**4. Neoliberalism, subjectivity and melodrama**

In Mexico, the new conditions of life and work under the changes of modernity have transformed the social, economic and cultural spheres. The welfare state has diminished, and family dynamics have changed. Also, technology has had a very important role in the organization of daily life and the sharing of new meanings about gender, sexuality and race. These new conditions have undermined the patriarchal structure of the family: "accelerated insertion of women in the world of productive

### *Sueño en Otro Idioma: Queer Identities in Contemporary Mexican Melodrama DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.105162*

work, drastic reduction in the number of children, the separation between sex and reproduction, transformation in couple relationships, in the roles of father and male, and in the perception that women have of themselves" ([14], p. 14, my translation). Nowadays, women have a more active role, while the influence of the family and the Church has decreased. In the same sense, new legislation about queer identities has helped develop more respectful and humane forms of social inclusion. Stereotypes are still present, but they are challenged by new systems of representation that endorse all these changes.

Globalization is transforming the national and the local, not only the economy but culture and social relations too. For Salinas [15], the government's development in this globalized economy has assumed a neoliberal character, in which entrepreneurship is rewarded yet "collective history" and communities are ignored (p. 118). Systems of representation are depicting new experiences and narratives, in response to a hybridization process defined by more heterogeneous contexts. In the media, new esthetic explorations are revealing the uncertainties of the "contemporary soul" and new narratives structures are displaying mundane experiences and contemporary crises.

Laura Podalsky [16] states that these esthetic and narrative changes disclose a reconfiguration of masculinity in contemporary Mexican cinema through the exploration of male subjectivities. There are new films that feature male protagonists in liminal periods of their lives, on the cusp of their transformative possibilities or at the end of their livesage, old men experiencing the implications of their disabilities, and men on the verge of adulthood experiencing an incredible loss (p. 162). By doing so, these films rework temporal and spatial markers in radical ways (p. 162). As she explains: "space does not function as a backdrop for the unfolding of dramatic conflicts or as an allegory delineating national identity. Instead, rural and urban landscapes function as the material register of male subjectivity. Time is not registered in terms of history, but rather through movement" (p. 163). For the author, these explorations reflect the global transformation that reshapes the role of men in Mexican society.

The main storyline in *Sueño en otro idioma* explores the subjectivity of Evaristo. The spectator travels in time to the past and into his mind during the narrative. With the use of flashbacks, the spectator is witness to his youth and his encounters with Isauro. Most of them take place at the beach, a kind of paradise where they can be whatever they want. The forest is another element of the *mise-en-scène* that explores the subjectivity of the characters. It protects the millenary knowledge of the *Zikril* people. The cave *El Encanto* is situated here too. This is the portal to an eternal life of enjoyment, according to *Zikril* mythology. One of the most important elements that reflect the subjectivity of the characters is the *Zikril* language*.* This indigenous language makes it possible to revive the love between the characters and, at the same time, travel to the world they belong to. *Zikril* is the key element that represents the love between them, and with it, the indigenous world that has been marginalized by the modern process of *mestizaje*.

One of the scenes that show this subjectivity mediated by language is when Evaristo e Isauro meet in order to have a conversation in *Zikril* that Martin wants to record. Evaristo speaks with Isauro in *Zikril* about Lluvia's and Martín's relationship, which he disapproves of. This is the first time that Evaristo and Isauro laugh together and Evaristo discovers that he is still in love with Isauro. The scene is shot with close-ups, but also strategic two-shots reveal the intimacy between the two characters.
