Hollywood Cinema and Simulation in the Novels of Roberto Arlt

This essay studies the treatment of Hollywood cinema in the novels of Argentine writer Roberto Arlt, drawing on notions of simulation found in monographs written by sociologists José María Ramos Mejía and José Ingenieros. I argue that Arlt's understanding of the relationship between Hollywood cinema and literature is grounded in a bivalent logic of simulation. On the one hand, Arlt applauds the artistry of film actors and directors, and in his novels he compellingly simulates cinema's innovative techniques of visual representation. On the other, however, he condemns the ideological effects of Hollywood films on mass audiences who, as he sees it, are troublingly attempting to simulate the actions and behaviors of movie stars in order to influence others and get ahead in life. His novels are filled with detailed character studies of such individuals. After reviewing the early-twentieth-century sociological literature on simulation, this essay studies these two sides of Arlt's treatment of Hollywood cinema. It demonstrates that, while Arlt consistently condemns his characters' simulation of cinema, he ultimately must supplement this condemnation with an implicit understanding of artistic simulation that defends the novelist's capacity to simulate the new cinematic medium.