1. Spanish Cinema as it relates to National Identity
By: Daniel Potes
Every nation has its own identity, whether good or bad: such as America's identity as a military
power or China's as an economic power. This National Identity holds true in just about every major
country you visit, Spain; however, has been one of the most Nationalistic. Since the inception of
Cinema in the late 19th
and early 20th
century there has been no simpler way to show the world this
identity. Forming an almost global new genre, National Cinema has led to the popularization of
nationalistic feelings and strong censorship from governments during times of war.
Spanish cinema, because of its past, has a strong history of using films to directly show national
identity, though it had quite a few rough patches while it was was being built. Because of the timing of
World War I coinciding with the creation of cinema in France and the surrounding countries, Spain
was unable to attain the photographic technology it needed to blossom it's cinematic fruits. Because of
the lack of cinematic technology in Spain, those in the film industry were forced to look for different
methods of film making, and to learn from other national cinemas that were well developed (such as
America and France) thereby initiating what was to become one of the most nationalistic and long time
censored national cinemas of all time.
Before cinema, the bourgiouses had a different outlet for viewing their national identity. This
outlet was Theater, spanish theater being focused around melodrama and retaining the machismo
heirarchic nature of Spain. Moving from these popular theatrical forms to cinema was an easy step for
the spanish film makers, the only difficulty was the lack of technology. Making due with what they
could collect or make , Spanish directors set about building a national cinema focused on romantacism
and androcentrism. After World War II started, spanish cinema was put on lockdown, much like
Germany or America, most of the creative outlets were driven into the war and building an identity for

2. National powers.
This shift from creativity to national identity caused a new type of cinema to form from the
extreme nationalism, this cinema was propaganda. With propaganda films coming out showing only
the strong religious and government run National Identity, national cinema was able to mold countries
into more nationalistic entities that had less focus on beauty than power. With Franco's Fascist catholic
control of Spain tightening around the arts and freedoms, Spaniards, including many if not most of the
famed spanish directors and film crews were forced to flee or join this cultural blinding. Because of this
tight grip of Nationalistic fascism Spanish cinema was forced to undergo a harsh change.
One of the directors to be most powerfully influenced by the increase in fascist overcontroling
nationalism was Luis Bunuel. Starting his cinematic career in pre Franco Madrid, Bunuel, along with
such greats as Salvador Dali and Federico Lorca worked to attack the church and bourgeouses through
his Surreal cinematic works. Though his early work was predominantly in France, the start of the
Spanish Civil War would have immense impact on the already subversive style of Bunuel and other
famous Spanish directors.
Because of the delayed beginnings of Spanish cinema due to lack of technology and funds,
Spanish movie-goers would often watch foreign american and french films instead. Bunuel for instance
moved to france to shoot his first short film, Un Chien Andalou a surreal criticism of spanish identity
and bourgeouse life. Learning from these foreign films, Spanish cinema gained a flair for several styles.
Film Noir impacted Spanish cinema the most out of these. Film Noir is characterized by a subversive
male lead that pursues justice because of his machismo spirit, a strong female Femme Fatale role that
acts to undermine the authority of the male lead, and a general malevolent undertone with grey tones
and dry witty humor. To understand what Spanish Cinema has gleaned from Film noir it's best to look
at the turn of the Franco regime.

3. After 40 years of Fascist censorship and Catholic control, Spanish cinema had transformed into
a vehicle for National thought controlled by the catholic censors, having grown up watching as many
foreign films as Spanish ones, directors in the 70's slipped anti nationalistic sentiments into their films
by pulling characteristics from foreign films, specifically American Film noir. Subversive female rolls ,
and increased fetishism throughout the 70's showed the lessening of Franco control over Spanish
Cinema.
In Cet obscur objet du desir, Luis Bunuel's 1977 masterpiece, the Male lead is Matthieu Fabert.
The interest Fabert displays in his new serving girl Conchita throughout the movie is a showcase of
sexual subversion, this interest is increased as her sexual subversion increases. By using a strong
female character to tempt Matthieu, we can see the remnants of Film Noir's femme fatale, much like in
films such as The Big Sleep or The Maltese Falcon, Bunuel uses the same technique to subjugate the
male authority.When Fabert first arrives at Conchita's home this technique becomes the most visible.
His power is based almost exclusively on his maleness and his wealth, but by entering her apartment he
agrees to surrender himself to her strong sexual gaze, not his androcentric money.
Conchita's oozing sexuality acts a buffer for Matthieu's male dominance, for a moment he is in
her graces, he is hers to do with as she pleases, the male power is lost while he holds the gaze of
Conchita. For a brief moment his power is returned with the account of money being brought up, but
this purely monetary control over the situation ends as quickly as it began and leaves him captive to her
gaze once again. This captivating female gaze is a feature often used in Film noir to undermine the
male's role. By taking characteristics such as this from different genres, Spanish cinema was able to not
only survive the harsh censorship of the Franco Regime, but underhandedly insult it through subtle
techniques learned from multiple genres.

