Colombia vista por el Norte: Imágenes desde el cine de Hollywood

Abstract

This article analyzes the way how Colombia has been represented by Hollywood in terms of barbarian and exotic features. Images of Colombia shown by Hollywood movies should be mostly due to the Eurocentric influence of exotic stories of travelers, the economic and technological development of the United States when compared to an apparent delay of the Colombian development, and the general view they have about a South American country that, according to Hollywood, should be an exotic place. From the analysis of three movies: Romancing the Stone; Delta Force 2: The Colombian Connection; and Colombiana, it is alleged that, despite Colombia has been stereotyped as a country where tangled geographies, harsh climates, and uncivilized inhabitants converge, the view of Hollywood is more addressed to show a generic Latin American country that does not specifically represent the characteristics incidental to Colombia but it uses such a country as a symbol to represent what is South American in terms of violence.