ABSTRACT
Chapter 2 discusses the relevance of the notions of post-adolescence and emerging adulthood for The Motorcycle Diaries. As a coming-of-age film, its genealogy can be traced back to the Bildungsroman, which can be seen in the foregrounding of rites of passage (e.g. travel) and mentors (e.g. Mariátegui). Specific features of the Latin American variant of the Bildungsroman, such as an attention to social exclusion and transculturalisation, also apply to The Motorcycle Diaries. Finally, by presenting youth as a source of renewal and linking it to the notion of Latin American identity, Salles’ film shows affinities with José Enrique Rodó’s Ariel , a seminal essay for youth studies in Latin America.
