Pablo Trapero and the Politics of Violence

This innovative study identifies and analyses the function of violence in the films of the Argentinian screenwriter-director Pablo Trapero. It does this by examining different understandings of the concept of violence itself – with a particular emphasis placed on Slavoj Žižek's concept of objective violence – and how it is represented on-screen in Trapero's films. Individual chapters focus on a pair of the director's films; in each case the first film analysed introduces motifs and themes which the later film then expands upon and intensifies. Part I locates violence within the context of what Althusser defines as the State Apparatus, focusing on the diverse manifestations of the State's power generally. Further, this section analyses the way in which Trapero's films demonstrate the State's manipulation of its subjects through repressive and ideological means for its own benefit.
Mulliken then goes on in Part II to tighten the focus of his analysis, examining Trapero's representation of one specific ideological apparatus: the family unit. This section approaches different manifestations of the family and, using Deleuze and Guattari's theories of Oedipal and rhizomatic families, considers the ways in which the family structure itself can be used as both a means of repression and, in certain cases, a means of resistance. He contends that, through his representation of objective violence, Pablo Trapero has emerged as a distinctly political filmmaker. By focusing on several previously under-studied elements of Trapero's films this project highlights the ways in which the director's work represents present-day concerns about social inequalities and injustice in neoliberal Argentina on-screen. Finally, this work examines how Trapero combines aspects of Argentina's long tradition of political film with elements of Nuevo Cine Argentino to create a unique political voice.