El Protagonismo de lo Visual en el Trauma Histórico: Dicotomías en las Lecturas de lo Visual Durante la Unidad Popular, la Dictadura y la Transición a la Democracia

Abstract

Little work has been done around the meta-image of political cinema and its essential role in shaping the complex process of historical trauma in Chile. This paper examines and compares different aspects of the relationship the Popular Unity government had with cinema. Such as the pedagogical, the action, the reflective and informative connection between the trauma and this historical time. To then contrast this with negative value gained by the cinema during the dictatorship, and how this process forced and helped its internationalisation, empowering cinema as a medium of communication, strengthening its political discourse and its presentation of multiple memories. To finally, present different examples where visual culture has essential roles within contemporary films that remember and represent the traumatic times.