Interfaces ()
On Roma’s Monumentality
Abstract
A cursory glance at reviews of Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma (2018) reveals the overwhelming recurrence of the expression “intimate epic” to describe it. In this article I explore the implications of this oxymoron for an appreciation of the film. Much of the discussion surrounding Roma attributed its politics, or lack thereof, to aspects of narrative representation and character psychology. I suggest that Roma’s politics is to be found, instead, in its aesthetic interplay of scale and the monumental. Commonly understood in terms of large-scale objects designed to memorialise and glorify regimes, nation-states and doctrines, monumentality is often deemed aligned with a conservative and authoritarian project. But what happens when the monumental is applied to objects and subjects existing outside the remit of its scale? At the same time, “intimate epic” assumes another meaning here related to the fact that, while the film was conceived for the largest possible screen, it was relegated to domestic viewing due to its Netflix distribution. To properly account for questions of scale in Roma, I suggest, aesthetics and representation must thus be examined alongside modes of reception and spectatorship.
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