Trump’s Rhetoric Influence on Filmic Images of Mexico: The Case of Miss Bala (2019)

This article draws on US president Donald Trump’s assertions about Mexican culture and migration from Latin America to explore how far his hegemonic rhetoric has contributed to shaping images of Mexico in Hollywood film production. Informed by Van Dijk’s concept of political discourse and Fairclough’s notion of media discourse, this study proposes a qualitative film analysis to approach the research objective. In particular, it examines continuites and discontinuities in two key films produced during two different republican governments, Bordertown (2006) – produced and disseminated under the Bush administration – and Miss Bala (2019) – made during the Trump administration. Based on their analysis, it is possible to argue that there is a shift towards a more negative portrayal of Mexicans, which is very much in line with the shift in political discourse from former US President George W. Bush to Trump.