Challenging gender norms in contemporary Colombian cinema: an examination of female representation in post-2003 films

Abstract

Female characters in Colombian cinema tend to be associated with notions of submissiveness, victimisation, or objectification, showing certain uniformity and repetition, regardless of the film. Even though gender codes apparently play a significant part when constructing female images in films in Latin America, there is a group of female characters of Colombian films made from 2003 onwards that go beyond standardised gender and social norms. Therefore, this thesis seeks to critically analyse how women are represented in post-2003 Colombian fiction films, regarding traditional patriarchal norms, and after the sanction of the 814 Cinema Law, which has had a positive impact in the Colombian film sector. The interdisciplinary theoretical framework that comprises film, feminist, and postcolonial/subaltern theories, enlightens the textual analysis of a total of eleven films. The thematic approach focusses on representations of subversive female silence and submission, female roles and types of emancipations within illegal armed organisations, and transgressive female sexuality and desire. Accordingly, the research argues the extent to which female characters derive from entrenched perspectives on gender roles and femininity within patriarchal models, whether these representations raise questions about gender norms in an attempt to transgress them, or whether these films offer alternative models of women within films. Ultimately, this thesis contributes to developing further discussions on the examination of women’s images in Colombian cinema, considering the limited attention given to the subject matter. Likewise, this research highlights the significance of alternative representations of gender in Colombia, in an era when Latin American female voices stress the very possibility of a visible subversion of patriarchy and chauvinism.