Market Demands and the Perpetuation of Poverty: City versus Country in Jayro's Bustamante Ixcanul

Michelle Warren; Sonja H. Bickford

doi:10.32870/elojoquepiensa.v0i20.319

Michelle Warren University of Nebraska at Kearney
Sonja H. Bickford University of Nebraska at Kearney

DOI: https://doi.org/10.32870/elojoquepiensa.v0i20.319

Palabras clave: volcano, Guatemala, kakchickel, Jayro Bustamante, city versus country

Resumen

In this study, we examine Ixcanul (2015), a debut film by director Jayro Bustamante. Under a framework of Raymond Williams’ landmark study, The Country and the City, we look at how the film portrays a stark contrast between life in the gritty and chaotic Guatemala City and the peaceful and seemingly bucolic coffee plantation where the main characters live, focusing on how the film reveals that the main problems that the indigenous characters experience on that plantation are inextricably tied to the market demands placed on them by the city (and by extension, the consumers from even beyond Guatemala). As the characters navigate between the two worlds (country/city) to deal with their own crises, we see how life on the plantation keeps the Kakchikel character in a state of perpetual oppression.

Biografía del autor

Michelle Warren, University of Nebraska at Kearney

Michelle Warren (EE.UU.) es Profesora Asistente de Español en la Universidad de Nebraska Kearney. Investiga temas que se relacionan con la identidad étnica, género sexual, y los derechos humanos, así como el teatro, la comedia y el cine. Algunas de sus publicaciones recientes son "Breaking Boundaries: Comedy Curing Stereotypes in Rick Najera’s Theatre & Performance" en Border-Lines y “My Work is More Necessary Than Ever: An Interview with Rick Najera” en Latin American Theatre Review.

Sonja H. Bickford, University of Nebraska at Kearney

Sonja H. Bickford (EE.UU.) es Profesora Asistente de Comunicación con especialidad en publicidad y mercadotecnia en la Universidad de Nebraska Kearney. Entre sus campos de estudios se encuentran el marketing, el Ártico, la evaluación del impacto de negocios en el medio ambiente, la comunicación, y las artes marciales. Entre sus publicaciones recientes se encuentran “A Comparison of Scholarly Productivity Among Current Professors who Obtained Terminal Degrees” en American Journal of Distance Education, “Communication Processes of Information Technology Executives in Higher Education” en IGI Global, y “Evaluating the Role of CSR and SLO in Ecotourism: Collaboration for Economic and Environmental Sustainability of Arctic Resources” en Resources.

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