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Durham E-Theses Representations of Gay Men in Contemporary Spanish Cinema GRAS-VELAZQUEZ, ADRIAN,ALBERTO How to cite: GRAS-VELAZQUEZ, ADRIAN,ALBERTO (2013) Representations of Gay Men in Contemporary Spanish Cinema , Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/7710/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 Representations of Gay Men in Contemporary Spanish Cinema Adrián Gras-Velázquez A Thesis submitted for the Degree of Doctor in Philosophy School of Modern Languages and Cultures Department of Hispanic Studies Durham University 2013 Representations of Gay Men in Contemporary Spanish Cinema Abstract Adrián Gras-Velázquez Supervisor: Dr. Santiago Fouz-Hernández Secondary Supervisor: Prof. Lucille Cairns The aim of this thesis is to offer a diverse perspective on the representation and conceptualisation of male homosexuality in Spanish cinema over the past twenty years. Key questions considered include: how is male homosexuality represented on screen? With what particularities and ideological inflections has Spanish cinema categorised gay male characters? What is included and excluded in such representations? What do these representations say about Spanish society? Also, how are those representations related to the past – and, possibly, the future? National cinema is invariably shaped by, and in turn shapes, the social, political, and legal contexts in which it is forged, and Spain’s cinematic traditions are no exception. The aim of this thesis is to explore the interrelationships between Spanish film conventions and changing legal, discursive, and visual frameworks. The thesis explores the interrelationships between these frameworks and focuses on three thematic areas: Space, Body, and Family. In Queer Spaces I analyse the representation of Madrid’s gay district Chueca in Spanish cinema over the last two decades, and how it has evolved from an underground and liminal area of jouissance in the 1980s and early 1990s to a commercialised and globalised ‘village’ in the 2000s. I also examine how films subvert those binary oppositions often associated with space, such as hetero/homo, local/global or private/public. Gay Male Bodies focuses on the medicalisation of the male gay body and the discourse of homosexuality as ‘the other:’ I discuss how discourses that originated in Spain during Franco’s regime can still be seen in some contemporary films, and what this means for the progressive representation of male homosexuality on screen. The final section, Same-Sex Families, questions the notion of ‘family’ and ‘family values’ in regard to gay characters, and I consider key issues in contemporary GLBT politics, including gay marriage, gay families, gay adoption and the relationships between gay and heterosexual family members. To Lee, Agueda & Azalea The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without the author's prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. CONTENTS List of Illustrations vii Acknowledgments ix Introduction 11 A Personal Perspective 12 Thinking Homosex: Rubin’s ‘Charmed Circle’ 14 Working Within the Homo / Hetero Binary 19 Discussing Terminology and ‘Identity’ 22 On Contemporary Spanish Cinema 25 Anglo and Spanish Theories 28 The Chapters Ahead 29 Part I: Queer Spaces 32 Queer Spaces – An Introduction 33 Defining Space 34 The Evolution of Chueca and the Public / Private Debate 35 Chapter 1: Boystown: The Evolution of Madrid’s Gay Village 37 1.1 Allan Collins’ Four-Stage Chronological Model 40 1.2 Chueca: Creating and Defining a Queer Space 43 1.2.1 Stage 1: ‘Pre-Conditions’ and Más que amor, frenesí 43 1.2.2 Stage 2: Emergence – Sobreviviré 49 1.3 Chueca: The Spanish Gay Neighbourhood Par Excellence 53 1.3.1 Stage 3: Expansion & Diversification: Chuecatown and Los novios Búlgaros 54 1.3.2 Stage 4: Integration and Chuecatown 58 1.4 Stage 5: Where Do We Go From Here? 60 1.5 The Globalisation of Chueca: The Case of Chuecatown 61 1.6 Conclusions 69 Chapter 2: Privacy in Public Spaces and the Public Side of the Private Space 71 2.1 Home and Sexuality: The Absence in Geographic Literature of Gay Men’s 72 Homes 2.2 Queering and