4. One such technique is the subtextual topic of Homosexuality. Throughought the Franco control,
homosexuality was kept well hidden from public gaze, this masking and persecution of homosexuality
was harshly criticised by such directors as Pedro Almodovar in Live flesh and Bunuel in Cet obscur
objet du desir, this critique of the homophobic attributes of the Franco regime and fascist extremism I
feel is strongly influenced by similar subtexts within American Film noir.
In the 1947 film Dead Reckoning, Humphrey Bogart plays military captain 'Rip' Murdock in
search of justice for the man he loved. Filmed in the late 40's early 50's, a time when homosexuality
was censorable by the predominantly catholic MPPDA, a point was made to try and drive out unwanted
themes and “vices”. Bogart, upon finding out his love Johnny is dead, projects his love for him onto the
woman Johnny loved. By using the same methods as the early subversive Film Noirs and stretching
them to the extreme through melodrama and historical drama, Spanish cinema uses some of the same
methods of subtextual subversion as many Film Noirs.
This can be seen perfectly in The skin I live in, a 2011 thriller by Almodovar. In this film,
Antonio Banderas loses both his daughter and wife to male dominance. His wife kills herself after
getting into a car crash with Banderas' brother, who stole her away. His daughter kills herself after she
is raped by a young man, her fragile mind is further shattered by the fact that she witnessed her mothers
suicide as a young child. Through this horror, Robert, has his loves stripped from him, in an effort to
reclaim his love and survive the horror of loss, he kidnaps his daughters rapist and turns him into the
perfect woman. In this way not only does Robert mentally project his love of his wife and daughter
onto this newly made wo(man) but he literally projects his view of the perfect woman, molding her and
crafting the perfect skin using science and non ethical treatments.

5. In both Spanish cinema and Film Noir the Male lead has his authority subjugated by a femme
fatale and in both, the act of revenge involves a homosexual form of projecting love. While obviously
quite different, I argue that the main characteristics of subtext in these films points to the evolution of
Film Noir characteristics. By taking key components of Film noir and adding them to the already
powerful Nationalistic Spanish cinema, spanish directors managed to stretch and dramatize the
characteristics into their own form of cinema, one that survived a powerful fascist regime and harsh 40
year censorship.
In conclusion, Spanish cinema has been built up to what is is today by surviving some of the
most traumatic cinematic and historical circumstances such as lack of technology, censorship and the
vindictive ruling of a Fascist Catholic upper class, as well as pulling characteristics and techniques
from genres all over the world in order to fabricate one of the most tell-tale National Cinema of all
time. Even translated, a Spanish film can be recognized by it's distinct roots in melodrama, Film noir,
and early French cinematic technique.

6. In both Spanish cinema and Film Noir the Male lead has his authority subjugated by a femme
fatale and in both, the act of revenge involves a homosexual form of projecting love. While obviously
quite different, I argue that the main characteristics of subtext in these films points to the evolution of
Film Noir characteristics. By taking key components of Film noir and adding them to the already
powerful Nationalistic Spanish cinema, spanish directors managed to stretch and dramatize the
characteristics into their own form of cinema, one that survived a powerful fascist regime and harsh 40
year censorship.
In conclusion, Spanish cinema has been built up to what is is today by surviving some of the
most traumatic cinematic and historical circumstances such as lack of technology, censorship and the
vindictive ruling of a Fascist Catholic upper class, as well as pulling characteristics and techniques
from genres all over the world in order to fabricate one of the most tell-tale National Cinema of all
time. Even translated, a Spanish film can be recognized by it's distinct roots in melodrama, Film noir,
and early French cinematic technique.