Module Information
Module Identifier
SP37020
Module Title
Cuban Cinema of the Revolution: Crisis, National Identity and the Critique of Contemporary Society
Academic Year
2025/2026
Co-ordinator
Semester
Semester 2
Exclusive (Any Acad Year)
Reading List
Other Staff
Course Delivery
Assessment
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Assessment | Essay 3000 Words | 40% |
| Semester Assessment | Presentation | 20% |
| Semester Exam | 2 Hours Written Examination | 40% |
| Supplementary Exam | 2 Hours Written Examination | 100% |
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
Track the historical development of Cuban cinema.
Understand the relationship between film and society in Cuba.
Have a detailed knowledge of the Cuban Revolution.
Brief description
It examines the origin and development of the Cuban film institute and tracks the processes of change and development throughout Cuba's revolutionary cinematic history.
Aims
This module aims to deepen students' understanding of the trajectory of political, social and cultural change in Cuba since 1959, as seen through the prism of filmic production from the island from 1960-2010.
Content
The module is structured chronologically:
Week 1 - Reading Film and Film analysis
Session 1 - Reading film (lecture)
Session 2 - Film analysis (practical) -
Reading: Stuart Hall (2000), 'Cultural Identity and Cinematic Representation.' Robert Stam and Toby Miller (eds.), Film and Theory. An Anthology. Oxford: Blackwell, pp. 704-14.
Reading: Interview with Garcia Espinosa by Dennis West 'Reconciling Entertainment and Thought'. 1988.
Week 2 - Before the crisis
Film: De cierta manera (1974, Sara Gomez)
Session 1 - Context and Lecture on Film
Session 2 - Class seminar based on reading and questions set
Reading: 'One Way Or Another: Dialectical, Revolutionary, Feminist', from Jump Cut no. 20, May 1978 - Julia Lesage
Week 3 - Before the crisis
Film: !Plaff! (o demasiado miedo a la vida) (1988, Juan Carlos Tabio)
Session 1 - Context and Lecture on film - Cuban cinema before 1989
Session 2 - Class seminar based on reading and questions set
Reading: 'The World According to Plaff. Reassessing Cuban Cinema in the late 1980s', by Gilberto Moises Blasini. (copy in box file). From Chon A. Noriega (ed.) (2000). Visible Nations. Latin American Cinema and Video, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, pp. 193-216 (in HO library. Classmark: PN1993.5.L3.V8
Week 4 - On the threshold of change
Films: Mujer transparente (1990, Various directors) and Alicia en el pueblo de maravillas (1991, Daniel Diaz Torres).
Session 1 - Context and lecture - change in USSR, change in Cuba, change in ICAIC
Session 2 - Class seminar based on reading and questions set
Reading (Mujer transparente): Barbara Reiss. 'The emerging feminist discourse in Cuban cultural production as seen through Mujer transparente' (copy in box file).
Reading (Alicia): Interview with Daniel Diaz Torres by Dennis West
Week 5 - In the throes of crisis
Film: Guantanamera (1995, Tomas Gutierrez Alea and Juan Carlos Tabio)
Session 1 Context and lecture - crisis in Cuba and the film industry
Session 2 - Class seminar based on reading and questions set
Reading: Article by Edna Rodriguez Mangal
Week 6 - In the throes of crisis
Film: Entre ciclones (2003, Enrique Colina)
Session 1 - Context and lecture
Session 2 - Class seminar based on reading and questions set
Reading TBC
Week 7 - National identity
Film: Miel para Oshun (2001, Humberto Solas)
Session 1 - Context and lecture - national identity in cinema
Session 2 - Class seminar based on reading and questions set
Reading TBC
Week 8 - Crisis over? The focus on national identity
Films: Suite Habana (2003, Fernando Perez)
Session 1 - Context and lecture - national identity and the postmodern reaction to crisis
Session 2 - Class seminar based on reading and questions set
Reading TBC
Week 9 - Student presentations
Week 10 - Student Presentations
Week 1 - Reading Film and Film analysis
Session 1 - Reading film (lecture)
Session 2 - Film analysis (practical) -
Reading: Stuart Hall (2000), 'Cultural Identity and Cinematic Representation.' Robert Stam and Toby Miller (eds.), Film and Theory. An Anthology. Oxford: Blackwell, pp. 704-14.
