Journal of Latin American Communication Research

Authors

Miguel A Torres — 2024-07-22

List of authors who are part of Volume 12, Number 1, of the Journal of Latin American Communication Research.

Public Sphere and Political Communication Changes in Latin America

Arthur Ituassu — 2024-07-22

Digital media has brought consequences for democracies around the world. The ways media systems’ changes affect different contexts are a rich object of analysis favoring comparative perspectives. This essay deals with the Brazilian and Mexican cases. In the first case, we point to fake news, radicalization, and equalization as new implications for Brazil’s democratic dynamics. In the second, we focus on how Mexico’s government captured the country’s public sphere using digital media. Comparing the two scenarios, we make final considerations related to populism, the role of the media, and the use of digital media by new or non-conventional actors.

A dialogue between the concept of the Industrial-Economic Healthcare Complex and the Brazilian Political Economy of Information, Communication and Culture

César Bolaño — 2024-07-22

The aim of this article is to propose an original dialogue between studies that, bringing together Brazilian public health thinking and a heterodox view of political economy, emphasize the importance of the relationship between health and national development based on the concept of the Industrial-Economic Healthcare Complex (CEIS) and the Marxist analysis of the new mediating social structure of capitalism conducted by the Brazilian Political Economy of Information, Communication and Culture (EPC), in which so-called digital platforms have acquired a central position. In this context, a distinction is initially made between a digital platform in the technical sense and the companies that own platforms. Next, an analysis is carried out highlighting the differences and complementarities between the morphology of the Industrial-Economic Healthcare Complex and the model for analyzing the new structure of social mediation. Finally, a brief critique is made of the notion of economic development that preserves the logic of accumulation of the capitalist system.

The Complexities of the New Latina Televisual Conservative Voice in the United States

Danny Méndez — 2024-07-22

The 2020 presidential election revealed a surprising shift among Hispanic voters, with many supporting President Trump despite his negative comments about Hispanic immigrants. This essay examines the roles of conservative Latina television hosts Ana Navarro on The View (ABC) and Myrka Dellanos on La mesa caliente (Telemundo). It explores how they construct their on-air personas, engage in political discourse, and connect with audiences in both English and Spanish-speaking media. The study aims to understand the evolving landscape of media representation, political discourse, and cultural identity within the diverse fabric of American society.

Rivalries and Resonances: Aesthetics and Chronotopes in the Digital Sensorium of Netflix´s Narcos and La Casa de Papel

Eliseo R Colón Zayas — 2024-07-22

This paper explores the aesthetics and chronotopes in the digital sensorium of Netflix’s Narcos and La Casa de Papel. By analyzing the points of convergence and aesthetic correspondences between these two successful Spanish-language series, this study demonstrates how narrative elements resonate with transnational audiences. Utilizing Bakhtin's concept of chronotopes, the analysis identifies the organizing centers of main plot events, such as the encounter, the road, the house, the threshold, biographical time, nature, family, and work. The paper also contextualizes the dynamics of the audiovisual streaming sector, emphasizing the role of cultural practices and textual aesthetics in understanding the connection between audiences and narrative recommendation algorithms. Through this examination, the study aims to demystify the influence of algorithmic structures on audiovisual production and reception.

Simulations of Climate Change: CGI and Hyperreal Representation in The Day After Tomorrow (2004) and Geostorm (2017)

Rubén Ramírez-Sánchez — 2024-07-22

Baudrillard’s concept of the hyperreal can be used to describe a context in which representation has achieved such a level of fidelity, resolution, and ubiquity that it becomes difficult to differentiate the referent from its representation. This level of representation is characterized by simulacra, representations that go beyond mere likeness to achieve structures of feeling and experience. In this respect, Computer Graphic Imaging (CGI) techniques have been important in forging hyperreal representation, with Hollywood productions exploiting these technological advances to portray stories, characters, and scenarios that are either difficult to represent or simply have no objective referent from which to obtain a model. The science fiction disaster film genre has exploited simulation and has been increasingly crossing over to climate change themes. The Day After Tomorrow (2004) and Geostorm (2017), are two examples of films that rely heavily on CGI to portray climate-related events that have no precedent in objective reality. This paper examines the use of CGI to portray climate change messages and their potential impact according to a theory of the hyperreal. I build on Baudrillard’s assertion that simulation produces a referent-less notion of reality and uses concepts from Object Oriented Ontology (OOO), particularly Morton’s (2011) idea of climate change as a hyperobject.

