Abstract

On the basis of previous research on the cultural action of the Chilean dictatorship (19731990), especially linked to the visual arts, this article reflects on some critical nodes in pursuit of an interpretive framework for that cultural action: identity and periodization, denomination, ideological affiliation, cultural reach of the rupture, comparison with South American dictatorships, manipulation of the media, and recognition of artistic and cultural action in relation to repressive identity. The article proposes the consideration of temporal, institutional, and content fluctuations in order to overcome dichotomous or absolute explanations that mythologize and obscure understanding of authoritarian cultural action and, therefore, of the dissident.