SPANISH CINEMA MIDTERM EXAM, 2016   José Ornelas                                                                            Spanish 397PP                        Fall 2016   Write three essays by choosing one question from groups A, B, and...

SPANISH CINEMA MIDTERM EXAM, 2016

José Ornelas                                                                            Spanish 397PP                       

Fall 2016

Write three essays by choosing one question from groups A, B, and C. Each essay has to have a minimum of two pages each, preferably longer, Times New Roman/12, 22 lines per page. Please, do not include the language of the question/prompt in your answer.  Simply write Group A (3) or Group B (2), etc. Midterm essays are due no later than Thursday, October 27. 

Group A

1.     Elaborate on the meaning of Tristana’s mutilated leg as a result of cancer.  Although the stump/artificial leg may be viewed as a critique of a castrating traditional society, it also allows for other possible interpretations including the subversion of Spanish traditional society.  Please, write an essay on the significance of the stump/artificial leg in the development of the film narrative.

2.     At one point in Tristana, Don Lope claims that he and Tristana are happy because they respect each other’s freedom.  Given what we know about Don Lope, his notion of freedom is very perverse and disturbing indeed, since Don Lope in his actions reproduces traditional oppressive gender stereotypes.  Explain

1. Tristana is a film about Tristana’s empowerment and, at the same time, it is also about Don Lope’s disempowerment.  Please, focus on signs that show Tristana’s progressive empowerment, as well as on the signs that show Don Lope’s progressive emasculation at the hands of Tristana.

1. In Ay, Carmela!, Carmela’s character is that of an independent and possibly reckless woman. Her loyalties are with the Republicans; she even criticizes the fascists during the final performance of “Variedades a lo fino.”  On the other hand, Paulino’s behavior contrasts with Carmela’s behavior. He seems to capitulate to the enemy, and is willing to collaborate with them in order to save his skin. It seems as if his only objective is survival: ideals become secondary to him. It can be said that he sells his soul and with his actions seems to support the advancement of the cause of the Nationalists. Examine the development of the two characters in the film through references to their actions and words in it, and indicate whether you support or not my previous statements.

1. The last skit of Ay, Carmela!, “The Republic Goes to the Doctor”, ischarged with much symbolism and ideology. The bodies of Carmela,Paulino and Gustavete are inscribed with qualities and traits associated with illness, as far as Nationalist/fascist ideology is concerned (Gustavete is a Russian communist, Paulino is a gay doctor and Carmela suffers from sexual excitement, which makes her a promiscuous woman, and intoxication). Through this particular skit, the film evidences the repressive mechanisms towards the Other (Republicans) that the group in power (Nationalists) imposes on the losers (Republicans), who are represented in this case by illness. Thus, the film can be viewed as a condemnation of the violence that is inherent in ideological normalization, which is inclined to represent the other as sick. Please, elaborate

Group B

1.   The Spirit of the Beehive and Pan’s Labyrinth are allegories for Fascist Spain. The primary meaning (literal level) of the film suggests a doubleness of intention, that is, a secondary meaning (allegorical mode), which makes the films much more interesting and richer. The allegorical aspects serve political and social purposes: both films present the affective and the sociopolitical climate of a past lived under fascism. The Spanish Civil War and the Francoist dictatorship constitute the framework for the interpretation of the film. Examine the allegorical dimensions of the two films.

2.   The Sprit of the Beehive does not follow a traditional filmic structure (linear narrative that focuses on character through a sequence of actions).  In reality, it emphasizes a series of fundamental images, images with a strong and rich symbolic value (drawings, pictures, monsters, beehive, once upon a time, window in the shape of a beehive, train, water-well, mushroom) to reinforce symbolically the ideological and political message of the filmic narrative. Imagine for a second that you do not know that the spatial referent for the story is located in the immediate post-civil war years of Spain. How would explain this movie to a friend?

3.   In both Pan’s Labyrinth and The Spirit of the Beehive, the two female protagonists are able to construct their personal space in which they inscribe their own stories. Show how each character is able to accomplish her goal; in both films the main protagonists challenge and undermine authority and have a complex relationship with monsters that allows them to construct an alternative reality that suggests that there is hope after the Civil War and its aftermath. If you believe that the films do not convey this positive view at the end, please address those issues accordingly.

4.   There are many interactions between historical and fantastic narratives in

Pan’s Labyrinth and The Spirit of the Beehive. There are also many tensions between the two levels. Furthermore, both films place children at the center of the action and in difficult situations, which involve the breakdown of the family. The breakdown endows the children with agency in the resolution of the crisis in which they find themselves. Taking into account the previous statements, show how the children (Ofelia and Ana) move from lack of power to power and from crisis to agency, which eventually leads to a tragic or a triumphant ending for the film. The decision regarding the ending of the film (triumphant or tragic) is a personal decision.

Group C

1.  Examine Viridiana’s evolution from a repressed, pure and chaste nun who is about to profess to a woman who wakes up to sexual feelings at the end of Viridiana.  Keep in mind that her emotional, sexual and ideological development occurs within a Spanish context where the spirit and flesh overlap.

2. Viridiana’s obsession with saints, the spiritual and the goodness of human nature leads her to attempt to heal/save through charity a group of beggars. Ironically, the actions of the beggars reveal the response of the real world to Viridiana’s religious idealism and her trust in human nature.  Please, elaborate by focusing on the actions of the beggars, which completely subvert Viridiana’s idealism and ability to effect change.

1. Mary Ann Doane’s states that the femme fatale “never really is what she seems to be. She harbors a threat which is not entirely legible, predictable, or manageable and that she personifies a secret, something which must be aggressively revealed, unmasked, discovered.” The femme fatale’s femininity always masks a hidden danger; she has the capacity to manipulate others to achieve her desired goals. In Death of a Cyclist, Maria José is this femme fatale who through manipulation and her sexuality is capable of destroying and silencing others. In reality, she seems only interested in maintaining her class privileges and status, through her actions. Please, comment on the previous statements. Also, examine also how her role as a femme fatale may be construed as the personification of the Franco regime.