{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/77934"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/77934","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Michel Franco: Auteur of Violence","abstract":"Michel Franco’s works provide his audience with a conceptualization of modern (mostly Mexican) society through an exploration of violence and trauma as they affect the individual on both personal and public levels. Using the filmic auteur theory as my basis for an exploration of his body of work, I examine his use of spatial theory, trauma, spectatorial complicity, and neoliberalism as contributors to violence in the present day, both within a Mexican and universal context. Within his films, violence is demonstrated as resultant of his characters’ environments and larger systems at work, reflected in both the spaces they inhabit and their individual selfpresentations after surviving traumatic events. Ultimately, these works lead his audiences to moments of self-reflection regarding their own involvement with mediatic violence and how they assist in its perpetuation. I have taken this thesis project as an opportunity to explore each of his films as unique parts of a collective whole, in the hopes of providing a cohesive analysis of each while also demonstrating their impact as they are connected to one another thematically. Franco’s ability to explore contemporary, similar themes in a multitude of forms places him in the position of a filmic auteur, one arguably enjoyed by his contemporaries but not indicative of the generation of Mexican directors who preceded him. Thus, he simultaneously ushers in a new form of contemporary Mexican cinema. Ultimately, his explorations of trauma are resultant of a discussion of mediatic violence in contemporary society.","abstract_html":"Michel Franco’s works provide his audience with a conceptualization of modern (mostly Mexican) society through an exploration of violence and trauma as they affect the individual on both personal and public levels. Using the filmic auteur theory as my basis for an exploration of his body of work, I examine his use of spatial theory, trauma, spectatorial complicity, and neoliberalism as contributors to violence in the present day, both within a Mexican and universal context. Within his films, violence is demonstrated as resultant of his characters’ environments and larger systems at work, reflected in both the spaces they inhabit and their individual selfpresentations after surviving traumatic events. Ultimately, these works lead his audiences to moments of self-reflection regarding their own involvement with mediatic violence and how they assist in its perpetuation. I have taken this thesis project as an opportunity to explore each of his films as unique parts of a collective whole, in the hopes of providing a cohesive analysis of each while also demonstrating their impact as they are connected to one another thematically. Franco’s ability to explore contemporary, similar themes in a multitude of forms places him in the position of a filmic auteur, one arguably enjoyed by his contemporaries but not indicative of the generation of Mexican directors who preceded him. Thus, he simultaneously ushers in a new form of contemporary Mexican cinema. Ultimately, his explorations of trauma are resultant of a discussion of mediatic violence in contemporary society.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Dorton, Elizabeth deShazo"],"institution":"Virginia Tech","degree_name":"Master of Arts","degree_level":"masters","degree_discipline":"Foreign Languages, Cultures, and Literatures","degree_department":"Foreign Languages, Cultures, and Literatures","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":["Venkatesh, Vinodh"],"committee_members":["Cana Jimenez, Maria D.","Sierra, Sarah"],"year":2017,"date_issued":"2017-06-06","date_published":"2017-06-06","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:20:20Z","subjects":["Mexico City","Michel Franco","film"],"languages":[],"rights":["In Copyright"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:11310"],"render_values":[{"text":"vt_gsexam:11310","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10919/77934","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeechair","label":"Committee Chair","values":["Venkatesh, Vinodh"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Cana Jimenez, Maria D.","Sierra, Sarah"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Foreign Languages, Cultures, and Literatures"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Dorton, Elizabeth deShazo"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2017-06-07T08:01:50Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2017-06-07T08:01:50Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2017-06-06"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Tech"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Foreign Languages, Cultures, and Literatures"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Mexico City","Michel Franco","film"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:11310"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/77934"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Michel Franco’s works provide his audience with a conceptualization of modern (mostly Mexican) society through an exploration of violence and trauma as they affect the individual on both personal and public levels. Using the filmic auteur theory as my basis for an exploration of his body of work, I examine his use of spatial theory, trauma, spectatorial complicity, and neoliberalism as contributors to violence in the present day, both within a Mexican and universal context. Within his films, violence is demonstrated as resultant of his characters’ environments and larger systems at work, reflected in both the spaces they inhabit and their individual selfpresentations after surviving traumatic events. Ultimately, these works lead his audiences to moments of self-reflection regarding their own involvement with mediatic violence and how they assist in its perpetuation. I have taken this thesis project as an opportunity to explore each of his films as unique parts of a collective whole, in the hopes of providing a cohesive analysis of each while also demonstrating their impact as they are connected to one another thematically. Franco’s ability to explore contemporary, similar themes in a multitude of forms places him in the position of a filmic auteur, one arguably enjoyed by his contemporaries but not indicative of the generation of Mexican directors who preceded him. Thus, he simultaneously ushers in a new form of contemporary Mexican cinema. Ultimately, his explorations of trauma are resultant of a discussion of mediatic violence in contemporary society."