Foreign film and television consumption and appropriation by Latin American audiences

Abstract

Empirical research on patterns of consumption and appropriation of foreign television and film on Mexican audiences in particular, and Latin American audiences in general, are scarce despite the long tradition of cultural imperialism and supply of foreign content studies. This article discusses the tendency of Latin American culturalists to avoid the study of the ideological readings of foreign audiovisual messages, and reviews the relevance of proposals like «cultural proximity» as a tool for understanding Mexican and Latin American audience’s patterns of television consumption..