# Hispanic Culture through Film



## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Free online course starts today on FutureLearn.



> This online course will explore Hispanic culture through the work of three iconic Hispanic film directors: Luis Buñuel, Pedro Almodóvar and Guillermo del Toro.
> 
> Each week, we will look at a different Hispanic director and you’ll discover why so many people like their work. You’ll train your eyes and ears, evaluating photography, movement, color, acting and story, helping you to enjoy all types of film.
> 
> You’ll also learn to recognize and interpret cultural and ideological messages in film, and talk about the ways that Hispanic culture in film differs from your own.


https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/hispanic-culture-film/1


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

[QThUOTE=Alcalaina;13513546]Free online course starts today on FutureLearn.
Thanks 


https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/hispanic-culture-film/1[/QUOTE]

Thanks for that. Hopefully I can find time to follow it.

A rather one-sided take on Hispanic culture, though, with that choice of directors.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Alcalaina said:


> Free online course starts today on FutureLearn.
> 
> 
> 
> https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/hispanic-culture-film/1


Wow, that looks great, but won't be able to do it this time round


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

mrypg9 said:


> Thanks for that. Hopefully I can find time to follow it.
> 
> A rather one-sided take on Hispanic culture, though, with that choice of directors.


It's only four hours a week for three weeks.

One-sided?  You have surrealism, sex and censorship with Buñuel, the craziness of post-Franco _la movida_ with Almodóvar, and the chilling fantasy of de Toro. Between them they span nearly the entire 20th century. 

If you had to pick just three influential directors from the Spanish-speaking world to present a broader picture, who would you choose?


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Alcalaina said:


> It's only four hours a week for three weeks.
> 
> One-sided?  You have surrealism, sex and censorship with Buñuel, the craziness of post-Franco _la movida_ with Almodóvar, and the chilling fantasy of de Toro. Between them they span nearly the entire 20th century.
> 
> If you had to pick just three influential directors from the Spanish-speaking world to present a broader picture, who would you choose?


First point: I'm starting a new job later on in the month and also have a 10 hour per day immersion course for one of those weeks - not a good time to be taking on extras!
Second point: I thought the same, but I suppose that it depends on the aims of the course. However, as the quote in your post says


> This online course will explore Hispanic culture through the work of three iconic Hispanic film directors


then I can't imagine the course will disappoint.


Save​


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Alcalaina said:


> It's only four hours a week for three weeks.
> 
> One-sided?  You have surrealism, sex and censorship with Buñuel, the craziness of post-Franco _la movida_ with Almodóvar, and the chilling fantasy of de Toro. Between them they span nearly the entire 20th century.
> 
> If you had to pick just three influential directors from the Spanish-speaking world to present a broader picture, who would you choose?


These three directors take a critical, left of centre view and are not representative of Hispanic _popular _culture.

It's like running a course on British film and focusing on Lindsay Anderson and Ken Loach.

But maybe the course doesn't claim to represent Hispanic culture in the round, which would have to include trashy but popular telenovelas and non-'art' cinema.

Bunuel and Almodovar appeal like Ken Loach to a small segment of the movie-viewing public. I like Almodovar's earlier films but the more recent I thought were puerile.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

mrypg9 said:


> These three directors take a critical, left of centre view and are not representative of Hispanic _popular _culture.
> 
> It's like running a course on British film and focusing on Lindsay Anderson and Ken Loach.
> 
> ...


It sounds to me like the course looks at Hispanic culture as represented by these three, but doesn't say that they represent Hispanic culture which is a different thing! But hey, I am not doing it nor am I going to... but I am definitely feeling pedantic which is what spending 50 hours teaching Spanish civil servants does to you!!!!!!!


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## Isobella (Oct 16, 2014)

mrypg9 said:


> These three directors take a critical, left of centre view and are not representative of Hispanic _popular _culture.
> 
> It's like running a course on British film and focusing on Lindsay Anderson and Ken Loach.
> 
> ...