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstractgeneral","label":"General Abstract","values":["Michel Franco presents his audience with a cohesive body of work that demonstrates a contemporary society, (mostly Mexican), characterized by violence in a multitude of forms. The issue of trauma is placed front and center as it affects his protagonists on both public and private levels, incorporated into plots as a catalyst for character development while also directing the audience towards intense moments of self-reflection as his documentary style is indicative of present day, universal themes. Ultimately, Franco uses violence to highlight the trauma caused and perpetuated by his spectators, speaking to real-life issues while also implicating the spectator as its root cause. Given that his works have enjoyed significant success in the film circuit and have yet to be explored critically, I have taken this thesis project as an opportunity to explore each of his films as unique parts of a collective whole, in the hopes of providing a cohesive analysis of each while also demonstrating their impact as they are connected to one another thematically. Franco’s ability to explore contemporary, similar themes in a multitude of forms places him in the position of a filmic auteur, one arguably enjoyed by his contemporaries but not indicative of the generation of Mexican directors who preceded him. Thus, he simultaneously ushers in a new form of contemporary Mexican cinema. Ultimately, his explorations of trauma are resultant of a discussion of mediatic violence in contemporary society."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Master of Arts"]},{"key":"dc:format.medium","label":"Dc Format Medium","values":["ETD"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Michel Franco: Auteur of Violence"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.committeechair":["Venkatesh, Vinodh"],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Cana Jimenez, Maria D.","Sierra, Sarah"],"dc:contributor.department":["Foreign Languages, Cultures, and Literatures"],"dc:creator":["Dorton, Elizabeth deShazo"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2017-06-07T08:01:50Z"],"dc:date.available":["2017-06-07T08:01:50Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2017-06-06"],"dc:description.abstract":["Michel Franco’s works provide his audience with a conceptualization of modern (mostly Mexican) society through an exploration of violence and trauma as they affect the individual on both personal and public levels. 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Franco’s ability to explore contemporary, similar themes in a multitude of forms places him in the position of a filmic auteur, one arguably enjoyed by his contemporaries but not indicative of the generation of Mexican directors who preceded him. Thus, he simultaneously ushers in a new form of contemporary Mexican cinema. Ultimately, his explorations of trauma are resultant of a discussion of mediatic violence in contemporary society."],"dc:description.abstractgeneral":["Michel Franco presents his audience with a cohesive body of work that demonstrates a contemporary society, (mostly Mexican), characterized by violence in a multitude of forms. The issue of trauma is placed front and center as it affects his protagonists on both public and private levels, incorporated into plots as a catalyst for character development while also directing the audience towards intense moments of self-reflection as his documentary style is indicative of present day, universal themes. Ultimately, Franco uses violence to highlight the trauma caused and perpetuated by his spectators, speaking to real-life issues while also implicating the spectator as its root cause. Given that his works have enjoyed significant success in the film circuit and have yet to be explored critically, I have taken this thesis project as an opportunity to explore each of his films as unique parts of a collective whole, in the hopes of providing a cohesive analysis of each while also demonstrating their impact as they are connected to one another thematically. Franco’s ability to explore contemporary, similar themes in a multitude of forms places him in the position of a filmic auteur, one arguably enjoyed by his contemporaries but not indicative of the generation of Mexican directors who preceded him. Thus, he simultaneously ushers in a new form of contemporary Mexican cinema. Ultimately, his explorations of trauma are resultant of a discussion of mediatic violence in contemporary society."],"dc:description.degree":["Master of Arts"],"dc:format.medium":["ETD"],"dc:identifier.other":["vt_gsexam:11310"],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/77934"],"dc:publisher":["Virginia Tech"],"dc:rights":["In Copyright"],"dc:rights.uri":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"dc:subject":["Mexico City","Michel Franco","film"],"dc:title":["Michel Franco: Auteur of Violence"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Foreign Languages, Cultures, and Literatures"],"thesis:degree_level":["masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts"],"thesis:institution_name":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:20:20Z"}