A Gringo in Mañanaland

This documentary constructs an argument about the representation of South America by its northern neighbours without recourse to commentary or interviews: the film is entirely made up of archive footage from Hollywood features, cartoons, ads and newsreels. At first it seems shapeless and neutral, but gradually the insidious political nature of the material becomes explicit, not least when the unmistakable Ronald Reagan turns up in a long-forgotton melodrama, Tropic Zone, and Charlton Heston takes to battling the armies of invading Red Ants in The Naked Jungle.