Beyond Ink and Paper: the material and the symbolic in journalism

Samária Araújo de Andrade — 2024-07-22

Journalism is an activity that, beyond its material tangibility, encompasses a symbolic dimension. Seeking solely material, economic or functional explanations for understanding journalism helps in assessing specific situations, but runs the risk of overlooking many others. This study contemplates the inseparability of the material and symbolic dimensions in journalism, addressing three interrelated aspects: a) the material dimension, which often favors market aspects and, in recent years, is impacted by phenomena related to digital infotechnological transformations; b) the symbolic dimension and journalism as an activity of meaning production; and c) the idea of a hegemonic model of practiced journalism. The methodology adopted is a literature review combined with empirical observation. It is concluded that definitions and practices of journalism are strained by changes of both material and symbolic orders, demanding theoretical-interpretive research that does not neglect this condition.

Network-Actor Critical Media Literacy and Political Activism in the Era of the Fiscal Oversight Board in Puerto Rico

Aileen Estrada Fernández — 2024-07-22

The great proliferation of social networks on digital platforms within the media ecosystem has led some authors to believe that these have become significant spaces for political mobilization among young people (Bennett, 2008; Kaun et al., 2016; Rubio, 2010; Sorj & Fausto 2016). However, others question the effectiveness of these mobilizations as acts of political agency (Torres Nabel, 2011). Meanwhile, many educators argue that mastering critical media literacy skills is necessary for truly effective social and political activism (Ashley et al., 2017; Mihailidis, 2009). This article discusses the results of a survey conducted in Puerto Rico between October and December 2018 on the relationship between critical media literacy skills and other characteristics of a group of 155 university students (aged 21 to 30) who use digital networks, conceptualized as network-actors according to Bruno Latour's (2005) framework, and their levels of political activism during the initial period of the implementation of a Fiscal Oversight Board by the U.S. Congress on the island. The data were subjected to a binary logistic regression test. The findings suggest that although a significant positive relationship was found between media literacy and a type of political activism known as slacktivism (Morosov, 2009), the statistical probability of predicting whether another student with the same skill set will also exhibit the same type of activism is only moderate.

Ponlo To' Junto: Humor and Language Among Puerto Rican TikTok Content Producers

Manuel G Avilés-Santiago — 2024-07-22

This study examines two Puerto Rican TikTok content creators, SammySolo and CarlosCalderon who aim to engage bicultural and bilingual millennials and Gen Zers Latinx audience. I am interested in the way these TikTokers develop a unique linguistic ideology regarding the use of Puerto Rican vernacular, specifically the use of Spanish, Spanglish, and accents. This work analyzes how humor is used as a tool to critique hegemonic linguistic ideologies regarding the use of Spanish in the United States and as a pedagogical tool and emphasizes its ability to convey culturally the complexities surrounding the linguistic experiences of young Puerto Ricans, in contrast to the hegemonic linguistic ideology. This ideology favors “neutral Spanish,” stripping regional accents, Spanglish, and cultural nuances to create a homogenized, standardized form that aligns with commercial and media interests. This article highlights the power of humor in cultural translation, its resistance to dominant narratives related to language, and the Puerto Rican linguistic ethos (the linguistic choices, including vocabulary, syntax, grammar, and pronunciation). Furthermore, it examines whether the use of humor might serve as a means of critiquing traditional media's monolingual and unaccented linguistic legacy, exploring if these influencer-led content channels can act as alternative media platforms that transition content, formats, and language away from mainstream norms.

Navigating the Intersections between Media, Politics, and Culture in Latin America and Latino Contexts: A Comprehensive Exploration

Eliseo R Colón Zayas — 2024-07-22

The Journal of Latin American Communication Research is proud to present its 12th volume, the first 2024 issue. It brings together a diverse array of studies that reflect the dynamic and multifaceted landscape of communication research in Latin America. This issue comprises six articles, each analyzing different aspects of media, communication, and their intersections with political, social, and cultural phenomena across Latin America and beyond. These contributions not only highlight the region's unique contexts but also provide comparative insights that resonate on a global scale.