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Spanish Docudrama: Of Heroes and Celebrities

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Docudrama on European Television

Part of the book series: Palgrave European Film and Media Studies ((PEFMS))

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Abstract

If we had to choose a word to define the presence of docudrama on Spanish television, it would be intermittent, with sudden bursts of production followed by years of scarcity. The aim of this chapter is to analyse the latest phase of this trend—roughly corresponding to the period from 2008 to the present—the most significant period so far in terms of the number of productions, variety of topics, and interest in audience reception.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Barroso illustrates this point with reference to Ken Loach’s seminal film Cathy Come Home. Whilst it reached most European countries soon after its release in 1966, in Spain it was shown ten years later (Barroso 2004, p. 178).

  2. 2.

    All translations from Spanish are mine.

  3. 3.

    Of particular interest are the ten episodes of Vivir cada día directed by Javier Maqua. His work exemplifies the formal experimentation that defined the second period of the programme, openly mixing elements of documentary and drama: ‘a formula that was already well established in other countries but was still new to the Spanish context’ (Moral 2009, p. 99).

  4. 4.

    See Palacio (2008, p. 165) and Diego (2010, pp. 83–116) for more detail.

  5. 5.

    Although there are examples of docudrama production at regional level, the present chapter considers only docudramas broadcast by the three national television channels responsible for the vast majority of productions. These channels sit within larger television networks or media corporations: TVE 1 is part of the state-owned corporation CRTVE that regulates public television and radio in Spain; Antena 3 belongs to one of the most important media groups in the country, Atresmedia (comprising other television channels such as la Sexta and the popular radio station Onda Cero); finally, the channels Telecinco and Cuatro merged in 2011 and became the largest television network in Spain, Mediaset España Comunicación, owned by the Italian company Mediaset (Mavise 2014).

  6. 6.

    See García Hernández (2014) for a detailed list of programmes.

  7. 7.

    Clara Campoamor also exposes the internal conflicts that crippled the Second Spanish Republic (1931–39), as well as the questionable decisions and shortcomings of some of its politicians. This programme is the only docudrama dealing with the Second Republic to have been broadcast nationally. It has been suggested that the public channel RTVE holds at least 19 unreleased films dealing with the Second Republic and the Spanish Civil War. Questioned by the Spanish Parliament about this situation, the director of RTVE, Leopoldo González-Echenique explained that this was due to budgetary restrictions, not politics (Europa Press 2014). Of these films we should highlight the case of La Conspiración (Conspiracy, EiTB, 2012). This TV movie explores the role of General Emilio Mola in the military uprising of 1936 that culminated in the Spanish Civil War. A co-production by RTVE and the Basque regional channel, it was shown on Basque television in 2012 but it is still waiting for its national release. According to Manuel Morón (who plays General Mola), ‘this is just a new form of censorship under the excuse of financial savings’ (Taboada 2013).

  8. 8.

    This intergenerational address is frequent in Spanish historical docudramas of the last decade and fits well with the didactic approach that many of these historical programmes adopt. Using a variety of visual and narrative strategies, they invite the viewer to identify normally with the younger generation as they experience the past events through the actions or testimony of the older generation. For example, in Concepcion Arenal, we share the point of view of her son as she expresses the need for a prison reform. Equally, in 23F: El día más difícil del Rey we experience some of the iconic events through the eyes of the young Prince Felipe.

  9. 9.

    In 2011, RTVE planned a biopic about the singer Julio Iglesias. Parts of the programme have been filmed, but as yet there is no release date. Iglesias has repeatedly expressed his discomfort at having someone other than himself narrating the events of his life (Iglesias 2012).

  10. 10.

    See David Rolinson’s Chap. 8 for more detail on this development in recent British docudrama.

  11. 11.

    Born in Seville to a family of artists, Isabel Pantoja is a singer whose popularity soared throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Her extraordinary voice and stage presence earned her the title of ‘Queen of la copla’, a very distinctive Spanish folkloric music genre. Her mix of traditional songs with more contemporary ballads made her very popular in the wider Hispanic world, and she achieved great commercial success. Despite her involvement in financial scandals (she was jailed for two years in 2014), and her dealings with the yellow press, she still commands the respect of commentators and the public as a great performer.

  12. 12.

    José Carlos Rueda Laffond and Carlota Coronado Ruiz have discussed these documentary programmes in their book La mirada Televisiva (2009, pp. 226–259).

  13. 13.

    The only notable exception is El Ángel de Budapest (The Angel of Budapest, TVE 1, 2010) a stirring portrayal of the Spanish diplomat Ángel Sanz Briz who saved the lives of thousands of Hungarian Jews during World War II.

  14. 14.

    An exception to this is the short-lived surrealist comedy Plaza de España (Spain Square, TVE 1, 2011). The plot centres on the residents of an isolated village in the mountains and on their efforts to carry on with their lives despite the military conflict. For more details see Chicharro Merayo (2012, pp. 202–208).

  15. 15.

    Recovering the lost or erased memory of the Spaniards who lost the Civil War (1936–39) has been a long lasting dream for left-wing politicians in Spain. After many years, and lacking conservative support, the socialist government finally passed the Ley de la Memoria Histórica (Law of Historical Memory) in 2006. The law covers, amongst many other things, recognition of the victims of political, religious, and ideological violence on both sides of the Spanish Civil War, and of Franco’s regime; condemnation of the Francoist regime; and the removal of Francoist symbols from public buildings and spaces. Right-wing politicians claimed that the law will only reopen old wounds, but other sectors defended the decision as a sign that Spanish democracy had finally reached maturity.

  16. 16.

    In 2001, RTVE also produced 23F, la película (23F, The Movie), a cinema-only feature film about the coup. This has not been shown so far on television.

  17. 17.

    These scenes where not recorded at the Palacio de la Zarzuela, the official residence of the royal family, but at the Palacio de Pedralbes, in Barcelona (23-F: Recreating the atmosphere of 28 years ago, 2009).

  18. 18.

    On 19 June 2014, King Don Juan Carlos abdicated in favour of his son, who became the new King Felipe VI. This came at a moment when the popularity of the institution was at an all-time low, following several public incidents involving the King and accusations of tax evasion against his daughter, the Infanta Cristina.

  19. 19.

    On the evening of the first episode of the miniseries, Antena 3 broadcast two of these previous documentaries, Se rompe el silencio (Breaking the Silence, Antena 3, 1994) and Las cintas secretas del 23F (Secret Recordings from 23F, Antena 3, 2006).

  20. 20.

    This news show has been described as ‘a mixture of intrepid and sarcastic journalism that takes reality with a pinch of humour, with the purpose of entertaining’ (Fórmula TV 2008).

  21. 21.

    On the night of the broadcast, Llamazares wrote on his Twitter account: ‘The coup was something very serious, with accomplices from inside and outside the system, that’s why pretending that it was just a farce could be foolish and dangerous’ (Vertele 2014). Anger is a frequent and even natural reaction to mockumentary, as Roscoe and Craig point out in their analysis of the form (2001, p. 22).

Chapter 6: Spanish Docudrama

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Languages and Culture at Regent’s University London, London, UK

    Victoria Pastor-González

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  1. Victoria Pastor-González
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Hebrew University of Jerusalem , Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel

    Tobias Ebbrecht-Hartmann

  2. University of Reading , Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom

    Derek Paget

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© 2016 The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s)

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Pastor-González, V. (2016). Spanish Docudrama: Of Heroes and Celebrities. In: Ebbrecht-Hartmann, T., Paget, D. (eds) Docudrama on European Television. Palgrave European Film and Media Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-49979-0_6

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