UWM Professor Speaks on Chilean Filmmaker Pablo Larrain

The country of Chile in South America has had a violent history. From 1973 to 1990, Chile was a dictatorship, led by General Augusto Pinochet, the Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean army, who overthrew president Salvador Allende.

In 2012, Chilean filmmaker Pablo Larrain directed the movie “No,” which highlights how advertising tactics were used in political campaigns.

The political campaign highlighted in the movie was the 1988 Chilean national plebiscite – a national referendum deciding if Pinochet would extend his rule for eight more years. With nearly 56 percent of the vote, the no side won.

In a lecture on Dec. 2, University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee Associate Professor Gilberto Blasini discussed Larrain’s film and how advertising and cinema can be used as political tools. The lecture was held in the American Geographical Society Library at UWM.

Blasini made many connections between Rene Saavedra, the main character in “No,” and Larrain during his lecture. In the film, Saavedra has connections with both political parties. He interacts with the right through his career. He does advertising to help with the “no” side of the campaign. He is also connected to the left through his ex-wife and the son they have together.

Larrain had a similar connection to both sides. He was born during the dictatorship and had connections to the left side through his family’s politics. Despite his father being a Chilean senator, Larrain was very anti-Pinochet.

Blasini also drew commentary on the power of advertising, as well as cinema, in politics. He highlighted that in the film, the same exact pitch was used to advertise cola, sell the “no” campaign and sell a soap opera. Blasini asserts that the lines between being a citizen and being a consumer have become more and more blurred.

“More people went out to buy during Black Friday than voted in the last election,” said Blasini. “People are only really thinking of themselves as consumers, not as citizens. This is not just in the U.S.; this is everywhere.”

Blasini’s presentation was part of a speaker series organized by the Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and U.S. Latin Studies. In his presentation, he read quotes in Spanish and displayed them in English on a projector. He also used clips from the film, which are subtitled in English. This is the second year of the speaker series.

The audience consisted of about 20 people, almost all students or faculty members who partake in the LACUSL major. The LACUSL major was established at UWM in 2010.

“The purpose of the series is to draw attention to the major and to provide a different form of academic community,” said Kristen Pitt. Pitt is an associate professor of French, Italian and Comparative Literature, and a LACUSL program co-coordinator.

Each year, there are four speakers in the Fall semester and three in the Spring. The speakers are faculty members who volunteer their time for these presentations. Balsini was the last speaker for the Fall semester. The presentation was concluded with questions and answers, as well as a small reception in the lobby which included snacks of goat cheese, crackers and oranges. The speaker series will resume in February.