Agree, but I think it may be useful to do. I went to something similar at West Sussex uni. The first one was a very old film, so boring I kept dozing off, hard to understand too. I didn't go anymore


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Isobella said:


> Agree, but I think it may be useful to do. I went to something similar at West Sussex uni. The first one was a very old film, so boring I kept dozing off, hard to understand too. I didn't go anymore


Oh yes, I agree. But it struck me as strange that films probably viewed by 10% of the population could be described as representing 'Hispanic Culture'.

'Art' movies are often boring, if we're honest. Ingmar Bergman's films are excellent for insomniacs. Give me a 'Carry On ' film any day.

Lot of pretentious nonsense gets talked and written about films -and books and music. I remember when Guardian Pop critics dismissed ABBA as light weight, middle of the road,no social message etc.etc. Now it seems they're 'retro' and popular in Islington...

Then there's films with loads of sex and nudity that often have little if anything to do already with the plot and serve merely to attract voyeur types who like seeing others get their rocks off. Oh well, I guess that's _erotisme au cinema_ as a high brow critic might put it.
Or 'sex in the movies' in English.

I dislike Ken Loach and his films intensely, they seem to me to preach mainly to already converted middle-class progressives but I did like 'I Daniel Blake'. From what I've heard from people I trust it's an accurate portrayal of how the welfare system fails those who need it.
Not that it will cut any ice with the current Government.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

I know what you mean about arthouse movies Mary, but I certainly wouldn't classify Almodóvar's films as such. Some of them have been box-office blockbusters, and they are nearly all entertaining (trying and failing to think of one that wasn't). Nobody depicted _la movida_ in Madrid better than he did in "Women on the verge of a nervous breakdown". 

Have you seen de Toro's "Pan's Labyrinth"? Did you find that boring and pretentious?

Buñuel on the other hand ... I've only just started the course and I'm struggling to see the connection between surrealism and Hispanic culture, apart from the fact that he and Dalí were both born in Spain. To me it is essentially French. I regard it as deep and meaningless, but sometimes amusing.

None of these directors are remotely like Ken Loach, whose films are really documentaries with actors. Not sure where that came from.


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## 95995 (May 16, 2010)

Alcalaina said:


> I know what you mean about arthouse movies Mary, but I certainly wouldn't classify Almodóvar's films as such. Some of them have been box-office blockbusters, and they are nearly all entertaining (trying and failing to think of one that wasn't). Nobody depicted _la movida_ in Madrid better than he did in "Women on the verge of a nervous breakdown".
> 
> Have you seen de Toro's "Pan's Labyrinth"? Did you find that boring and pretentious?
> 
> ...


IMHO surrealism is definitely an important part of Hispanic movie culture - they have produced lots of it across the Hispanic world. Yes, the French have produced some as well - but I find the French stuff very different.

Ah, but I like Art House movies (not all of them of course!) so I must be one of those apparently much despised "already converted middle-class progressives", especially since I can't stand Carry On movies or Abba :rofl: Needless to say, I had a subscription to an Arts cinema in Australia.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

EverHopeful said:


> IMHO surrealism is definitely an important part of Hispanic movie culture - they have produced lots of it across the Hispanic world. Yes, the French have produced some as well - but I find the French stuff very different.
> 
> Ah, but I like Art House movies (not all of them of course!) so I must be one of those apparently much despised "already converted middle-class progressives", especially since I can't stand Carry On movies or Abba :rofl: Needless to say, I had a subscription to an Arts cinema in Australia.


Well, I too like 'art house' movies. My particular favourites are Wajda, Kislowski,Fassbender and Claude Chabrol. I got hooked on Czech and Polish cinema.
I also have procured a couple of Mosfilm classics from the 1960s, ' Anna Karenina' being my favourite
So I'm no Philistine. But I have very wide tastes from 'Carry On' to Klimov, from White Stripes to Wagner.
What I dislike is the excusiveness that is often wittingly or unwittingly around what is deemed to be 'art' by certain critics. It's an attitude that can make people think that some forms of music, cinema etc are not for them. 'Culture' to me signifies what most people like. 
It's not the films, it's the people who write about them. There are fashions in criticism just as there are in clothes.
When Pavarotti's rendering of 'Nessun dorma' got a wide audience from being the theme for the World Cup millions of people who,previously might have thought opera wasn't for them began to take an interest and listen more . Like my former neighbour, a heavy metal fan.
A good ' Carry On' film has as much 'art' as any film shown to Art House subscription audiences. Someone nce wrote that the journalists on The Sun could write for The Gusrdian' as they were artisans but The Guardian journos didn't have the skills to write for The Sun.
Could well be true.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Alcalaina said:


