Pleasure and historical memory in Spanish Gothic film

Citation

Davies A (2019) Pleasure and historical memory in Spanish Gothic film. Bulletin of Hispanic Studies, 96 (4), pp. 397-411. https://doi.org/10.3828/bhs.2019.23

Abstract
This essay argues that scholars of Spanish culture are too ready to assume a reading of Gothic texts in terms of historical memory, or the rectification of injustices that occurred during the Franco era. It suggests that there has been a neglect of the question of the pleasures of reading or viewing the Gothic, even though these pleasures may well undermine the desire to do retrospective justice to the victims of Franco. Using as a case study the film Insensibles (Juan Carlos Medina 2012) this essay proposes some examples of pleasures that serve to disrupt the recuperation of historical memory, and calls for better awareness of the pleasures of genre in analysing relevant texts.

Journal
Bulletin of Hispanic Studies: Volume 96, Issue 4

People

Professor Ann Davies

Emeritus Professor, Spanish