The representation of the rural exodus in Spanish cinema (1900-2020): evolution, causes and territorial consequences

Rural depopulation has been a constant feature of contemporary Spanish history and has been amply studied from the perspective of geography. Recently, however, there has been considerable media attention given to the consequences of internal migration. Behind the alarming demographic statistics lies a nexus of processes which have been reflected in the cinema since its beginning. This paper explores these processes at work in the rural sending environment and receiving urban destination through an analysis of six representative Spanish films. The fictional representation through film of a complex reality provides insights into the internal and contextual keys to understanding the phenomenon of ‘empty Spain’ or ‘hollowed-out Spain’. The films illustrate the persistence of two conflicting ideas (the rural and urban), divergence about what constitutes development and the quality of life, and the processes leading to ‘demotanasia’.

Spanish cinema in the Netflix catalog: a diversity perspective

The arrival of the multinational Netflix has had a strong impact in all markets. This article analyzes the diversity of its catalog in Spain using the results of two catalog stills taken in November 2018 and July 2019. In addition, these data are compared with those of the main international SVOD platforms operating in Spain (HBO, Amazon Prime Video and Rakuten TV) and with those of the platforms of Spanish origin (Movistar+, Filmin and FlixOlé). The work draws conclusions that are not very encouraging regarding the diversity of Spanish cinema in the Netflix catalog.

Primed for Suffering: Gender, Subjectivity, and Spectatorship in Spanish Crisis Cinema

Examining three fiction films (Techo y comida, Ayer no termina nunca, and Magical Girl), this essay illuminates the traces of the economic crisis in recent Spanish cinema, focusing on how it is inscribed on female-gendered bodies and subjectivities. In exploring how female pain accumulates across the boundaries of genre in these disparate films, it asks what kind of gendered subjects these films construct, and what work women's suffering is asked to perform, both for the benefit of the film's plot and the spectator's engagement. It shows how, even in cinema sympathetic to those devastated by crisis, women are cast as disposable raw material, as it were, “primed for suffering.” At the same time, it argues, these films bring to light and embody experiences that are seldom revealed, enacting an ethical gesture of potential solidarity with those devastated by multiple forms of crisis.