What a century of border films teaches about the real and imagined worlds of the US-Mexico borderlands—and how this understanding helps build better relations across boundaries.
Border Witness is an account of cultural collision and fusion between Mexico and the United States, as seen on the ground and in films from the past hundred years. Blending film studies with political and cultural geography, Michael Dear investigates the making of cross-border identity and community in the territories between two nations.
Border Witness introduces a new "border film" genre just now entering its golden age. A geographer and activist, Dear adopts an accessible and engaged perspective, combining the stories told by these films with insights drawn from his own decades-long research and travel. From early silent films to virtual reality, and from revolution to the present global crisis, border films provide fresh evidence for real and imagined politics and for envisioning future transborder architectures carved from in-between spaces. In an era of global geopolitics that favors walls and war over diplomacy, Dear's insights have relevance for borders around the world.
Michael Dear is author of Why Walls Won't Work and other works on border urbanism, Latinx culture in Los Angeles, and the urban humanities. He is a critic and curator, most recently of Califas: Art of the US-Mexico Borderlands.
"Border Witness is an important primer for those interested in the evolution of the borderlands as told through film and the stories connected to its people, culture, politics, and ecology. It serves as an invaluable archive discussing the role that cinema has had in shaping an understanding of the stereotypes, misconceptions, and realities of the border on both sides."—Ron Rael, Chair of the Department of Art Practice and Professor of Architecture, University of California, Berkeley
"This fresh look at border cinema combines personal memories and affective experiences on the US-Mexico border with film interpretation. Through a series of vignettes, this book takes a fluid historical journey across the different ways this border has been represented in the cinema. This agile and cultivated text constitutes a new piece in the complex puzzle of interpretations regarding the meaning of border life and its representations."—Norma V. Iglesias-Prieto, Professor Emerita, Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies, San Diego State University
"Michael Dear takes us on a gripping account where fiction, real life, and lived experience intertwine to illuminate how the US-Mexico borderlands are portrayed and imagined. An original and persuasive journey along that shared space crisscrossed by enduring connections that no wall will ever break. A must-read for border scholars and all those intrigued by this fascinating border."—Christophe Sohn, Co-Editor in Chief of the Journal of Borderlands Studies
"This exquisite book delves into the dynamics of filmmakers working in the social and geopolitical context of the dynamic US-Mexico border. It is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the way that cinema functions and the inspiration that it draws from reality. It has deep relevance for border filmmakers and audiences around the world."—Amos Gitai, Architect and Film Builder
318 pp.6 x 9Illus: 44 b/w photos, 1 b/w map
9780520391949$29.95|£25.00Paper
Feb 2023