Making and Unmaking of Francoist Kitsch Cinema

Alejandro Yarza is Associate Professor in the Spanish and Portuguese Department and Core Faculty of the Film and Media Studies program at Georgetown University.

• PrefaceIntroductionChapter 1: The Petrified Tears of General Franco: Kitsch and Fascism in José Luis Sáenz de Heredia’s RazaChapter 2: Romancero Marroquí and the Francoist Kitsch Politics of Time Chapter 3: Los Últimos de Filipinas: the Spatio-Temporal Coordinates of FrancoismChapter 4: Surcos: Neorealism, Film Noir and the Puppet MasterChapter 5: Franco, ese hombre: from Kitsch Artist to Kitsch-ManChapter 6: Viridiana: The World, the Flesh, and the DevilChapter 7: Balada triste de trompeta: Of Ghosts and ClownsChapter 8: Under the Sign of Saturn: The Labyrinth of Moral Choices in Francoist SpainWorks cited

Yarza’s book presents a journey from the very origins of Francoist kitsch to the subversion of the same. An original perspective, this work considers films through the lens of kitsch and, therefore, departs from dominant academic texts that have perhaps tended to adhere to simplistic, descriptive analysis that focuses only on the political ideology present in the films. [...] Overall, this is an observant and engaging offering to the literature on Spanish film.