What is 'Popular' about Mass Culture?: Santiago en 100 Palabras and Chilean National Literature

Jane Griffin, Jane De Leon Griffin

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle

Abstract

This essay explores Santiago en 100 Palabras, a massively popular writing contest centered in the subway system of Santiago de Chile. In contrast to the dominant view held within post-dictatorial Chilean literary culture that defines popular and mass culture as antagonistic forces, I argue that this contest conflates these two cultural forms to empower Latin America’s local masses in their continued struggle for cultural agency within the global cultural economy. However, I also show that the contest’s production of a specifically national literature ultimately prevents it from defeating global neoliberal hegemony and, in fact, strengthens neoliberalism’s control over non-cultural Chilean industries—specifically, metal mining.
Original languageEnglish
JournalBrujula
Volume8
StatePublished - 2010

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