Y Tu Mamá También
Mythologies of Youth
Cinema and Youth Cultures Series

Charting production, distribution, censorship, and reception, this book examines Y Tu Mamá También in its presentation as a journey of self-discoveries.

Three young adults enjoy a road trip together in search of a legendary beach. Behind their stories are mythologies of youth, a network of ideas in the film that reflects life outside the theaters. The deceptively complex film leaves the characters and its viewers with, instead of oversimplified and hollow answers, provocative questions and existential concerns. Made independently in Mexico, the film crosses over transnational issues, global markets, and mainstream and alternative aesthetics. It transforms road movie and youth film genres and shows a ?musical, magical? Mexico to the world. This book synthesizes several approaches in order to extensively examine Y Tu Mamá También. Covering the film?s production history, its distribution and censorship, and larger industrial, political, and cultural contexts, this book analyzes the too-often overlooked aspects of youthful sexuality alongside figurations of maturity, rites of passage, and covenants?made, broken, and remade?that not only inform representations of identity but also complicate the processes of identity formation themselves.

Chapter 1: Aspirations

Chapter 2: Creativity

Chapter 3: Originality

Chapter 4: ‘The Charolastra Manifesto’

Chapter 5: Maturity

Chapter 6: Sex

Chapter 7: Development

Chapter 8: Sex (it bears repeating)

Chapter 9: ‘Mí Manifiesto’

Chapter 10: Ecstasy

Chapter 11: Pranganeando

Scott L. Baugh is Associate Professor of English and Coordinator for Film & Media Studies at Texas Tech University. He specializes in Latina/o, Latin American, and multicultural cinemas. Recent publications include Latino American Cinema (2012) and Born of Resistance (2015 with Víctor A. Sorell).