Motherhood can be argued to be a central theme in many recent Spanish horror films. From The Orph... more Motherhood can be argued to be a central theme in many recent Spanish horror films. From The Orphanage or The Others to, more recently, Witching and Bitching or Shrew’s Nest, to mention but a few, their narratives are based on the figure of the (Good/Bad) mother. Their struggles and choices in mothering move the action forward and bring horror to the story, ultimately depicting them as «the problem to be solved» (Davies, 2011, p. 82). Using Mama (Muschietti, 2013) as a case study, this article seeks to explore how motherhood is constructed in contemporary Spanish horror film and how this might respond to the specificities of the Spanish social and historical context. For this purpose, the research will particularly focus on the journey that the main female character undergoes throughout the narrative, from the reluctant mother and rock star to the «all-nurturing and self-abnegating Angel of the House» (Kaplan, 2000, p. 468).
Motherhood can be argued to be a central theme in many recent Spanish horror films. From The Orph... more Motherhood can be argued to be a central theme in many recent Spanish horror films. From The Orphanage or The Others to, more recently, Witching and Bitching or Shrew’s Nest, to mention but a few, their narratives are based on the figure of the (Good/Bad) mother. Their struggles and choices in mothering move the action forward and bring horror to the story, ultimately depicting them as «the problem to be solved» (Davies, 2011, p. 82). Using Mama (Muschietti, 2013) as a case study, this article seeks to explore how motherhood is constructed in contemporary Spanish horror film and how this might respond to the specificities of the Spanish social and historical context. For this purpose, the research will particularly focus on the journey that the main female character undergoes throughout the narrative, from the reluctant mother and rock star to the «all-nurturing and self-abnegating Angel of the House» (Kaplan, 2000, p. 468).
espanolLa identidad masculina ha sufrido numerosos cambios en Espana, en relacion con el pasado r... more espanolLa identidad masculina ha sufrido numerosos cambios en Espana, en relacion con el pasado reciente, desde la dictadura franquista, que impuso un modelo de masculinidad fuerte y tradicional, a la posterior transicion a la democracia, en la que surgieron nuevas masculinidad es. La pelicula Lobos de Arga (Martinez Moreno, 2011) refleja la lucha entre el modelo tradicional de identidad masculina y las nuevas masculinidades a traves de dos grupos de personajes masculinos enfrentados entre si. A su vez, es especialmente significativo el uso del mito del licantropo como simbolo del modelo tradicional ideal de masculinidad, ya que dicho mito se forjo en Espana durante el tardofranquismo, a traves del iconico personaje Waldemar Daninsky. Asi, el articulo analiza la construccion del mito del hombre lobo en el contexto cinematografico espanol y, en particular, su rol en el enfrentamiento entre el modelo de masculinidad tradicional y las nuevas masculinidades representadas en la pelicula ...
Gender-Based Violence in Latin American and Iberian Cinemas (Routledge), 2020
Regarding gendered violence, the horror genre, has offered numerous representations of “the terr... more Regarding gendered violence, the horror genre, has offered numerous representations of “the terrorized woman victim” (Williams 1991: 5), since “it has long been a dictum of the genre that women make the best victims” (ibid). This is particularly central to slasher narratives, which are based on “the immensely generative story of a psycho killer who slashes to death a string of mostly female victims, one by one, until he is himself subdued or killed” (Clover 1992: 21). This formula has been repeated within the Spanish context, following the success of the Hollywood postmodern slasher Scream (Craven, 1996). However, one of the latest Spanish approaches to this subgenre offers an interesting innovation: Sexy Killer (Martí, 2008) introduces Bárbara, a young, attractive and violent woman who terrorises and kills (mainly) male victims, gender swapping the traditional formula. Unlike other Spanish psycho-killers, she does not need a motive for killing. She finds it pleasurable, offering a unique portrayal of a hyper-feminine, empowered, vicious female psycho-killer who embodies skills and activities traditionally gendered male.
Thus, through the analysis of Sexy Killer’s Bárbara, the present study seeks to explore the figure of the female psycho-killer in contemporary Spanish horror film under a gender perspective, paying attention to how this persona compares to both the popular male psycho-killers constantly referenced within the text, and the archetypal portrayal of the woman victim within the self-aware conventions of the (Hollywood) slasher genre.
