Inner Borderlines
(Visions of America Through the Eyes of Alejandro Morales)
Luis Mancha | Documentary
2014 | 72 minutes | Spain
In a trip around Southern California, Alejandro Morales, a pioneer of Chicano culture, presents a unique vision of America, as he explores a variety of topics that concern the Chicano/Latino community.
Synopsis
Inner Borderlines follows Alejandro Morales around Southern California as he explores a variety of topics that concern the Chicano/Latino community including: history, immigration, race relations, ethnicity, family, labor, education, religion, memory, gender, power, border, borderlands, and the fantastic.
Recognized by many as a pioneer of Chicano literature and precursor of bilingualism-he writes in Spanish and English-, Morales presents a unique vision of America, different from the image that the United States projects abroad.
Morales has authored several historical biographies in which he tells the fictional story of a character’s life using historical personages and events, bringing together his love for both history and writing. His works are examples of Miguel de Unamuno’s idea of Intra History, writing about the significance of the lives of ordinary people; of Linda Hutcheon’s theory of Historiographic Metafiction, the practice of writing aware of theory, history and fiction as strategies to rethink and reevaluate the past; and Irving Stone’s practice of writing biographical novels.
He considers that the sites between epistemological discourses have coalesced and are continuously intersecting. In reference to any one of his books Morales says “If you read my books like works of history, you are reading fiction; if you read my books like works of fiction, you are reading history.” He believes that creative, imaginative works are equal in importance as empirical works, perhaps even more important as catalysts for inquiry and change.
Alejandro Morales is happy to engage students interested in writing in a “Writer in the Studio” conversation where he describes the inspiration, research and writing of each of his novels and his current projects. Contact education@pragda.com to coordinate his visit to your campus.
Reviews
"[Alejandro Morales] is a true pioneer in Chicano literature and one of the most outstanding, powerful, and innovative writers on the Chicano experience." — Mario García, Professor of Chicana and Chicano Studies and History, UCSB
"Professor Morales' fiction engages the formation of the Mexican American experience...He brings alive the roots of the Mexican American culture and shows different paths for its evolution in the future." — Louis DeSipio, Director, Center for the Study of Democracy, Professor of Political Science
"Inner Borderlines is a must see, it gives a future vision on the relationship of the U.S. with Mexico, from which emerges that something good might be expected." — Ångela Ruiz, El Palomitrón
"This documentary provides a series of unique visions about Southern California and ultimately about America." — Casa de America
Citation
Main credits
Mancha, Luis (film director)
Mancha, Luis (film producer)
Mancha, Luis (screenwriter)
Morales, Alejandro (film producer)
Morales, Alejandro (screenwriter)
Morales, Alejandro (on-screen participant)
Mancha, Fernando (film producer)
Other credits
Editor, Jorge Guerrero.
Citation
Cataloging
Pragda subjects
Anthropology
Culture + Identity
Economics + Social Class Issues
Geography
Latinx
Literature
Migration Studies
North America
Political Science
Sociology
Keywords
Clips
Festivals
Madrid Film Festival-PNR
Overlook
CinemAvvenire Film Festival
Medimed Festival
DIRECTOR: Luis Mancha
NATIONALITY: Spain
YEAR: 2014
GENRE: Documentary
LANGUAGE: Spanish
COLOR / B&W: Color
GRADE LEVEL: High School, College, Adults
SUBTITLE/CC: AVAILABLE
AUDIO DESCRIPTION: NOT AVAILABLE
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