Melancholy and Memory: The Generation of Cultural Trauma Carriers Among Pinochet’s Children
This article analyzes structures of feeling among the generation of trauma carriers who grew up under Pinochet’s dictatorship. Drawing on interviews with thirty-seven cultural producers (including filmmakers, novelists, visual artists, and memory activists), we shed light on the generational memory...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Cambridge University Press
|
| Series: | Latin American Research Review |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1542427825100394/type/journal_article |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849329093436243968 |
|---|---|
| author | Carolina Aguilera Daniela Jara |
| author_facet | Carolina Aguilera Daniela Jara |
| author_sort | Carolina Aguilera |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article analyzes structures of feeling among the generation of trauma carriers who grew up under Pinochet’s dictatorship. Drawing on interviews with thirty-seven cultural producers (including filmmakers, novelists, visual artists, and memory activists), we shed light on the generational memory work involved in processing cultural trauma, emphasizing the emotional force behind memory transmission in postconflict societies dealing with legacies of terror. Drawing on Raymond Williams’s notion of structures of feeling, we explore how the generational memory of children during Pinochet’s dictatorship is shaped by melancholic intergenerational identification with past struggles. This intergenerational bond is characterized by melancholic affect in representing the previous generation, which is rooted in experiences of state violence and resistance and plays a key role in processing historical trauma and shaping contemporary social critique in postconflict Chile. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-5ea326e11e934f29b67d19198b5dd4ec |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1542-4278 |
| language | English |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Latin American Research Review |
| spelling | doaj-art-5ea326e11e934f29b67d19198b5dd4ec2025-08-20T03:47:21ZengCambridge University PressLatin American Research Review1542-427811810.1017/lar.2025.10039Melancholy and Memory: The Generation of Cultural Trauma Carriers Among Pinochet’s ChildrenCarolina Aguilera0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1290-9038Daniela Jara1Universidad Diego Portales, Santiago, ChileUniversidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, ChileThis article analyzes structures of feeling among the generation of trauma carriers who grew up under Pinochet’s dictatorship. Drawing on interviews with thirty-seven cultural producers (including filmmakers, novelists, visual artists, and memory activists), we shed light on the generational memory work involved in processing cultural trauma, emphasizing the emotional force behind memory transmission in postconflict societies dealing with legacies of terror. Drawing on Raymond Williams’s notion of structures of feeling, we explore how the generational memory of children during Pinochet’s dictatorship is shaped by melancholic intergenerational identification with past struggles. This intergenerational bond is characterized by melancholic affect in representing the previous generation, which is rooted in experiences of state violence and resistance and plays a key role in processing historical trauma and shaping contemporary social critique in postconflict Chile.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1542427825100394/type/journal_articlegenerationscultural traumamemorystructures of feelingsmelancholygeneracionestrauma culturalmemoriaestructuras de sentimientomelancolía |
| spellingShingle | Carolina Aguilera Daniela Jara Melancholy and Memory: The Generation of Cultural Trauma Carriers Among Pinochet’s Children Latin American Research Review generations cultural trauma memory structures of feelings melancholy generaciones trauma cultural memoria estructuras de sentimiento melancolía |
| title | Melancholy and Memory: The Generation of Cultural Trauma Carriers Among Pinochet’s Children |
| title_full | Melancholy and Memory: The Generation of Cultural Trauma Carriers Among Pinochet’s Children |
| title_fullStr | Melancholy and Memory: The Generation of Cultural Trauma Carriers Among Pinochet’s Children |
| title_full_unstemmed | Melancholy and Memory: The Generation of Cultural Trauma Carriers Among Pinochet’s Children |
| title_short | Melancholy and Memory: The Generation of Cultural Trauma Carriers Among Pinochet’s Children |
| title_sort | melancholy and memory the generation of cultural trauma carriers among pinochet s children |
| topic | generations cultural trauma memory structures of feelings melancholy generaciones trauma cultural memoria estructuras de sentimiento melancolía |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1542427825100394/type/journal_article |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT carolinaaguilera melancholyandmemorythegenerationofculturaltraumacarriersamongpinochetschildren AT danielajara melancholyandmemorythegenerationofculturaltraumacarriersamongpinochetschildren |