The Spanish lycanthrope arrived successfully to Spanish screens with The Mark of the Wolfman (Egu... more The Spanish lycanthrope arrived successfully to Spanish screens with The Mark of the Wolfman (Eguiluz, 1968), introducing iconic actor and scriptwriter Paul Naschy as werewolf Waldemar Daninsky. This persona would be later developed in more depth in The Werewolf Versus the Vampire Woman (Klimovsky, 1970) and Curse of the Devil (Aured, 1972). Furthermore, Daninsky’s construction responded to the historical repressive context of Francoist Spain, and the strong ideal of masculinity imposed and promoted under the fascist regime (Pulido, 2012).
After a long hiatus in the horror genre, the more recent film Game of Werewolves (Martínez Moreno, 2011) revisits the figure of the Spanish lycanthrope by introducing two different sets of characters embodying two different types of masculinity and, more significantly, by linking the strong, traditional male identity to the myth of the werewolf, paying homage to Waldemar Daninsky.
Thus, through the film’s historically contextualized textual analysis, the chapter seeks to study the myth of the werewolf in twenty-first-century Spain, in relation to the changes in the masculine identity and the historical context to which it refers, exploring the struggle of men to move from the traditional male identity imposed during the dictatorship to a more progressive one.
In the last thirty years Spanish women have entered the public sphere and have achieved a progres... more In the last thirty years Spanish women have entered the public sphere and have achieved a progressive empowerment in their struggle for gender equality. These changes in women’s roles have provoked anxiety among some men, who see them as a threat to their privileged position in patriarchal society. This tension is suggested or openly depicted in contemporary Spanish horror films created by a new generation of young male film-makers in which the threat and the element that brings horror to the narrative is usually a female character. The film Witching and Bitching aka Las brujas de Zugarramurdi (de la Iglesia, 2013) offers a film materialisation of this tension within the Spanish context, by presenting a battle between male identities in crisis, anxious about the emergent role of women, and strong, independent female characters, who are depicted as monsters.
The aftermath of the Spanish Civil War supposed the end of the Second Republic and the impositio... more The aftermath of the Spanish Civil War supposed the end of the Second Republic and the imposition of a new fascist order. Franco's new regime's main mission was to create a new Spain, which involved shaping masculine and femenine identities into a new role, strongly influenced by the R.C. Church and Fascism. Thus, while the new ideal womanhood was based on motherhood and Catholic values, manhood was based on love for the fatherland, militarism and martyrdom (to die like a hero in the battlefield).
The film Pan's Labyrinth (del Toro, 2006) offers a good depiction of this new fascist identity which is displayed in the film in open confrontation to the Republican one. Through the analysis of the film, this paper seeks to study the new Spanish masculinity, embodied by the character of Captain Vidal, and the struggle of some characters to accept it.
Motherhood can be argued to be a central theme in many recent Spanish horror films. From The Orph... more Motherhood can be argued to be a central theme in many recent Spanish horror films. From The Orphanage or The Others to, more recently, Witching and Bitching or Shrew’s Nest, to mention but a few, their narratives are based on the figure of the (Good/Bad) mother. Their struggles and choices in mothering move the action forward and bring horror to the story, ultimately depicting them as «the problem to be solved» (Davies, 2011, p. 82). Using Mama (Muschietti, 2013) as a case study, this article seeks to explore how motherhood is constructed in contemporary Spanish horror film and how this might respond to the specificities of the Spanish social and historical context. For this purpose, the research will particularly focus on the journey that the main female character undergoes throughout the narrative, from the reluctant mother and rock star to the «all-nurturing and self-abnegating Angel of the House» (Kaplan, 2000, p. 468).
Motherhood can be argued to be a central theme in many recent Spanish horror films. From The Orph... more Motherhood can be argued to be a central theme in many recent Spanish horror films. From The Orphanage or The Others to, more recently, Witching and Bitching or Shrew’s Nest, to mention but a few, their narratives are based on the figure of the (Good/Bad) mother. Their struggles and choices in mothering move the action forward and bring horror to the story, ultimately depicting them as «the problem to be solved» (Davies, 2011, p. 82). Using Mama (Muschietti, 2013) as a case study, this article seeks to explore how motherhood is constructed in contemporary Spanish horror film and how this might respond to the specificities of the Spanish social and historical context. For this purpose, the research will particularly focus on the journey that the main female character undergoes throughout the narrative, from the reluctant mother and rock star to the «all-nurturing and self-abnegating Angel of the House» (Kaplan, 2000, p. 468).
