Petroafecto: Hacia una lectura de la ubicuidad del petróleo en Pelo malo de Mariana Rondón

In this essay, I examine how oil has shaped class, race, and gender relations as well as the spatial organization of modern societies, focusing primarily on Venezuela. I use the film Pelo malo (2013) by Venezuelan director Mariana Rondón as a lens through which to analyze how oil culture has perpetuated social inequalities by segregating and regulating the bodies of the main characters through their access to petro-based goods and services. I examine the representation of the daily lives, especially the transit practices, of the main characters—Junior (an afro-descendent, queer nine-year-old boy) and Marta (an unemployed single mother)—in the Caracas slums. The streets and bus, both dependent on oil, become an extension of the two characters’ home and conditions their mobility and accessibility to the city. In order to consider the profound impact of petroleum on daily life, I introduce the concept petro-affect, which I use to refer to the capacity of petroleum as a body to leave its imprint on other bodies and to generate changes within them. This concept addresses how oil enables and facilitates the affective relationships (both emotional and material) of modern life.