Edward Soja’s postmetropolis: A contemporary urban phenomenon as seen in Latin American cinema

Abstract

Abstract This article presents a survey of some of the most recent theories in the fields of cinema and the city. A series of Latin American movies have been analysed from the perspective of urban space, with special attention to Edward Soja’s notion of ‘postmetropolis’. Contemporary filmmakers capture cities like Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro and Mexico City as spaces in transition, deeply fragmented and made from layers of previous cityscapes. Finally, I revisit the idea of cinema as a way of life, drawing from Louis Wirth’s essay ‘Urbanism as a way of life’, and of cinematisation of social life by Gilles Lipovetsky and Jean Serroy.