Postcards in the Porfirian Imaginary

Part of a special issue on the relationship between art, identity, and social justice. The writer examines the development of postcards during the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz in Mexico, 1877–1911. She observes that the postcards produced in Mexico during this period contained definitively ideologi...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Osorio, Alejandra Betilde 1956- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2007
In: Social justice
Year: 2007, Volume: 34, Issue: 1, Pages: 141-154
Online Access: Volltext (Verlag)
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Keywords:
Díaz, Porfirio, 1830-1915
Mexicans in literature
Social Impact
Dictatorship
Mass media > Social aspects
Mass media & social integration
Postal stationery
Postcards
Nationalism > History
Mexican history, 1867-1910
Mexican art
Description
Summary:Part of a special issue on the relationship between art, identity, and social justice. The writer examines the development of postcards during the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz in Mexico, 1877–1911. She observes that the postcards produced in Mexico during this period contained definitively ideological content and helped to solidify national consciousness toward the end of the 19th century, during the consolidation of the Mexican state; they reflect the edifying feeling of a culture and nation that succeeded in structuring a national discourse centered around the notion of progress. However, she notes, at the same time, foreign photographers and editors created popular representations of Mexico and Mexicans, in which they depicted the “traditional” culture as premodern.