The image of the Late-Francoist Spain in the films of Manolo Escobar

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4185/RLCS-2013-974

Keywords:

cinema, ideology, late-Francoism, musical number, story, aesthetics

Abstract

As part of a research project that examines the 200 most popular films during the Late-Francoist Spain, this article offers a qualitative analysis of the ten films that were produced from 1966 and 1975 and were starred by the actor and singer Manolo Escobar, who was the most profitable artist of that time and delivered the most explicit messages. The analysis focuses on the values, ideas and beliefs transmitted by these films, which were presented to the public as just entertainment but were in essence ideological vehicles. The male dominance, the subservience of women, the exploitation of other Celtiberian issues that had relevance at that time, the glorification of the all things Spanish when in presence of foreignness are some of the characteristic features of these musical comedies whose happy endings suggested that success was within the reach of anyone who complied with the prevailing codes of conduct of the late-Francoist Spain.

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Author Biographies

Miguel Ángel Huerta-Floriano, University of Salamanca

Miguel Angel Huerta-Floriano holds a Bachelor’s degree in Law and Journalism and a Doctoral degree in Communication. He is Professor of Fiction genres in audiovisual media and Film production and aesthetics at the School of Communication of the Pontifical University of Salamanca, where he also serves as Vice-Dean of Postgraduate Studies and Academic Extension.

He is the author of the following books: Los géneros cinematográficos. Usos en el cine español (1994-1999) (“Film genres. Uses in the Spanish cinema (1994-1999)”); Análisis fílmico del cine español. Sesenta películas para un fin de siglo (“Analysis of Spanish cinema. Sixty films for the end of the century”); Celuloide en llamas. El cine estadounidense tras el 11-S (“Celluloid in flames. American cinema after 9-11”); and Paul Schrader.

In addition, he has co-edited and co-authored of El personaje en el cine. Del papel a la pantalla (“Character in film. From paper to the screen”); El guión de ficción en cine (“Fiction script writing in film”); and De Los Serrano a Cuéntame(“From Los Serrano to Cuéntame”).

He currently directs an R&D project funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation: Ideología, valores y creencias en el cine de barrio del tardofranquismo (1966-1975) ("Ideology, values and beliefs in the neighbourhood cinema of Late-Francoism (1966-1975)"). He collaborates as a film critic in the DGratis weekly magazine, the opinion section of El Mundo newspaper (national edition), the Cine para leer yearbook, and the dictionary titled Historia del cine en películas.

Ernesto Pérez-Morán, Complutense University of Madrid

Ernesto Pérez-Morán holds bachelor’s degrees in Law from the University of Salamanca (2001) and in Audiovisual Communication from the Pontifical University of Salamanca (2007) and a master’s degree in Film History and Aesthetics from the University of Valladolid (2004). He collaborated as a film critic in Radio Salamanca for four years and in Valladolid’s Canal 29 during the International Cinema Week. He has also worked as writer for Radio Salamanca and as film commentator for Radio Universidad. He has been a juror at several film festivals.

Author of more than 200 articles and studies on film, which have appeared in various specialised publications. He is part of the Equipo Reseña, which publishes the Cine para leer yearbook, where he has published over 150 reviews in recent years. He has also collaborated in the following publications: Enciclopedia de Cine Español e Iberoamericano, published by the Sociedad General de Autores y Editores; Historia del cine en sus películas 1990-1999 and Historia del cine en sus películas 1980-1989, both published by Mensajero; Carlos Saura. Los sueños del espejo, edited by Huesca’s Provincial Council; and Diez Guiones con historia, published byArkadin Ediciones.

He is the co-author, with Juan Antonio Pérez-Millán, of Cien médicos en el cine de ayer y de hoy (2008) and Cien abogados en el cine de ayer y de hoy (2010).

He has worked as researcher for the Government of Castilla y León in the production of a doctoral thesis on a new model of film analysis. Ph. D. in Communication, at present he is a full-time teacher in the University of Medellin (Colombia).

References

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Published

2013-03-03

How to Cite

Huerta-Floriano, Miguel Ángel, and Ernesto Pérez-Morán. 2013. “The image of the Late-Francoist Spain in the films of Manolo Escobar”. Revista Latina de Comunicación Social, no. 68 (March):189-216. https://doi.org/10.4185/RLCS-2013-974.

Issue

No. 68 (2013)

Section

Miscellaneous
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