Abstract
Given the lack of studies, and therefore of articles or materials discussing the role of the child in Spanish cinema in general, and in particular those based on cinema with historical elements touching on the theory of simulazione and dissimulazione from the 1950s, this work responds to a gap in this area. This work answers the questions of why children were such a key element of Francoist propaganda in film works, what impact this had on society not only in the 1950s but also beyond, and how, on this basis, the myth of Greater Spain has changed over the years. The method used to analyse the films was as follows: from a general notion of the representational role of children in cinema internationally to a specific move into an analysis of the 1950s in Spain from a historical and political point of view, so that the core material was selected films which, chosen from a list of many, were the only ones to focus fundamentally on the role ofthe child. Thanks to my research and analysis of cinema in terms of its use of children, I am able to conclude that children's cinema does not only have an effect on children, but mainly on adults, not so much shaping them as subconsciously touching on their difficult experiences or even traumas in order to build the myth of a great Spain that is eternal and strong thanks to the continuation of Francoist thought. The cinema as a 7th art and a combination of various arts, has the strongest power to influence man that has ever existed. The film is able to change the perception of man and his values, if there is a propaganda thought smuggled in it deliberately and well, which is the case of the chosen films for the sake of this thesis. There is the possibility of extending this topic within the thematic area of the doctoral thesis, i.e. the depiction of the church in the cinema through the image of the child, as well as extending the years of analysis to the 1960s and beyond, even to today's cinema, which, years later, returns and considers the Civil War or the post-Franquist world from a postmodern perspective. The value of this work lies not only in its portrayal and critique of art cinema, but also in its psychological view of the motivations behind the portrayal of the child in the cinema, as well as its consequences in mainly historical and social terms.
| Date of Award | 2023 |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Awarding Institution |
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| Supervisor | José Manuel Goñi Pérez (Supervisor) & Jennifer Wood (Supervisor) |
Keywords
- Spanish cinema
- Franco's regime
- Francoist propaganda
- Child in Spanish cinema
- Spanish cinema in the 50s
- Role of a child in Spanish cinema
- Cinema of a child