espanolLa identidad masculina ha sufrido numerosos cambios en Espana, en relacion con el pasado r... more espanolLa identidad masculina ha sufrido numerosos cambios en Espana, en relacion con el pasado reciente, desde la dictadura franquista, que impuso un modelo de masculinidad fuerte y tradicional, a la posterior transicion a la democracia, en la que surgieron nuevas masculinidad es. La pelicula Lobos de Arga (Martinez Moreno, 2011) refleja la lucha entre el modelo tradicional de identidad masculina y las nuevas masculinidades a traves de dos grupos de personajes masculinos enfrentados entre si. A su vez, es especialmente significativo el uso del mito del licantropo como simbolo del modelo tradicional ideal de masculinidad, ya que dicho mito se forjo en Espana durante el tardofranquismo, a traves del iconico personaje Waldemar Daninsky. Asi, el articulo analiza la construccion del mito del hombre lobo en el contexto cinematografico espanol y, en particular, su rol en el enfrentamiento entre el modelo de masculinidad tradicional y las nuevas masculinidades representadas en la pelicula ...
Gender-Based Violence in Latin American and Iberian Cinemas (Routledge), 2020
Regarding gendered violence, the horror genre, has offered numerous representations of “the terr... more Regarding gendered violence, the horror genre, has offered numerous representations of “the terrorized woman victim” (Williams 1991: 5), since “it has long been a dictum of the genre that women make the best victims” (ibid). This is particularly central to slasher narratives, which are based on “the immensely generative story of a psycho killer who slashes to death a string of mostly female victims, one by one, until he is himself subdued or killed” (Clover 1992: 21). This formula has been repeated within the Spanish context, following the success of the Hollywood postmodern slasher Scream (Craven, 1996). However, one of the latest Spanish approaches to this subgenre offers an interesting innovation: Sexy Killer (Martí, 2008) introduces Bárbara, a young, attractive and violent woman who terrorises and kills (mainly) male victims, gender swapping the traditional formula. Unlike other Spanish psycho-killers, she does not need a motive for killing. She finds it pleasurable, offering a unique portrayal of a hyper-feminine, empowered, vicious female psycho-killer who embodies skills and activities traditionally gendered male.
Thus, through the analysis of Sexy Killer’s Bárbara, the present study seeks to explore the figure of the female psycho-killer in contemporary Spanish horror film under a gender perspective, paying attention to how this persona compares to both the popular male psycho-killers constantly referenced within the text, and the archetypal portrayal of the woman victim within the self-aware conventions of the (Hollywood) slasher genre.
The Spanish lycanthrope arrived successfully to Spanish screens with The Mark of the Wolfman (Egu... more The Spanish lycanthrope arrived successfully to Spanish screens with The Mark of the Wolfman (Eguiluz, 1968), introducing iconic actor and scriptwriter Paul Naschy as werewolf Waldemar Daninsky. This persona would be later developed in more depth in The Werewolf Versus the Vampire Woman (Klimovsky, 1970) and Curse of the Devil (Aured, 1972). Furthermore, Daninsky’s construction responded to the historical repressive context of Francoist Spain, and the strong ideal of masculinity imposed and promoted under the fascist regime (Pulido, 2012).
After a long hiatus in the horror genre, the more recent film Game of Werewolves (Martínez Moreno, 2011) revisits the figure of the Spanish lycanthrope by introducing two different sets of characters embodying two different types of masculinity and, more significantly, by linking the strong, traditional male identity to the myth of the werewolf, paying homage to Waldemar Daninsky.
Thus, through the film’s historically contextualized textual analysis, the chapter seeks to study the myth of the werewolf in twenty-first-century Spain, in relation to the changes in the masculine identity and the historical context to which it refers, exploring the struggle of men to move from the traditional male identity imposed during the dictatorship to a more progressive one.
In the last thirty years Spanish women have entered the public sphere and have achieved a progres... more In the last thirty years Spanish women have entered the public sphere and have achieved a progressive empowerment in their struggle for gender equality. These changes in women’s roles have provoked anxiety among some men, who see them as a threat to their privileged position in patriarchal society. This tension is suggested or openly depicted in contemporary Spanish horror films created by a new generation of young male film-makers in which the threat and the element that brings horror to the narrative is usually a female character. The film Witching and Bitching aka Las brujas de Zugarramurdi (de la Iglesia, 2013) offers a film materialisation of this tension within the Spanish context, by presenting a battle between male identities in crisis, anxious about the emergent role of women, and strong, independent female characters, who are depicted as monsters.
