{"id":2451,"date":"2019-10-06T08:02:37","date_gmt":"2019-10-06T08:02:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reframe.sussex.ac.uk\/mediatico\/?p=2451"},"modified":"2019-10-08T09:36:37","modified_gmt":"2019-10-08T09:36:37","slug":"frontera-verde-green-frontier-2019-amazonia-from-social-media-to-netflix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reframe.sussex.ac.uk\/mediatico\/2019\/10\/06\/frontera-verde-green-frontier-2019-amazonia-from-social-media-to-netflix\/","title":{"rendered":"Frontera verde\/Green Frontier (2019): Amazonia from Social Media to Netflix"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\"><em>Today at Medi\u00e1tico we are delighted to<\/em> present an analysis of the new Netflix series Frontera Verde\/Green Frontier <em>by Julia R. Brown, that explores how <\/em>the TV <em>show sustains and expands the public conversation initiated by the #prayforAmazonia campaign<\/em>, raising related concerns of social and environmental justice. <em>Julia<\/em><i> is a Ph.D. Candidate in Hispanic Literatures at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She has taught Spanish language, literature and cinema courses and has also served as an editorial assistant and managing editor for Mexican Studies\/EstudiosMexicanos. Contact her at\u00a0 juliabrown@umail.ucsb.edu<\/i><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p>Frontera Verde\/Green Border (2019): Amazonia from Social Media to Netflix<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>by Julia Brown<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/998zUqvZXfo?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>(<em>Frontera Verde<\/em>, 2019, Trailer) <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>#PrayforAmazonia<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On August 19<sup>th<\/sup>, 2019, a mere three days after\nNetflix released the eight-part fictional miniseries, <em>Frontera Verde<\/em>, the #PrayforAmazonia campaign exploded across\nsocial media.<a href=\"#_ftn1\">[1]<\/a>\nPhotos of flames engulfing trees flooded the internet, and a few startling\nsatellite images captured immense smoke clouds visible from outer space. Critics\nresponded that \u201cEarth\u2019s Lungs are burning,\u201d a buzzy slogan, minimized the\nimportance of other forests, also noting that some of the circulating images\nwere years old.<a href=\"#_ftn2\">[2]<\/a>\n&nbsp;Yet the critiques, like the #PrayforAmazonia\ncampaign, were ephemeral: the trend quickly receded from the public eye.<a href=\"#_ftn3\">[3]<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although it\u2019s unlikely that <em>Frontera Verde<\/em>\u2019s producers\nknew of the imminent #PrayforAmazonia campaign,<a href=\"#_ftn4\">[4]<\/a> the movement indisputably gave\ncredence to the show\u2019s central themes. In turn, the TV show sustains and\nexpands the public conversation initiated by the campaign, raising related concerns\nof social and environmental justice. <em>Frontera\nverde<\/em> also reframes the campaign by reminding viewers that deciding to\nsuddenly care is a privilege: for the show\u2019s protagonists, the Amazon\u2019s\nwellbeing is a matter of life and death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>A\nGreen Border<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In <em>Borderlands\/La\nFrontera<\/em> Gloria Anzald\u00faa writes that the border is \u201ca vague and\nundetermined place created by the emotional residue of an unnatural boundary.\nIt is in a constant state of transition. The prohibited and forbidden are its\nnatural inhabitants\u201d (25). The \u201cGreen Border,\u201d like the U.S.-Mexico border, is\nmultidimensional and transgressive: it\u2019s a place where tribal elders cross\npaths with loggers and vendors selling Chinese-made kitchenware; where Europeans\nthirsting for adventure or power share bus rides with Brazilians and Colombians\nshuttling between the fictional border towns of Puerto Manigua and Yurum\u00ed (according\nto one critic based on Leticia, Colombia and Tabatinga, Brazil).<a href=\"#_ftn5\">[5]<\/a> Two manmade borders\nintersect here: the national and the environmental, where pavement ends and the\nAmazon begins. The rainforest is more than a backdrop, though; it\u2019s a character\nreferred to as \u201cLa Manigua,\u201d or dense, impenetrable, or untouched forest in\nTa\u00edno.<a href=\"#_ftn6\">[6]<\/a> For the Colombian nuns in\nPuerto Manigua, it\u2019s Eden: its indigenous inhabitants, the sinless children of\nGod. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Intersecting Lives<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Just as Anzald\u00faa traces U.S.-Mexico border history, <em>Frontera Verde<\/em> tells a story set on the border during the 1940s, 1980s and 2010s. This is a murder mystery series, and the show begins at the scene of a multiple femicide, which Agent Helena Poveda (Juana del R\u00edo) is sent from Bogot\u00e1 to investigate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/reframe.sussex.ac.uk\/mediatico\/files\/2019\/09\/Frontera-Verde-1-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2453\" srcset=\"https:\/\/reframe.sussex.ac.uk\/mediatico\/files\/2019\/09\/Frontera-Verde-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/reframe.sussex.ac.uk\/mediatico\/files\/2019\/09\/Frontera-Verde-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/reframe.sussex.ac.uk\/mediatico\/files\/2019\/09\/Frontera-Verde-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/reframe.sussex.ac.uk\/mediatico\/files\/2019\/09\/Frontera-Verde-1.