SITES OF STRUGGLE: REPRESENTATIONS OF FAMILY IN SPANISH FILM (1996-2004) Jennifer Rutherford A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of St. Andrews 2010 Full metadata for this item is available in Research@StAndrews:FullText at: http://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/ Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10023/2557 This item is protected by original copyright This item is licensed under a Creative Commons License SITES OF STRUGGLE: REPRESENTATIONS OF FAMILY IN SPANISH FILM (1996-2004) Jennifer Rutherford neé Holmes Thesis submitted to the University of St Andrews for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 30th September 2009 Rutherford neé Holmes 2 Rutherford neé Holmes ABSTRACT This thesis analyses how ways of thinking about and meanings of family are (re)negotiated and (re)presented in six films that, to varying degrees, are categorised as cine social. The group of films consists of Familia (León de Aranoa, 1996), Solas (Zambrano, 1999), Flores de otro mundo (Bollaín, 1999), Poniente (Gutiérrez, 2002), Te doy mis ojos (Bollaín, 2003) and Cachorro (Albaladejo, 2004). Despite the growing body of critical work on the wide-ranging social themes they deal with, little sustained attention has been given to their representations of family. Scholars tend to mention it only in passing, or refer back to the allegorical/mediating function that family has often played in Spanish cinema. The objective of this thesis is to place the emphasis, as the films do themselves, on the family per se. Insights into family from a range of academic fields including philosophy, sociology, feminist and queer theories and cultural, race and gender studies are combined with close textual readings and a consideration of the modes of representation and address employed in the films to analyse how they function as sites of ideological struggle. The thesis begins by sketching out historically and culturally situated definitions of family and providing an overview of some of its most iconic representations in Spanish cinema. Establishing many of the aspects developed in the main body of the thesis the first chapter concentrates on Familia, which denaturalises the hegemonic family by presenting it as a self-conscious performance. The subsequent four chapters focus on family forms, roles, practices, commitment, power dynamics and domestic space. They explore how the films’ affective and informed modes of address position the spectator in relation to criticisms of the traditional family and evaluations of emerging family ideologies, finally proposing that they could usefully be viewed as a cycle of postmodern family melodramas. 3 Rutherford neé Holmes DECLARATIONS I, Jennifer Rutherford neé Holmes, hereby certify that this thesis, which is approximately 83,015 words in length, has been written by me, that it is a record of work carried out by me and that it has not been submitted in any previous application for a higher degree. Date: Signature of Candidate: I was admitted as a research student in September 2003 and as a candidate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in September 2003; the higher study for which this is a record was carried out in the University of St Andrews between 2003 and 2009. Date: Signature of Candidate: I hereby certify that the candidate has fulfilled the conditions of the Resolution and Regulations appropriate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the University of St Andrews and that the candidate is qualified to submit this thesis in application for that degree. Date: Signature of Supervisor: In submitting this thesis to the University of St Andrews we understand that we are giving permission for it to be made available for use in accordance with the regulations of the University Library for the time being in force, subject to any copyright vested in the work not being affected thereby. We also understand that the title and the abstract will be published, and that a copy of the work may be made and supplied to any bona fide library or research worker, that my thesis will be electronically accessible for personal or research use unless exempt by award of an embargo as requested below, and that the library has the right to migrate my thesis 4 Rutherford neé Holmes into new electronic forms as required to ensure continued access to the thesis. We have obtained any third-party copyright permissions that may be required in order to allow such access and migration, or have requested the appropriate embargo below. The following is an agreed request by candidate and supervisor regarding the electronic publication of this thesis: Access to all or part of printed copy but embargo of all or part of electronic publication of thesis through the University of St Andrews for the period of one year on the following ground: Publication would preclude future publication. Date: Signature of Candidate: Date: Signature of Supervisor: 5 Rutherford neé Holmes ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost my thanks go to Bernard Bentley and Belén Vidal, for being the most generous, patient and diligent of supervisors, for believing when I did not, and for giving me the space and encouragement I needed. May this be the first of many Spanish cinema related collaborations with them. I wish to give my thanks to those who taught me in the Spanish Department at the University of St Andrews and rekindled my love of learning. Particular recognition must go again to Bernard Bentley whose door was always open to answer “problems, preguntas y dudas”; to Will Fowler, whose enthusiastic teaching of Cría cuervos… got me hooked; to Carmen García de los Ríos for making us all speak; and to Nigel Dennis, for teaching me that there is a word for everything… Further thanks are due to members of the Department of Film Studies, especially David Martin Jones and Dina Iordanova, for their advice and encouragement. In London Margaret Andrews at the Institute of Germanic and Romance Studies and Paul Preston at the London School of Economics have both been generous with their time and in passing on useful material. I am also grateful to Isabel Santaolalla, Jacqueline Cruz, José Manuel del Pino, Miguel Ángel Huerta Floriano, Brad Epps and Alberto Mira who kindly sent me films, advice or articles. Special thanks go to Lucie, who did more than she knows to get me thinking in the first place; the remarkable Ruby for her love and encouragement; Agustín, for the Spanish cinema chats and the cotilleo; Mònica per les converses i els silencis; the Toberts, for their warmth and generosity; Deb, James, Asmo, Jacob and Miss C, the Paddington commune, for all the therapeutic laughs and shared meals; my academic family Papa Alex, Rich, Guillaume, Mel, Moira and Gil; Al, Jude, Andrew, Niall, 6 Rutherford neé Holmes Karen, Paul, Thomas, Ana, Nica and Naya, Jonathan, Ingrid, Luke and Liv, Héctor and family for their friendship; Enid Holtby, Anne Wigley, Ros Alsop and Mags Thakker, wonderful teachers whose work was much appreciated and is certainly not forgotten; Irene Kiszycka for her hard work; Alan Sanderson for listening; and Billy Clarke, Alex, Mir, Jorge, Adriano and Gumbar at the British Library whose friendly faces and coffee making skills got me through many dark days. Deepest gratitude goes to my parents, Brian and Val, for teaching me to throw, feeding me with books and letting me do the cooking; my grandma Muriel, whose creative spirit and ingenuity have always inspired me; Ian and Debbie for their wise words and putting up with their little sister; Peter for the schnitzels and Anne-Leonie for being the newest and most fascinating language learner in the family; Jo, just for being her lovely self; Anne, Stephen and Ailsa for making me feel like one of the family from the first day I turned up on their doorstep. And not forgetting, Barbara, Frank and Chica and the clans Fenwick, Holmes, Homer, Hobbins and Mayr; or the late and much missed Bill Fenwick, Alice Holmes, Peter Fenwick and Susie Parkes, who will sadly not be here to help me celebrate. Last, but by no means least, thank you Ed, for coming to the rescue on numerous occasions and for putting up with everything, even footnote 104, with such love and good humour. Ok, we can go now… This thesis is dedicated to Val and Debbie Holmes, my first and most cherished teachers 7 Rutherford neé Holmes TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ………………………………………………………………………… 3 Declarations ……………………………………………………………………. 4 Acknowledgements …………………………………………………………….. 6 Table of Contents ………………………………………………………………. 8 Introduction ……………………………………………………………………. 10 0.1 Outlines 0.1.1 Why Study Filmic Representations of Family? ………….…………... 10 0.1.2 Research Questions and Methodology ……………………………….. 13 0.1.3 Coming to Terms: Family/Ideology/Representation …………………. 15 0.2 Socio-historic Context: The Family in Spain 0.2.1 Introduction …………………………………………………………... 20 0.2.2 In Transition: The Family Pre-1996 ………………………………….. 21 0.2.3 In Power: The Neoconservative Family ……………………………… 24 0.2.4 In Opposition: The Postmodern Family ……………………………… 27 0.2.5 In Conclusion ………………………………………………………… 31 0.3 Filmic Context: Representations of Family in Spanish Film 0.3.1 The Francoist Family: Collusion and Subversion ……………………. 32 0.3.2 The Family in Transition: Disrupting Tradition …………………….... 39 st 0.3.3 The Turn of the 21 Century Family: Eclectic Representations ……... 44 0.4 Critical Framework: Key Concepts and Approaches 0.4.1 (Re)viewing Genre …………………………………………………… 48 0.4.2 Cine social: Characteristics and Critical Trends ……………….…….. 51 0.4.3 (Re)viewing Melodrama and Emotion ……………………………….. 59 Chapter One: The Humour and Horror of The Family in Fernando León de Aranoa’s Familia (1996) 1.1 Chapter One Introduction …………………………………………..… 64 1.2 Staging The Family: Performing Roles, Routines and Rituals ………. 69 1.3 Narrating The Family: Oral, Aural and Visual (Re)presentations ...….