The aftermath of the Spanish Civil War supposed the end of the Second Republic and the impositio... more The aftermath of the Spanish Civil War supposed the end of the Second Republic and the imposition of a new fascist order. Franco's new regime's main mission was to create a new Spain, which involved shaping masculine and femenine identities into a new role, strongly influenced by the R.C. Church and Fascism. Thus, while the new ideal womanhood was based on motherhood and Catholic values, manhood was based on love for the fatherland, militarism and martyrdom (to die like a hero in the battlefield).
The film Pan's Labyrinth (del Toro, 2006) offers a good depiction of this new fascist identity which is displayed in the film in open confrontation to the Republican one. Through the analysis of the film, this paper seeks to study the new Spanish masculinity, embodied by the character of Captain Vidal, and the struggle of some characters to accept it.
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Using Mama (Muschietti, 2013) as a case study, this article seeks to explore how motherhood is constructed in contemporary Spanish horror film and how this might respond to the specificities of the Spanish social and historical context. For this purpose, the research will particularly focus on the journey that the main female character undergoes throughout the narrative, from the reluctant mother and rock star to the «all-nurturing and self-abnegating Angel of the House» (Kaplan, 2000, p. 468).
Thus, through the analysis of Sexy Killer’s Bárbara, the present study seeks to explore the figure of the female psycho-killer in contemporary Spanish horror film under a gender perspective, paying attention to how this persona compares to both the popular male psycho-killers constantly referenced within the text, and the archetypal portrayal of the woman victim within the self-aware conventions of the (Hollywood) slasher genre.
After a long hiatus in the horror genre, the more recent film Game of Werewolves (Martínez Moreno, 2011) revisits the figure of the Spanish lycanthrope by introducing two different sets of characters embodying two different types of masculinity and, more significantly, by linking the strong, traditional male identity to the myth of the werewolf, paying homage to Waldemar Daninsky.
Thus, through the film’s historically contextualized textual analysis, the chapter seeks to study the myth of the werewolf in twenty-first-century Spain, in relation to the changes in the masculine identity and the historical context to which it refers, exploring the struggle of men to move from the traditional male identity imposed during the dictatorship to a more progressive one.
The film Pan's Labyrinth (del Toro, 2006) offers a good depiction of this new fascist identity which is displayed in the film in open confrontation to the Republican one. Through the analysis of the film, this paper seeks to study the new Spanish masculinity, embodied by the character of Captain Vidal, and the struggle of some characters to accept it.
Using Mama (Muschietti, 2013) as a case study, this article seeks to explore how motherhood is constructed in contemporary Spanish horror film and how this might respond to the specificities of the Spanish social and historical context. For this purpose, the research will particularly focus on the journey that the main female character undergoes throughout the narrative, from the reluctant mother and rock star to the «all-nurturing and self-abnegating Angel of the House» (Kaplan, 2000, p. 468).
Thus, through the analysis of Sexy Killer’s Bárbara, the present study seeks to explore the figure of the female psycho-killer in contemporary Spanish horror film under a gender perspective, paying attention to how this persona compares to both the popular male psycho-killers constantly referenced within the text, and the archetypal portrayal of the woman victim within the self-aware conventions of the (Hollywood) slasher genre.
After a long hiatus in the horror genre, the more recent film Game of Werewolves (Martínez Moreno, 2011) revisits the figure of the Spanish lycanthrope by introducing two different sets of characters embodying two different types of masculinity and, more significantly, by linking the strong, traditional male identity to the myth of the werewolf, paying homage to Waldemar Daninsky.
Thus, through the film’s historically contextualized textual analysis, the chapter seeks to study the myth of the werewolf in twenty-first-century Spain, in relation to the changes in the masculine identity and the historical context to which it refers, exploring the struggle of men to move from the traditional male identity imposed during the dictatorship to a more progressive one.
The film Pan's Labyrinth (del Toro, 2006) offers a good depiction of this new fascist identity which is displayed in the film in open confrontation to the Republican one. Through the analysis of the film, this paper seeks to study the new Spanish masculinity, embodied by the character of Captain Vidal, and the struggle of some characters to accept it.