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Frame 1. Ush\u00eb (\u00c1ngela Cano) and Yua (Miguel Dionisio Ramos) are the spiritual custodians of \u201cLa Manigua\u201d.  <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p> The intersecting borders are mirrored in the show\u2019s\nplot in the intersecting relations between characters. Agent Poveda\u2019s personal\nhistory is linked to that of Yua (Miguel Dionisio Ramos), leader of the Arupani\npeople and Ush\u00eb (\u00c1ngela Cano), his Mananuc partner and proteg\u00e9e. Yua trains\nUsh\u00eb as a new \u201ceternal:\u201d a being connected to the metaphysical heart of the\nAmazon. The two communicate telepathically and are perpetually youthful; a quality\nreminiscent of that used by early European chronicles to describe Ta\u00ednos living\nin a perceived Antillean paradise. Unlike the romanticized Ta\u00ednos of the 16<sup>th<\/sup>\ncentury, however, the \u201cCaminantes\u201d (\u201cWalkers\u201d) forsee tragedy for their people\nand the Amazon, and they respond forcefully. This is an uphill battle: colonialism\u2019s\noppressive forces abound. Joseph Schultz (Bruno Clairefond), a power-hungry\nNazi scientist, targets Yua and Ush\u00eb, and Ush\u00eb becomes the center of a cult of\nnuns who see her as validation for their religious beliefs. Echoing Yua and Ush\u00eb\u2019s\nstruggles, local policeman Reynaldo (Nelson Camayo), assigned as Agent Poveda\u2019s\npartner, grapples with his identity as a Nai man in non-indigenous Colombian\nsociety and as an exile from his village. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"709\" src=\"https:\/\/reframe.sussex.ac.uk\/mediatico\/files\/2019\/09\/Frontera-Verde-2-1024x709.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2454\" srcset=\"https:\/\/reframe.sussex.ac.uk\/mediatico\/files\/2019\/09\/Frontera-Verde-2-1024x709.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/reframe.sussex.ac.uk\/mediatico\/files\/2019\/09\/Frontera-Verde-2-300x208.jpg 300w, https:\/\/reframe.sussex.ac.uk\/mediatico\/files\/2019\/09\/Frontera-Verde-2-768x531.jpg 768w, https:\/\/reframe.sussex.ac.uk\/mediatico\/files\/2019\/09\/Frontera-Verde-2.jpg 1445w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Frame 2. Agent Poveda (Juana del R\u00edo) and Reynaldo (Nelson Camayo). <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Myth\nand Misrepresentation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Frontera\nverde<\/em> spins a web of relations linking indigenous and\nnon-indigenous characters and does them diligence with thoughtful character\ndevelopment. Still, the likely majority of viewers is non-indigenous and unfamiliar\nwith the communities on the Colombian-Brazilian border. This makes the show\u2019s\nreception potentially problematic for a few reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First, inventing indigenous communities is risky: the\nNai, Arupani and Mananuc are fictional, seemingly based on villages from the\nsouthern Colombia-Brazil border. Yet according to a recent Colombian government\ncensus, Witoto-speaking communities are mostly concentrated near Colombia\u2019s\nsouthern border with Peru. <a href=\"#_ftn7\">[7]<\/a> This could be interpreted\nas a misrepresentation of the demographic layout of indigenous groups in\nSouthern Colombia and is perhaps a lost opportunity to inform international\nspectators about Witoto-speaking communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Second, the show fictionalizes Arupani mythologies,\ncreating a pastiche of tropes instead of transmitting the actual, rich oral\nhistories of Witoto-speaking communities. As such, the series does not corroborate\nor give appropriate weight to indigenous epistemologies but instead projects\nOccidental imaginaries onto indigenous belief systems. Still, the show breaks\nground by privileging Witoto as highly as Spanish and Portuguese, and by\ndrawing attention to the Amazon Rainforest as a dynamic political touchstone\nwhich is home to immense cultural and ecological diversity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At this point, it is impossible not to circle back to\nthe Amazon\u2019s current state of affairs: as fires burn at unusually high rates on\nthe Brazilian side of the Amazon, critics point to the Bolsonaro\nAdministration\u2019s inattention to slash and burn farming as one cause.<a href=\"#_ftn8\">[8]<\/a> Some indigenous activists\nhave communicated that Bolsonaro is attempting to carry out a genocide of their\npeoples, making the Nazi scientist\u2019s agenda in <em>Frontera verde<\/em> feel particularly timely.<a href=\"#_ftn9\">[9]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yet as <em>Frontera\nVerde<\/em> demonstrates, threats to Amazon societies and ecosystems precede the Bolsonaro\nAdministration and the 2019 fires which are burning in record numbers across\nthe forest.<a href=\"#_ftn10\">[10]<\/a>\nGiven the uncertain terms on which the miniseries concludes, there is\nspeculation about a second season: perhaps season two will point a way out of\nthe commodification, romanticization, and destruction of \u201cLa Manigua\u201d and its\ninhabitants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>References:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gloria Anzald\u00faa (2012) <em>Borderlands\/La Frontera: The New Mestiza. <\/em>(4<sup>th<\/sup> ed., 25<sup>th<\/sup>\nanniversary ed.). San Francisco: Aunt\nLute Books.