Cantinflas: Myth, gestuality and depoliticised rhetoric about the popular

Abstract

This paper analyses the ideological implications of the representation of the Mexican lower classes in movies by Cantinflas. Such films, mainly those of the golden age of the Mexican film industry, show the rationality and speech forms of the post-revolutionary political project. Particularly, we posit that his films naturalise poverty and present a world view in which popular subjects are seen from the upper echelons of society.