Montage and Authenticity in the Mexican Mis-en-scene

Cultural critic Carlos Monsiváis once argued the creation of Mexico—that is, its conceptualization as a timeless and mysterious land in the Western imaginary—occurred through the writings and illustrations published by Euro-American travelers after the 1821 Independence. At the center of these picturesque visions are representations of pastoral landscapes and indigenized subjects. Since then, these external images have defined the contours of the nation by relying on these two components as potent sentimental signifiers, particularly in early twentieth-century films. I conceptualize these cinematic articulations as the Mexican mise-en-scene, a set of landscape conventions achieved through the arrangement and framing of actors, sets, lighting, and costumes that situate the resulting image specifically in “Old Mexico.” However, this talk not only seeks to delineate this visual style’s form, but also track its role in conflating indigeneity, landscape, and authenticity across borders. I argue homonymous modes of the Mexican mise-en-scene—visually identical but stemming from differing nationalist discourses—were activated by dynamic montage sequences that sought to craft sentimental connections between spectators and their respective nations. By analyzing a set of films with disparate production contexts, like ¡Que Viva Mexico! (Sergei Eisenstein, 1932), Viva Villa! (Jack Conway, 1934) and Maria Candelaria (Emilio Fernandez, 1944), I examine how foreign and, later, national filmmakers deployed the Mexican Mise-en-scene as means of sentimental education, galvanizing narratives about modernity and citizenship by appealing to ideas of authenticity.