Reflecting on the Overthrow of Pinochet

Director Pablo Larrain created a film that explores the events of the overthrow of Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, “without passing judgment,” professor Gilberto M. Blasini told a campus audience.

The works of Larraín, specifically “No” were the focus for Blasini’s lecture held on campus Dec. 2.

Located on the third floor of the Golda Meir library in the American Geographical Society wing, the venue is a cozy and fitting setting for the material.  Surrounded by historical maps and numerous globes, you become aware of the international world “No” takes place in.

Blasini, an associate professor in the English and Film Studies department, also works in the Latin American Center on campus.  LACUSL reached out to him to give a lecture, as they knew it was an area of interest for Blasini.  The series allowed for him to present some of his work in progress.

“It’s something that I had been working on… as a tenure-track professor you have to teach as well as research,” he said.

The talk focused on content of the fictional film “No” based off true events in Chile and other work of director Pablo Larraín.  Like you would expect to hear from a film studies lecture, Blasini spoke about the motivations of main character René Saavedra, an ad executive and his involvement in a campaign to overthrow the Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet.

Blasini draws parallels between René and director Larraín, who are both in-betweeners.  René is in between boyhood and manhood, argues Blasini, as well as neutral in the conflict between Pinochet and the revolutionists.  Larraín also has to distance himself from this family, who were supporters of Pinochet’s rule.

Pinochet was the dictator of Chile from 1973 to 1990, who enforced his rule harshly, killing, detaining and torturing detractors and opponents of his rule.  Blasini spoke of the extra-textual connections of the film, and the intent Larrain had to make such a film.

The speaker series is sponsored by the Latin American, Caribbean, and U.S. Latino Studies program, or LACUSL.  That is a relatively new interdisciplinary program that offers a bachelor’s degree as a combination of the two certificates previously offered.

“We started the speaker series last year to provide a venue for Latin American and Caribbean people to get together and share their research, and allow for students to learn about the discipline,” says Kristen Pitt, Co-Coordinator of LACUSL and associate professor at UWM.

“Because it’s an (inter)disciplinary major, there are only two required 100 level classes and you may not necessarily be in a class with anybody else in your major the rest of your career,” says Pitt.

The program is a combination of the Latino Studies and Latin American and Caribbean Studies certificates.

With a turnout of around 30 people, many of whom are other faculty at UWM, you get a feeling of camaraderie, whether a part of the LACUSL program or not.  The question-and- answer portion turned into a lively discussion of themes and motivations thanks to other members of the Film Studies program chiming in with their takes on the film.

The speaker series is put on once a month by a different staff member of the interdisciplinary degree and can be about anything that has to do with Latino or Latin American and Caribbean Studies.

“These last two lectures were on Chilean cinema, but before that we had a lecture on water policy, and September was on (un)documented students’ rights,” says Pitt.

Blasini was the last of the lecture series for the semester, but the series will continue on a monthly basis next semester.  The schedule has yet to be posted on the LACUSL website.