‘One Cinema, One Country’: Cultural value and public recognition of Uruguayan Cinema in the early twenty-first century

This article aims to explore the construction of symbolic value in Uruguayan cinema in the early twenty-first century (2000–13) based on the opinions of a large number of cinephiles. The comments outline at least two kinds of cinephilia as ‘scholarly’ and ‘amateur’ moviegoers respond, respectively, to ‘intellectual’ and popular/mass visions of Uruguayan film. While cultural expressions – such as the distinction between high art and popular culture – are stripped of hierarchies, new forms of social legitimacy in the movies are tested, under the signs of innovation, creative originality, heightened differences and exoticism. The work of Pierre Bourdieu will be utilized to explore this cultural terrain. This article is based on the qualitative analysis of 1128 comments published on a specialized cultural Uruguayan website, made by spectators who were invited to discuss a sample of ten Uruguayan films produced and released in the twenty-first century, which have had significant screenings at festivals, which have won international awards and/or which have achieved local box office success. The results are part of a wider project called ‘CINE.M.A. Cinema and audiovisual mediations’ from the Universidad de la República (the Uruguayan State University).