En busca del concepto de cine nacional Español

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyse the notion of Spanish "national dnema" from a
chronological perspective and to search for a possible answer to the question if there is a reason
to reflect on this expression in case of Spain. Since the arrival of the dnematograph at the
peninsula, the theoretical approaches ofpoliticans, ideologists and filmmakers to this problem
have produced a wide range of movies which have given a subjective perception about some
authentic or false characteristics of the Spaniards. The consecutive administrations had different
and often inconsistent attitudes towards their own national dnematographic representation:
while the Second Republic practically neglected the shaping of this audiovisual self-definition,
the Franco regime laid by far the largest emphasis on creating the ultimate patriotic national
dnema. Nowadays it is even more complicated, if not impossible, to identify the nature of the
contemporary Spanish national film industry. We will touch upon genres, movies, stereotypes,
personal impressions and ideological argumentations in order to examine what national dnema
means in the Spanish context.