Performance, Kinship and Archives: Queering Acts of Mourning in the Aftermath of Argentina’s 1976-1983 Dictatorship.
Abstract
In the aftermath of Argentina’s last dictatorship (1976-1983), the organisations
created by the relatives of the disappeared deployed the trope of a ‘wounded family’.
The unspoken rule was that only those related by blood to the missing were entitled to
ask for justice. This thesis queers this biological tradition. Drawing from performance
studies and queer theory, it develops an alternative framework for understanding the
transmission of trauma beyond bloodline inscriptions. It shows how grief brought into
light an idea of community that exceeds traditional family ties.
In order to demonstrate this, the thesis builds an archive of non-normative acts of
mourning. This archive crosses different generations. The introduction utilises the
Mothers of Plaza de Mayo’s statement ‘Our Children gave birth to us’ as the
departure for a non-biological linage. Chapter 1 shows how the black humour that
informs H.I.J.O.S., the association created by the children of the disappeared, works
as a form of affective reparation in the face of loss. Chapter 2 proposes a dialogue
between Los Rubios (Albertina Carri, 2003), M (Nicolás Prividera, 2007) and La
mujer sin cabeza (Lucrecia Martel, 2008) to show how these films manage to displace
the normative cult of the victim. Chapter 3 conceives the cooking sessions that take
place at ESMA former detention camp as a form of conversion of this site of death.
Chapter 4 explores Lola Arias’ Mi vida después (2009) as an intergenerational
artefact for the transmission of trauma on- and off-stage. Chapter 5 considers Félix
Bruzzone’s novella Los topos (2008) as the announcement of a new language of
kinship. In conclusion, the thesis argues that the aftermath of violence not only
produced pain but also new forms of pleasure. Ultimately, it sheds light on a new
sense of ‘being together’ that has emerged in the wake of loss.
Authors
Sosa, CeciliaCollections
- Theses [3706]