> I know what you mean about arthouse movies Mary, but I certainly wouldn't classify Almodóvar's films as such. Some of them have been box-office blockbusters, and they are nearly all entertaining (trying and failing to think of one that wasn't). Nobody depicted _la movida_ in Madrid better than he did in "Women on the verge of a nervous breakdown".
> 
> Have you seen de Toro's "Pan's Labyrinth"? Did you find that boring and pretentious?
> 
> ...


No, haven't seen that film. I guess my tastes are a bit conservative. I don't understand and therefore don't like anything that isn't 'real'. I like music with a tune, films with a realistic plot and paintings of real things. You once posted some of yours, I liked them very much. 
Surrealism is a big no- no for me, whether film, painting, poetry or avant- garde music.
Maybe it's because I had absolutely no education in art or music. I love all music from rock to opera but if there's something I don't ' understand', i lose interest.
I have two favourite 'art' books that I get pleasure from browsing. Strangely, both were bought years ago on a trip to the then USSR. One is a collection of icons, the other of Soviet propaganda posters 1942 - 1945.
My great regret is that I am ignorant of so much about what goes into making the music and paintings I like. The older I get, the more I realise hownarrow my education really was.
The written word I'm OK with.

Hope that makes sense....


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## Leonardino (Oct 31, 2017)

I wouldn't trust much to get to know the Spaniards through their cinema. It would be like trying to meet the Americans with the Tarantino cinema. The result would be pretty "weird."



mrypg9 said:


> [QThUOTE=Alcalaina;13513546]Free online course starts today on FutureLearn.
> Thanks


Thanks for that. Hopefully I can find time to follow it.

A rather one-sided take on Hispanic culture, though, with that choice of directors.[/QUOTE]


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

EverHopeful said:


> IMHO surrealism is definitely an important part of Hispanic movie culture - they have produced lots of it across the Hispanic world. .


Really? Can you give some examples? I know about magical realism (Gabriel García Marquéz etc) but that is very different from surrealism because it is metaphorical, often used to critique injustices in the real world in a way that will get past the censor. Surrealism by definition is divorced from reality.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

mrypg9 said:


> No, haven't seen that film. I guess my tastes are a bit conservative. I don't understand and therefore don't like anything that isn't 'real'. I like music with a tune, films with a realistic plot and paintings of real things. You once posted some of yours, I liked them very much.
> Surrealism is a big no- no for me, whether film, painting, poetry or avant- garde music.
> Maybe it's because I had absolutely no education in art or music. I love all music from rock to opera but if there's something I don't ' understand', i lose interest.
> I have two favourite 'art' books that I get pleasure from browsing. Strangely, both were bought years ago on a trip to the then USSR. One is a collection of icons, the other of Soviet propaganda posters 1942 - 1945.
> ...


Yes, it makes sense. The course is probably not for you.

I used to have one of those Chinese propaganda posters on my bedsit wall, happy little workers busy producing food for the commune. I knew nothing about its sinister background, I just liked the colourful picture!


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## Leonardino (Oct 31, 2017)

Alcalaina said:


> Really? Can you give some examples? I know about magical realism (Gabriel García Marquéz etc) but that is very different from surrealism because it is metaphorical, often used to critique injustices in the real world in a way that will get past the censor. Surrealism by definition is divorced from reality.


García Marquez talks about magical realism in South American culture, which has little or nothing to do with Spanish culture, and tries to imagine how things should be, not as they are... Therefore it is not very appropriate to try to know a culture through its cinema if you do not choose the films well... and less to know 2 cultures as different as the Spanish and Latin American (like trying to know the world of insects through a species, we would not be short surely)


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## 95995 (May 16, 2010)

Alcalaina said:


> Really? Can you give some examples? I know about magical realism (Gabriel García Marquéz etc) but that is very different from surrealism because it is metaphorical, often used to critique injustices in the real world in a way that will get past the censor. Surrealism by definition is divorced from reality.


