Female filmmakers and women's representation in Spanish commercial cinema (2001- 2016)

This article analyses the representation of women in Spanish commercial cinema: as film directors and as characters.Methods. The study is based on the analysis of primary and secondary sources; the quantitative and diachronic analysis of the highest-grossing Spanish films from 2001 to 2016; the qual...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Bernárdez Rodal, Asunción, Padilla Castillo, Graciela
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2018
País:España
Institución:Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)
Repositorio:Docta Complutense
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:docta.ucm.es:20.500.14352/13631
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/13631
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:791
Gender studies
Cinema Stadies
Spanish cinema
Ciencias de la Información
Cine (Ciencias de la Información)
5910.01 Información
3325.03 Cinematografía
Descripción
Sumario:This article analyses the representation of women in Spanish commercial cinema: as film directors and as characters.Methods. The study is based on the analysis of primary and secondary sources; the quantitative and diachronic analysis of the highest-grossing Spanish films from 2001 to 2016; the qualitative and descriptive examination of the protagonists, plots and stereotypes of a sample of 26 films. Results. Comedy is the dominant genre. There are 36 male protagonists and 23 female protagonists. The selected films revolve around the wishes of men. Discussion. Men lead the action, are antiheroes, and their sentimentality is underrepresented. Women are companions of men and are in charge of family caretaking and mediation. Conclusions. In Spain, no woman has directed a film that has grossed more than 10 million euros. This situation will not change until representation changes. Commercial cinema can build civic, respectful and human citizens; and not mere consumers, who respond to the commercial interests of the film industry.