PhD Oral Exam - Joaquin Serpe, Film and Moving Image Studies

When studying for a doctoral degree (PhD), candidates submit a thesis that provides a critical review of the current state of knowledge of the thesis subject as well as the student’s own contributions to the subject. The distinguishing criterion of doctoral graduate research is a significant and original contribution to knowledge.

Once accepted, the candidate presents the thesis orally. This oral exam is open to the public.

Abstract

The Progressive Imaginary: Platforms, Intellectuals, and Celebrities in Post-Crisis Argentina, examines the way that broadcast, digital platforms, media ownership, and national policy shaped the rise of media icons in Argentine popular culture in the aftermath of the 2001 economic crisis. This research focuses on how public personalities utilize contemporary broadcast television and digital video to contest the social and economic exclusions produced by neoliberal policies. Combining industrial and aesthetic analysis with geopolitical and historical contextualization, I examine the effects of media platforms in circulating figures who have been largely unexamined in both Northern and Southern academic circles. I anchor this project with key case studies—pop philosopher Darío Sztajnszrajber, feminist comedian Malena Pichot, and the serial biopics of Carlos Monzón, Carlos Tévez, Diego Maradona, and Eva Perón—that demonstrate the savvy use of state-owned and private media by emerging public figures who work to disseminate a progressive worldview, specifically focused on wealth redistribution, women’s rights, and anti-authoritarianism. I argue that Argentina—both its history and contemporary politics—has been thoroughly reimagined as a protector and expander of human rights through this strategic use of digital media platforms. I show, ultimately, how contemporary media global streaming platforms functions to exploit the progressive worldview as commodity export for both domestic and foreign audiences.