Well, I don't know about you, but when I see the term Hispanic, I think both Spanish and various South American countries such as Argentina. But honestly, there have been lots of surrealist movies that have come out of both Argentina and Spain and I'm not really the sort of person to be reeling of movie titles and directors. I first saw Spanish surrealist movies in Spain in the 60s and have seen a great many from both Spain and Argentina since. What I specifically like about them is that you need to use both your imagination and your brain to grasp the meaning, and most of all the way they critique injustice (which IMHO is not just about getting around censors, although that is sometimes the case).

But really, it's horses for courses isn't it? I like what I like. I don't know about you, but I don't have expectations that others will share my tastes, although I occasionally tell others when I don't share theirs. The world would be such a boring place if we were all the same.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

EverHopeful said:


> Well, I don't know about you, but when I see the term Hispanic, I think both Spanish and various South American countries such as Argentina. But honestly, there have been lots of surrealist movies that have come out of both Argentina and Spain and I'm not really the sort of person to be reeling of movie titles and directors. I first saw Spanish surrealist movies in Spain in the 60s and have seen a great many from both Spain and Argentina since. What I specifically like about them is that you need to use both your imagination and your brain to grasp the meaning, and most of all the way they critique injustice (which IMHO is not just about getting around censors, although that is sometimes the case).
> 
> But really, it's horses for courses isn't it? I like what I like. I don't know about you, but I don't have expectations that others will share my tastes, although I occasionally tell others when I don't share theirs. The world would be such a boring place if we were all the same.


Yes. Hispanic to me means the whole Spanish-speaking world. Interestingly though, there are people on the course from the USA who think it excludes Spain. Different interpretation.

I'll keeo an eye out for these Hispanic surrealist movies. I'm trying to be open-minded! I love magical realism but it works better in books than on the screen. The House of Spirits was a brilliant book IMO but the movie was abysmal. Likewise The Tin Drum.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Leonardino said:


> García Marquez talks about magical realism in South American culture, which has little or nothing to do with Spanish culture, and tries to imagine how things should be, not as they are... Therefore it is not very appropriate to try to know a culture through its cinema if you do not choose the films well... and less to know 2 cultures as different as the Spanish and Latin American (like trying to know the world of insects through a species, we would not be short surely)


But Colombia is part of the Hispanic world, and his books tell us a lot about that country's culture and history. I've read them all! I don't know how many have been made into films. I've only seen Love in the Time of Cholera and I much preferred the book.


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## 95995 (May 16, 2010)

Alcalaina said:


> Yes. Hispanic to me means the whole Spanish-speaking world. Interestingly though, there are people on the course from the USA who think it excludes Spain. Different interpretation.
> 
> I'll keeo an eye out for these Hispanic surrealist movies. I'm trying to be open-minded! I love magical realism but it works better in books than on the screen. The House of Spirits was a brilliant book IMO but the movie was abysmal. Likewise The Tin Drum.


I loved the House of Spirits and have read it (in English and Spanish) many times - didn't see the movie, though. Have to admit that my preference is usually for books.
I'll be interested to hear how you find the course, so please report back.

BTW I'm not one of those 'highly cultured' people, I just know what I like.


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## bhamham (Feb 19, 2017)

Alcalaina said:


> Yes. Hispanic to me means the whole Spanish-speaking world. Interestingly though, there are people on the course from the USA who think it excludes Spain. Different interpretation.
> 
> I'll keeo an eye out for these Hispanic surrealist movies. I'm trying to be open-minded! I love magical realism but it works better in books than on the screen. The House of Spirits was a brilliant book IMO but the movie was abysmal. Likewise The Tin Drum.


The Tin Drum - wasn't that the film with a horrible eel scene?

Yes, I can vouch that folks from the US are taught that 'Hispanic' means Spanish cultures outside Spain, to include Latinos in the states; that it's a general reference for Spain's colonies once held by the Spanish empire. Since living in Europe I now see that it has broader meaning to include all Spanish speaking countries including Spain.

Thanks for that link to Future Learn! Didn't know about it before.


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