De-Queering the Home: The Case of Cachorro 75 2.2.1 De-Queering Pedro’s Flat: Bernardo’s Arrival 76 2.2.2 Re-Queering Pedro’s Flat: A Queer Family Space 80 2.3 Searching for Privacy in the Public Space 84 2.4 Los novios Búlgaros: Daniel’s Private Space 86 2.5 Conclusions 90 Part II: Gay Male Bodies 94 Queer Bodies – An Introduction 95 The Gay Body in Spanish Cinema 98 Chapter 3: Secrets, Sex, and Lies: Medicalising the Gay Male Body 103 3.1 Mentiras y gordas: Gay Body and Sickness 107 3.1.1 Tony and Nico: The Line Between Friendship and Love 109 3.1.2 Homosexuality-as-Other: Tony’s Death 116 3.1.3 Mario Casas: Returning Tony to the Closet? 119 3.2 Diseased Homosexuals in the Spanish Civil War: El mar and Pa negre 122 3.2.1 History, War and ‘Homosexual Bodies’ 123 3.2.2 The ‘Homosexual’ Body 125 3.2.3 Pa negre 128 3.2.4 El mar 131 3.3 Conclusions 135 Chapter 4: The Four Bodies of Jordi Mollà: Homosexuality and Otherness 137 4.1 Jordi Mollà: Creating ‘The Other’ 144 4.2 Historias del Kronen: Undefined Homosexuality 147 4.3 Homosexuality is the Comedy: Perdona bonita pero Lucas me quería a mí 150 4.4 Physical or Mental? Nausea and Anxiety: Segunda piel 152 4.5 Roberto, Toni and Alberto: Repressed Sexuality 157 4.6 El cónsul de Sodoma: ‘I am not ashamed of you’ 158 4.6.1 Denying Difference and Incomprehension 160 4.6.2 Rejecting Loneliness 161 4.7 Conclusions 165 Part III: Same-Sex Families 168 Queer Families – An Introduction 169 The Family: A Question of Semantics? 172 The Family: Theoretical Framework 173 The Family in Spain 176 The Family in Spanish Cinema 177 Queer Families: Same-Sex Marriage & Same-Sex Parenting 178 Chapter 5: I Now Pronounce You…: Same-Sex Marriage and Reinas 182 5.1 Paving the Way for Same-Sex Marriage in Spain: Sobreviviré 185 5.2 Same-Sex Marriage: The Legal Changes 190 5.3 Tú eliges: Flavio’s Choice 191 5.4 The Two Sides of the Same-Sex Marriage Debate 196 5.5 May You Kiss The Groom? The Case of Reinas 200 5.5.1 Reinas: A Comedy of Errors 204 5.5.2 Reinas: The Mamas & The Papas 208 5.5.3 Reinas: The Importance of Being Gay? 213 5.6 Conclusions 219 Chapter 6: All About my Father: Same-Sex Parenting in Fuera de carta 222 6.1 Same-Sex Parenting in Spain 224 6.2 Same-Sex Parenting in Spain: The In-between Case of Cachorro 225 6.3 Fatherhood: Man Identity and Father Identity 229 6.4 Fatherhood: Gay Identity and Father Identity 230 6.5 Marriage and Fatherhood 232 6.6 Fuera de carta 234 6.6.1 Fuera de carta: Exposing The Fear of the Gay Father Figure 234 6.6.2 Fuera de carta: The Kids are All Right 238 6.6.3 Fuera de carta: Fluctuating Gender Roles 243 6.7 Conclusions 248 Conclusions 251 The Road Behind 251 The Road Ahead 256 Bibliography 260 Filmography 302 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1: STAR’S pub in Sobreviviré 51 Figure 2: Daniel and Gildo visit a straight 57 bar in Los novios búlgaros Figure 3: Auto Escuela Pardo in Chuecatown 64 Figure 4: Pedro in the background in Cachorro 78 Figure 5: Pedro engulfed by the new wall 79 in Cachorro Figure 6: Daniel and his vandalised flat in 88 Los novios búlgaros Figure 7: Tony and Nico in Mentiras y gordas 110 Figure 8: Nico and Carmen in Mentiras y gordas 116 Figure 9: Nico and Carmen in Mentiras y gordas 116 Figure 10: Tony and the man in Mentiras y gordas 116 Figure 11: Tony and the man in Mentiras y gordas 116 Figure 12: Mario Casas as Hache in 121 Tres metros sobre el cielo Figure 13: Pitorliua in Pa negre 130 Figure 14: Alberto, framed alone, in Segunda piel 155 Figure 15: Biedma, in the foreground, 163 surrounded by his friends in El cónsul de Sodoma Figure 16: Flavio, framed to the side of Paula 195 and Obdulio in Tú eliges Figure 17: Reyes looking down on the men kissing in Reinas 215 Figure 18: Jonás and Rafa kissing in Reinas 215 Figure 19: Pedro and Bernardo in Cachorro 227 Figure 20: Maxi and Alba in Fuera de carta 240 Figure 21: Maxi, Edu, and Alba share a bedtime 240 story in Fuera de carta Figure 22: A happy family: Maxi, Horacio, Edu, 248 and Alba at the end of Fuera de carta ACKNOWLEDGMENTS As a child I was never able to understand how Oscar winners were almost never able to finish their speeches within their allocated 60 seconds.