The Eagle and the Serpent on the Screen, the State as Spectacle in Mexican Cinema

Recent studies of the history of Mexican cinema continue to speak of the complex relations between the state and the film industry, and the most frequently analyzed aspects tend to be the same: the reach and forms of censorship, as well as the financial dependence on the state. To broaden this perspective, I propose a classification of cinematic discourses that represent the relations between film characters and state powers. I discuss four basic modes of representation that, determined by historical and economic circumstances, reflect and mediate the attitudes and dispositions of viewers toward the political regime. For each mode, I discuss a sequence in a paradigmatic film, analyzing visual and ideological aspects in relation to the political moment at the time of the film\u27s release. Finally, I argue that, despite the resurgence of the Mexican cinema and a more critical tone in its approach to state institutions, fictional films still rest on indirect and allegorical representations of recent events. This is due to the uncertainty of the prolonged and still-incomplete transition to institutional democracy in Mexico

Advancements in Higher Education for Latino(a)/Chicano(a) Doctorates

Latinos(as)/Chicanos(as) are one of the minorities least represented in graduate school (Ramirez, 2016). Although there are few studies that primarily focus on the limitations Latinos(as)/Chicanos(as) students encounter in undergraduate and graduate studies, the overall goal of this study was to focus on the strategies Latinos(as)/Chicanos(as) use to counteract these limitations. These areas of limitations fall into seven categories: educational programs, family support, stress, financial support, mentors, school involvement, and exclusion. A 70-question online survey was administered to those who met the following eligibility requirements: completed a PhD, reside in California, and identify as Latino(a) and/or Chicano(a). This survey analyzes the impact educational programs have on first-generation students in undergraduate and graduate school. The questions on family support compare first-generation and non-first-generation college students who completed a PhD program. The questions on stress analyze how the PhD holders overcame stressful situations. For financial support, the survey asks one to comment on the financial resources they utilized. The questions in the section about mentors analyze a mentor’s moral, academic, personal, and financial support. For school involvement, the questions analyze the campus resources utilized by respondents and the benefits of utilizing those resources. The questions on exclusion addressed three concepts: discrimination, feelings of not belonging, and gender disparity. In family support questions, results suggest that both first-generation and non-first-generation Latino(a)/Chicano(a) PhD holders received parental support during their undergraduate and graduate studies; however, first-generation PhD holders mentioned that parents would listen but not understand academic context, while non-first-generation PhD holders had academic conversations with parents

Film Adaption and Transnational Cultures or Production: The Case of Guillermo Arriaga

The circulation of Latin American cinema in a transnational context has widened the options that actors and directors from the region have regarding their involvement in the different aspects of film production. In order to analyze Guillermo Arriaga’s transnational career as a writer of novels and screenplays I contrast his work with that of other writers and filmmakers who have participated in both the cinematic and literary fields. The fact that Arriaga has crossed the lines between writing, adapting, and directing his own works in Spanish and English leads me to review the current relations of film and literature in general. Finally, by comparing Arriaga’s novels and films, I propose that the contemporary practice of film adaptation contributes to the “flexibilization” in the roles writers, actors, and directors play in filmmaking and in the circulation of cultural capital between film and literature in the current media markets

Extremal unipotent representations for the finite Howe correspondence

We study the Howe correspondence for unipotent representations of irreducible dual pairs $(G',G)=(\text{U}_m(\mathbb{F}_q),\text{U}_n(\mathbb{F}_q))$ and $(G',G)=(\text{Sp}_{2m}(\mathbb{F}_q),\text{O}^\epsilon_{2n}(\mathbb{F}_q))$, where $\mathbb{F}_q$ denotes the finite field with $q$ elements ($q$ odd) and $\epsilon=\pm 1$. We show how to extract extremal (i.e. minimal and maximal) irreducible subrepresentations from the image of $\pi$ under the correpondence of a unipotent representation $\pi$ of $G$.Comment: 22 page

The role of photon polarization modes in the magnetization and instability of the vacuum in a supercritical field

The response of the QED vacuum in an asymptotically large electromagnetic field is studied. In this regime the vacuum energy is strongly influenced by the vacuum polarization effect. The possible interaction between the virtual electromagnetic radiation and a superstrong magnetic field suggests that a background of virtual photons is a source of magnetization to the whole vacuum. The corresponding contribution to the vacuum magnetization density is determined by considering the individual contribution of each vacuum polarization eigenmode in the Euler-Heisenberg Lagrangian. Additional issues concerning the transverse pressures are analyzed. We also study the case in which the vacuum is occupied by a superstrong electric field. It is discussed that, in addition to the electron-positron pairs, the vacuum could create photons with different propagation modes. The possible relation between the emission of photons and the birefringent character of the vacuum is shown as well.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, accepted in Phys.Lett.

Heart Hold On Crónica

To follo

From the Warehouse to the Deathbed: Challenging the Conditions of Mass Death in Prison

The purpose of this project is to analyze the crisis of mass incarceration by placing the conditions faced by elderly, terminally ill, and dying prisoners, as its main point of focus. Much of this crisis was built through post-1970s American penal policies which set in place tough sentencing laws, increased prosecutorial power, and ultimately, led to a significant growth in the prisoner population. Today, elderly and terminally ill prisoners make up the fastest growing population inside of prisons. Few of these prisoners are approved for early release, and instead die while incarcerated. This has resulted in a condition of mass death within a system of mass incarceration. In order to manage the crisis of mass death, many prisons have constructed specialized hospice care units, internal to the prison facility. As the practice of providing hospice care inside of prisons becomes more and more commonplace, it is crucial to document their functions. The following project attempts to provide a critical analysis of the origins of prison-hospice care, the benefits and limitations of these facilities, and the experiences of prisoners within these spaces. Ultimately, this project seeks to highlight the conditions which have naturalized mass death inside of American prisons, and invites its readers to look beyond the horizon of mass incarceration