Representing Minorities in Spanish Cinema

Catalog description

“-Borja, where are you from? -I am Spanish -Oh great, which country?” (question that your professor has been asked many a time). What is being Spanish? There is a misconception in the US about what this word means. Spanish refers to a person born and raised in Spain, so, what is Spain? Spain is a predominantly white country situated in the south of Europe who has enjoyed an ethnic, racial, gender, and religious diversity since very early in history. Therefore, the aim of this course is to study the representation of ethnic, racial, gender, and religious minorities through Spanish cinema in the late 20th century and the early 21st century. Despite advances in integration in the last twenty years, the underlying racism, xenophobia, homophobia, and transphobia from certain sectors of society is still palpable in different areas of this society. We will address questions of diversity, inclusion, discrimination and (lack of) opportunity. In the last section of this class, we will also examine the representation of Spanish people in US American cinema, sometimes taking them as exotic or even having white Spanish actors playing roles from people in Latin America. By the end of the course, students will have a space to compare the situation in Spain with their own country and seeing the parallels in diversity and discrimination between the two countries, probably, reaching the conclusion, that the situation is not that different. Similarly, we will also delve into the idea that a Spanish person automatically becomes a minority in the US imaginary due to their Hispanic origins and the fact they speak Spanish.