Sergei Eisenstein and Que Viva Mexico! Arborescent Thinking

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Published: 2026-08-10
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22409/6svrfv98
Keywords:
Sergei Eisenstein, Upton Sinclair, Que viva México!, De-anecdotalization principle, Latin American Cinema

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David Oubiña
Universidad de Buenos Aires
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4770-5476

Abstract

In 1930, after breaking his contract with Paramount Pictures, Sergei Eisenstein decided to improvise: he signed a contract with writer Upton Sinclair to make an independent film in Mexico. The film was supposed to be titled Que Viva Mexico!, but the filmmaker would never complete it: the shooting dragged on, the budget spiraled out of control, and Eisenstein ended up in conflict with the improvised producer, who kept all the footage. Nevertheless, Latin America left its mark on the filmmaker: an associative mode of thinking that does not operate through replacement and substitution, but through cycles that shift in ever-changing ways. This essay analyzes the influence of the Mexican experience on Eisenstein’s audiovisual poetics.

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Vol. 4 No. 1 (2026): Temática Livre

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Navegações - Artigos
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Author Biography

David Oubiña, Universidad de Buenos Aires

David Oubiña es doctor en Letras con mención en Cine (Universidad de Buenos Aires). Es investigador independiente en el CONICET y profesor en la Facultad de Filosofía y Letras (UBA). Ha sido visiting researcher en la University of London y visiting professor en la University of Bergen, en New York University y en la University of Berkeley. Entre sus libros: Filmología: Ensayos con el cine (2000); El cine de Hugo Santiago (2002); Jean-Luc Godard: el pensamiento del cine (2003); Estudio crítico sobre La ciénaga, de Lucrecia Martel (2007); Una juguetería filosófica: Cine, cronofotografía y arte digital (2009) y El silencio y sus bordes. Modos de lo extremo en la literatura y el cine (2011), Ceremonias de lo invisible. Apuntes sobre el cine y la guerra (2019), Caligrafía de la imagen. De la política de los autores al cine de autor (2022).

How to Cite

Sergei Eisenstein and Que Viva Mexico! Arborescent Thinking. A Barca, [S. l.], v. 4, n. 1, 2026. DOI: 10.22409/6svrfv98. Disponível em: https://periodicos.uff.br/abarca/article/view/69231. Acesso em: 25 aug. 2026.

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