Reading: Interview with Garcia Espinosa by Dennis West 'Reconciling Entertainment and Thought'. 1988.
Week 2 - Before the crisis
Film: De cierta manera (1974, Sara Gomez)
Session 1 - Context and Lecture on Film
Session 2 - Class seminar based on reading and questions set
Reading: 'One Way Or Another: Dialectical, Revolutionary, Feminist', from Jump Cut no. 20, May 1978 - Julia Lesage
Week 3 - Before the crisis
Film: !Plaff! (o demasiado miedo a la vida) (1988, Juan Carlos Tabio)
Session 1 - Context and Lecture on film - Cuban cinema before 1989
Session 2 - Class seminar based on reading and questions set
Reading: 'The World According to Plaff. Reassessing Cuban Cinema in the late 1980s', by Gilberto Moises Blasini. (copy in box file). From Chon A. Noriega (ed.) (2000). Visible Nations. Latin American Cinema and Video, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, pp. 193-216 (in HO library. Classmark: PN1993.5.L3.V8
Week 4 - On the threshold of change
Films: Mujer transparente (1990, Various directors) and Alicia en el pueblo de maravillas (1991, Daniel Diaz Torres).
Session 1 - Context and lecture - change in USSR, change in Cuba, change in ICAIC
Session 2 - Class seminar based on reading and questions set
Reading (Mujer transparente): Barbara Reiss. 'The emerging feminist discourse in Cuban cultural production as seen through Mujer transparente' (copy in box file).
Reading (Alicia): Interview with Daniel Diaz Torres by Dennis West
Week 5 - In the throes of crisis
Film: Guantanamera (1995, Tomas Gutierrez Alea and Juan Carlos Tabio)
Session 1 Context and lecture - crisis in Cuba and the film industry
Session 2 - Class seminar based on reading and questions set
Reading: Article by Edna Rodriguez Mangal
Week 6 - In the throes of crisis
Film: Entre ciclones (2003, Enrique Colina)
Session 1 - Context and lecture
Session 2 - Class seminar based on reading and questions set
Reading TBC
Week 7 - National identity
Film: Miel para Oshun (2001, Humberto Solas)
Session 1 - Context and lecture - national identity in cinema
Session 2 - Class seminar based on reading and questions set
Reading TBC
Week 8 - Crisis over? The focus on national identity
Films: Suite Habana (2003, Fernando Perez)
Session 1 - Context and lecture - national identity and the postmodern reaction to crisis
Session 2 - Class seminar based on reading and questions set
Reading TBC
Week 9 - Student presentations
Week 10 - Student Presentations
Module Skills
| Skills Type | Skills details |
|---|---|
| Communication | Students will develop oral communication in seminars and presentation skills in individual student presentations; written communication will be developed in assessments and exam, in English. |
| Improving own Learning and Performance | Students will be able to assess their own progress week by week through their increased understanding of the issues raised and the skills developed. |
| Information Technology | Students will use on-line journals and source collections; delivery of course materials and information via e-learning system. |
| Personal Development and Career planning | Students will acquire transferable skills (analysis, research, investigation, writing, presentation); in-depth acquaintance with historical analysis as an academic subject. |
| Problem solving | Students will select appropriate reading material; developing evaluative analysis and critical skills and formulating a detailed argument. |
| Research skills | Students will analyse historical information and cinematic representations in their political/historical contexts and synthesize information in an evaluative argument. |
| Team work | Students will participate in debates and group presentations in seminars. |
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 6