically, by the 1930's, as it operated largely in a vacuum, independent of the hardship and political upheaval endemic to the country. Despite not having a massive, well-funded production community and all of the advertising and exposure that goes hand in hand with the film industry in the United States, Mexican cinema was thriving.

A decade of revolution in Mexico, brought with it upheaval in most areas of life, when a new national government was installed.. This would prove to be fortuitous for the film industry as the new government regarded film as a vital and important tool for getting information to the populace. Indeed, in a nation with a large portion of the population illiterate, a visual medium could be employed to essentially 'educate' the people and expose them to new ideologies. The government put this notion to the test by making the revolution a cinematic experiment of sorts by filming much of it and having it shown in theaters.

When the revolution ended, the government opted to use film in conjunction with most of its other artistic outlets in an attempt to present the illusion of a unified Mexico; most filmmakers and artists were not able to oppose this propaganda masquerading as nationalism. Government funding for many of the projects, started to be a major crutch of the movie industry, even as it was evolving and flourishing. Government watchdogs started making the rounds and scrutinized the films that public money funded - while creativity and innovation were never outright suppressed, it was an unspoken certainty that the Government was really keeping an eye on the content of movies to make sure they stayed within the lines of acceptability and continued to promote the mirage of unification to the masses. While none of this was a secret to those employed in cinema, it didn't stop them from continuing to hire innovative writers, directors, cinematographers and passionate, capable actors in order to further the art of film - if anything, all the government oversight only inspired them more.

With determination and funding on its side, the Mexican film industry was well on its way to creating a star driven system much like the one in Hollywood. Some of the actors who rose to prominence in Hispanic cinema went on to achieve success and name recognition in America - Ricardo Montalban, Maria Felix and Dolores Del Rio, to name a few. The film industry in Mexico was growing, had a stellar reputation and was churning out and exporting stars into the American system - in other words, it was a success.

Today, Hispanic actors and directors, writers and cinematographers, continue to play a prominent role in modern Hollywood movies. Sam Mendez, Antonio Banderas, Pedro Almodovar, Jimmy Smits, Robert Rodriguez, Salma Hayak, Andy Garcia, Penelope Cruz, - these are but a few of the recognizable names to achieve success in Hollywood; gone are the days when Hispanic actors would have to choose a non-ethnic name in order to have a chance at success outside of Mexico as they are now an accepted and vital part of film not only in America, but the world over.

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