Use of Politics and Eroticism in the Culture of the Spanish Transition to Democracy (1975-1982) Wenceslao Gil Florida International University, [email protected]
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Florida International University FIU Digital Commons FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations University Graduate School 2011 The A( b)use of Politics and Eroticism in the Culture of the Spanish Transition to Democracy (1975-1982) Wenceslao Gil Florida International University, [email protected] DOI: 10.25148/etd.FI11120207 Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd Recommended Citation Gil, Wenceslao, "The A( b)use of Politics and Eroticism in the Culture of the Spanish Transition to Democracy (1975-1982)" (2011). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 477. https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/477 This work is brought to you for free and open access by the University Graduate School at FIU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of FIU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY Miami, Florida THE (AB)USE OF POLITICS AND EROTICISM IN THE CULTURE OF THE SPANISH TRANSITION TO DEMOCRACY (1975-1982) A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in SPANISH by Wenceslao Gil 2011 To: Dean Kenneth Furton choose the name of dean of your college/school College of Arts and Sciences choose the name of your college/school This dissertation, written by Wenceslao Gil, and entitled The (Ab)use of Politics and Eroticism in the Culture of the Spanish Transition to Democracy (1975-1982), having been approved in respect to style and intellectual content, is referred to you for judgment. We have read this dissertation and recommend that it be approved. _______________________________________ María Asunción Gómez _______________________________________ Ricardo Castells _______________________________________ Aurora Morcillo _______________________________________ Santiago Juan-Navarro, Major Professor Date of Defense: October 17, 2011 The dissertation of Wenceslao Gil is approved. _______________________________________ choose the name of dean of your college/school Dean Kenneth Furton choose the name of your college/school College of Arts and Sciences _______________________________________ Dean Lakshmi N. Reddi University Graduate School Florida International University, 2011 ii © Copyright 2011 by Wenceslao Gil All rights reserved. iii DEDICATION To my wife; simply, my life. To my parents; without them, I would not be who I am. or where I am. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to thank my advisor, Dr. Santiago Juan-Navarro, for his unconditional support, his priceless advice, and his friendship during this long but rewarding process. I want to thank the members of my committee—Dr. María Asunción Gómez, Dr. Ricardo Castells, and Dr. Aurora Morcillo— for their input and overall help. I also want to thank the Department of Modern Languages for being there for me during the past four years. Last, but not least, I would like to thank the Florida International University Graduate School for awarding me the Dissertation Evidence Acquisition Fellowship. v ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION THE (AB)USE OF POLITICS AND EROTICISM IN THE CULTURE OF THE SPANISH TRANSITION TO DEMOCRACY (1975-1982) by Wenceslao Gil Florida International University, 2011 Miami, Florida Professor Santiago Juan-Navarro, Major Professor This dissertation analyzes the (ab)use of politics and eroticism within the framework of the Transition to democracy in Spain, its social and cultural impact—on literature, film, music, and popular media—, and its consequences. After a period of nearly four decades, when the country was subjected to a totalitarian regime, Spanish society underwent a process of democratic restoration. As a result, the two topics considered taboo during almost forty years of repression—i.e., politics and sexuality/eroticism—, gushed out fiercely. Every aspect of culture was influenced by and intrinsically linked to them. However, while we have been offered a more or less global approach to the Transition—the Transition as a whole—, and some studies have focused on diverse areas, no research to date has covered in depth the significance of those issues during that historical moment. Considering the facts stated above, it was imperative to conduct a more detailed analysis of the influence of both eroticism and politics on the cultural production of the Transition from different perspectives. Although the academic intelligentsia has often rejected them as expressions of mass culture, we must consider Pierre Bourdieu’s vi theories—in line with the tradition of classical sociology, that includes science, law, and religion, together with artistic activities—, Michel Foucault’s ideas on sexuality, and New Historicism, examining texts and their contexts. This work concludes that the (ab)use of both subjects during the Spanish Transition was a reaction to a repressive condition. It led to extremes, to societal transgression and, in most cases, to the objectification of women because of the impositions of a patriarchal society. It was, however, part of a learning and, in a sense, cathartic process that led, eventually, to the reestablishment of the status quo, to a more equitable and multicultural society where men, women, and any political or sexual tendencies are respected—at least, in theory. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE INTRODUCTION: POLITICS AND EROTICISM IN TRANSITION .............................1 1. THE NOVEL IN THE CULTURAL TRANSITION: VERTICAL SMILES AND POLITICAL FLANEURS ................................................................................12 1.1. Politics and Eroticism in the Novel of the Spanish Transition. An Overview ....12 1.2. The Planeta Awards during the Transition Years ................................................28 1.3. “La sonrisa vertical.” Vertical Smiles and Explicit Sex ......................................33 1.4. Politics and Eroticism. Leopoldo Azancot and Los amores prohibidos .............41 1.5. The Political Flaneur. Manuel Vázquez Montalbán’s Los mares del Sur. Pseudo Detective Fiction as an Excuse for Sociopolitical Criticism ..................51 1.6. Women Writers. Sex and Politics from the Female Perspective. Almudena Grandes and Post-Transition Eroticism. ............................................62 2. THE FILMS DURING THE TRANSITION YEARS. “SEX AND DRUGS AND ROCK AND ROLL,” AND POLITICS ...........................................................75 2.1. Politics and Eroticism in the Films of the Spanish Transition. An Overview .....75 2.2. José Luis Garci’s Asignatura pendiente. The “Sex-and-Politics” Course We Should Have Never Failed .......................106 2.3. Eloy de la Iglesia’s El diputado. Left-Wing Politics and Homosexuality as Symbols of Transgression during Francoism and the Early Transition ............118 2.4. Women Directors: Pilar Miró, Josefina Molina, Emma Cohen, and Lina Romay ................................................................................................128 2.5. The S-rated Movies: When Transgression Pays Off .........................................131 2.6. La Escuela de Barcelona ...................................................................................134 3. THEATER AND MUSIC IN TRANSITION ..........................................................137 3.1. The Theater during the Transition. Sex and Politics Onstage ...........................137 3.2. Independent Theater Groups and Companies ....................................................152 3.3. Equus and La torna. Theatrical Controversy on a Stage in Transition .............154 3.4. Women Playwrights and Directors ....................................................................158 3.5. Music in Transition: A Cry for Freedom, Cantautores, Rock, Punk, Rumba, and the Early Movida ...........................................................................160 3.6. Cantautores. Solo Singers, Movements, and Groups ........................................162 3.7. Luis Eduardo Aute. Politics and Eroticism in the Lyrics of the Transition. “Al alba.” ...........................................................................................................189 3.8. Rock, Punk, la Movida, and Rumba. Social Criticism, Transgression, and Sexual References during the Transition ....................................................193 3.9. Women Singers in the Spanish Transition. Politics and Feminism ...................200 viii 4. THE MEDIA DURING THE TRANSITION: TELEVISION, RADIO, NEWSPAPERS, MAGAZINES, AND COMICS. SEX AND POLITICS OVERLOAD ............................................................................................................208 4.1. Spanish Television and Radio during the Transition ........................................209 4.2. Newspapers, Magazines, and Comics. The Reflection of a Society in Transition ...........................................................................................................229 4.3. Interviú. The Epitome of the (Ab)use of Politics and Eroticism .......................243 5. CONTEMPORARY REVISION OF THE CULTURAL TRANSITION TO DEMOCRACY IN SPAIN .......................................................................................247 5.1. The Contemporary Film Revision .....................................................................248 5.2. Television and the Revisionist View of the Transition .....................................263 5.3. The Musical Revision ........................................................................................288