Spanish Cinema After the Dictatorship in 1975

Spanish cinema has gained much recognition since the end of the countries dictatorship in 1975. One of the main reasons behind this recognition is due to creative control now being in the hands of film makers, such as Pedro Almodóvar, Fernando Trueba and

Guillermo Del Toro in the late 20th century and early 21st century. These directors have created films which dealt with themes of nationality and national history, such as Todo sobre mi madre (Pedro Almodóvar, 1999) and Pan’s Labyrinth (Guillermo Del Toro, 2006).

Although Spanish cinema only started to develop into a distinctive style later in the 20th century due to the end of censorship and propaganda regimes, some film makers such as

Luis Brunel gained international acknowledgement during the dictatorship. During the

Franco regime it could be argued that political censorship was one of the main reasons why

Spain’s national cinema had not yet formed to its full potential. In contemporary Spanish cinema especially in Almodóvar’s work, melodrama is used as a means to develop on ideologies such as feminism, sexism and nationalism while also being reflective of the country’s history. In this essay I will out outline the themes of nationality within Spanish cinema and how contemporary ideas have flourished thanks to the end of the fascist regime. I too will include an analysis of scenes from Todo sobre mi madre and Pan’s

Labyrinth and how both films use themes such as Transgenderism, Sexuality and Religion to develop Spanish nationality.

When discussing Spanish cinema, the country’s history is important because different political parties that have been in power, have shown to believe in different laws and alternate ways of life. This conflict of ideologies has ha...

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...of fascism within Spain in this period. This not only outlines the fascism as a theme, it identifies and almost shuns the ideology of fascism due to the acts of Vidal.

Works Cited

Acevedo-Munoz, E. (2010). The Body and Spain: Pedro Almodóvar’s All About My Mother. Quarterly Review of Film and Video. 21 (1).

Hei Tsuei, K. (2010). The Antifascist Aesthetics of Pan's Labyrinth.Socialism and Democracy. 22 (2).

Labanyi,J. (2004). Costume, Identity and Spectator Pleasure in Historical Films of the Early Franco Period. In: Marsh, S and Parvati,NGender and Spanish Cinema . UK: Berg Publishers.

Pavlović, T. Alvarez, I. Blanco-Cano, R. Grisales, A. Osorio, A. Sánchez,A. (2009). 100 Years of Spanish Cinema. UK: Blackwell Publishing.

Salvador, A.J. (2004). New Sexual Politics in El diputado. In: Marsh, S and Parvati,N. Gender and Spanish Cinema . UK: Berg Publishers.