Abstract
In the context of reception studies, this paper presents the results of a survey of film criticism in Latin America based on sociological assumptions. Formation, field and a supposed decline of the function of criticism are key elements for the discussion of the critics in question. Thus, based on interviews with critics of Argentina, Cuba and Mexico, this article addresses questions such as: what is the specific role of criticism in these countries? And what is their status today compared to its institutionalization in the years 1950/1960? Despite the difficulty of reaching a strict definition of the "critic" institution, we seek to 1) enhance the debate on reception of cultural goods, and 2) understand a Latin-American circuit inscribed on it.
Keywords Criticism; Cinema; Latin America; Theories of reception; Sociology of culture