Mirror, Mirror, on the Big Screen

North Americanization in Colombia through Film

Abstract

This article examines Colombian cultural productions to test the theory of North Americanization through film. The the­ory of North Americanization stems from the study of how different aspects of international interactions shape national identity and cultural shifts, specifically between North and Latin America. Previous literature investigated different Co­lombian films and how they do or do not portray Colombi­an cultural values or norms. The data in this project consists of 10 Colombian films, one from each of the last ten years, all with Colombian directors or production teams. When watching the films, I paid attention to dialogue, behavior, and cinematic decisions reminiscent of North Americaniza­tion as defined by previous scholars in the field. The present and missing aspects of North American influence indicate how Colombian filmmakers, and by extension the Colom­bian population, interact with North American norms and values and identify with them. This article affirms the pres­ence of North Americanization in Colombia and adds to the research on cultural productions as a medium of under­standing a population.