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Beyond Death and the Maiden: Ariel Dorfman's Media Criticism and Journalism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 September 2022

Sophia A. McClennen
Sophia A. McClennen*
Affiliation:
Pennsylvania State University, University Park
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Abstract

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Ariel Dorfman and Armand Mattelart's Para leer al Pato Donald (How to Read Donald Duck) is considered one of the most significant works of Latin American cultural criticism. Despite the significance of Donald Duck to the history of Latin American cultural criticism and to Dorfman's own trajectory as a writer, thus far, critical studies of Dorfman tend to gloss his essays, ignore his journalism, and focus solely on his literature, especially on his play La muerte y la doncella (Death and the Maiden). While the attention to Death and the Maiden is certainly well founded, it is worth considering how these two works complement each other in Dorfman's career, given the apparent lack of a shared aesthetic between the playful cultural criticism of Donald Duck and the sparse language of Death and the Maiden. In fact, attending to Donald Duck and Dorfman's other nonfiction texts reveals the ways that he has worked across styles and genres on a series of central issues that form the core of his work. As a complement to research on Dorfman's literary production, this article focuses on his media criticism and his journalism, two areas of his work that have received the least critical attention, to suggest that Dorfman's literary production must be understood as part of a larger project, one that includes his essays, journalism, and other cultural activities.

Resumen

Resumen

Para leer al Pato Donald, de Ariel Dorfman y Armand Mattelart, ha sido considerado uno de los textos principales de la crítica cultural latinoamericana. Sin embargo, a pesar de la importancia de esta obra para la historia de la crítica cultural latinoamericana y para la trayectoria de la carrera de Dorfman como escritor, hasta ahora la mayoría de estudios sobre Dorfman apenas si glosan su ensayística, frecuentemente ignoran su labor periodística, y tienden a enfocarse únicamente en su obra literaria, especialmente en su pieza teatral La muerte y la doncella. Aunque tal atención crítica a La muerte y la doncella es ciertamente justificada, vale la pena considerar cómo estas dos obras de Dorfman se complementan, especialmente cuando se nota que el estilo lúdico de Pato Donald y el lenguaje austero de La muerte y la doncella parecen indicar la carencia de una estética compartida entre las dos obras. De hecho, estudiar Pato Donald y otros de sus ensayos demuestra la manera en que, a través de múltiples estilos y géneros, Dorfman aborda una serie de asuntos clave que forman la base de su obra. Así, como complemento de las investigaciones sobre la obra literaria de Dorfman, este ensayo se enfoca en su crítica cultural y su actividad periodística, dos áreas de su obra que han recibido poca atención crítica, para sugerir que hay que entender su producción literaria como parte de un proyecto más amplio, uno que incluye también el ensayo, el periodismo y otras actividades culturales.

Type
Research Reports and Notes
Information
Latin American Research Review , Volume 45 , Issue 1 , 2010 , pp. 173 - 188
Copyright
Copyright © 2010 by the Latin American Studies Association

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