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref1\">[1]<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/2019\/08\/20\/prayforamazonia-goes-viral-twitter-users-call-attention-international-emergency\">https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/2019\/08\/20\/prayforamazonia-goes-viral-twitter-users-call-attention-international-emergency<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref2\">[2]<\/a>See <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2019\/09\/02\/756679285\/what-earths-forest-fires-mean-for-its-oxygen-levels\">https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2019\/09\/02\/756679285\/what-earths-forest-fires-mean-for-its-oxygen-levels<\/a> and &nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/factcheck.afp.com\/prayforamazonas-thousands-people-are-sharing-old-pictures-posts-about-amazon-rainforest-fires\">https:\/\/factcheck.afp.com\/prayforamazonas-thousands-people-are-sharing-old-pictures-posts-about-amazon-rainforest-fires<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref3\">[3]<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BellaLack\/status\/1169353145962717184\">https:\/\/twitter.com\/BellaLack\/status\/1169353145962717184<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref4\">[4]<\/a> Mauricio Leiva-Cock,\nJenny Ceballos and Diego Ram\u00edrez-Schempp, collaborating with Colombian director\nCiro Guerra (director of acclaimed films with Wayuu and Ocaina speaking\nprotagonists; <em>P\u00e1jaros de Verano<\/em> [2018]\nand <em>El abrazo de la serpiente <\/em>[2015])<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref5\">[5]<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/sabanerox.com\/2019\/08\/19\/frontera-verde-analisis-y-explicacion\/\">https:\/\/sabanerox.com\/2019\/08\/19\/frontera-verde-analisis-y-explicacion\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref6\">[6]<\/a> Rafael Garc\u00eda Bido, <em>Voces del Boh\u00edo<\/em>, Archivo General de la Naci\u00f3n, Colecci\u00f3n Cuadernos\nPopulares, \u201cmaleza, bosque tupido,\u201d p100. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref7\">[7]<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mininterior.gov.co\/sites\/default\/files\/upload\/SIIC\/PueblosIndigenas\/pueblo_uitoto.pdf\">https:\/\/www.mininterior.gov.co\/sites\/default\/files\/upload\/SIIC\/PueblosIndigenas\/pueblo_uitoto.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref8\">[8]<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/08\/23\/world\/americas\/amazon-fire-brazil-bolsonaro.html\">https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/08\/23\/world\/americas\/amazon-fire-brazil-bolsonaro.html<\/a>https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/08\/23\/world\/americas\/amazon-fire-brazil-bolsonaro.html<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref9\">[9]<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lasexta.com\/noticias\/internacional\/miles-personas-indigenas-protestan-brasil-politicas-bolsonaro-quieren-matar-nuestra-gente_201904275cc423700cf22d02fea57fbc.html\">https:\/\/www.lasexta.com\/noticias\/internacional\/miles-personas-indigenas-protestan-brasil-politicas-bolsonaro-quieren-matar-nuestra-gente_201904275cc423700cf22d02fea57fbc.html<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Today at Medi\u00e1tico we are delighted to present an analysis of the new Netflix series Frontera Verde\/Green Frontier by Julia&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":2456,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[309,6,3],"tags":[308,307,210],"class_list":["post-2451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-environment","category-new-media","category-television","tag-prayforamazonia","tag-frontera-verde","tag-netflix"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/reframe.sussex.ac.uk\/mediatico\/files\/2019\/09\/Frontera-Verde-1-1.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p49QSj-Dx","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/reframe.sussex.ac.uk\/mediatico\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/reframe.sussex.ac.uk\/mediatico\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/reframe.sussex.ac.uk\/mediatico\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reframe.sussex.ac.uk\/mediatico\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reframe.sussex.ac.uk\/mediatico\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2451"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/reframe.sussex.ac.uk\/mediatico\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2451\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2480,"href":"https:\/\/reframe.sussex.ac.uk\/mediatico\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2451\/revisions\/2480"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reframe.sussex.ac.uk\/mediatico\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/reframe.sussex.ac.uk\/mediatico\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reframe.sussex.ac.uk\/mediatico\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reframe.sussex.ac.uk\/mediatico\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}