Cuban Film

Provide context and summary overviews as you can answer the questions. a) In the article “Recasting Ideology, Recreating Hegemony”. author Sujatha Fernandez suggests that the film Fresa Y Chocolate takes on the issue of homosexuality in Cuban society, but falls short because ultimately, Diega has to leave Cuba, and the relationship between Diego and David concludes without challenging Cuban heteronormativity. In this interpretation, the funding agency for the production of Cuban films — I.C.A.I.C.– proves to be a tools of the Cuban State and their hegemonic discourse. Do you agree with this assessment of the film and the I.C.A.I.C. ? Use examples from the film to comment on sexualit (ies), gender roles, marginality, socialism and Cuban society b) In the Cuban films we have watched, themes of community versus the individual and the bureaucracies inherent to socialism have been portrayed in a number of ways. Using the films of Gutierrez Alea and Juan Carlos Tabio, (Fresa an Chocolate, Guantanamera, and Lista de Espera) describe how Cuban people must reconcile their individuality at the expense of the collective. In what ways does this tension lead to greater individual self expression and in what ways foes it stifle the human spirit?