Susan Dever is Associate Professor and Chair of Media Arts at the University of New Mexico.

• List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Prologue INTRODUCTION Of Melodrama and Other Inspirations Part I : Post-Revolutionary Mexico 1. Re-Birth of a Nation: On Mexican Movies, Museums, and María Félix 2. Las de abajo: Matilde Landeta's Mexican Revolution 3. Pimps, Prostitutes, and Politicos: Matilde Landeta's Trotacalles and the Regime of Miguel Alemán Part II: Fin de Siglo Mexamérica 4. Neomelodrama as Participatory Ethnography: Allison Anders's Mi vida loca 5. The Last Judgment: Marcela Fernández Violante's Requiem (for) Melodrama EPILOGUE Deeds that Inspire Confidence Notes Bibliography Index

Susan Dever is Associate Professor and Chair of Media Arts at the University of New Mexico.

• List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Prologue INTRODUCTION Of Melodrama and Other Inspirations Part I : Post-Revolutionary Mexico 1. Re-Birth of a Nation: On Mexican Movies, Museums, and María Félix 2. Las de abajo: Matilde Landeta's Mexican Revolution 3. Pimps, Prostitutes, and Politicos: Matilde Landeta's Trotacalles and the Regime of Miguel Alemán Part II: Fin de Siglo Mexamérica 4. Neomelodrama as Participatory Ethnography: Allison Anders's Mi vida loca 5. The Last Judgment: Marcela Fernández Violante's Requiem (for) Melodrama EPILOGUE Deeds that Inspire Confidence Notes Bibliography Index

Susan Dever is Associate Professor and Chair of Media Arts at the University of New Mexico.

• List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Prologue INTRODUCTION Of Melodrama and Other Inspirations Part I : Post-Revolutionary Mexico 1. Re-Birth of a Nation: On Mexican Movies, Museums, and María Félix 2. Las de abajo: Matilde Landeta's Mexican Revolution 3. Pimps, Prostitutes, and Politicos: Matilde Landeta's Trotacalles and the Regime of Miguel Alemán Part II: Fin de Siglo Mexamérica 4. Neomelodrama as Participatory Ethnography: Allison Anders's Mi vida loca 5. The Last Judgment: Marcela Fernández Violante's Requiem (for) Melodrama EPILOGUE Deeds that Inspire Confidence Notes Bibliography Index