Analyze the ways in which Pedro Almodóvar’s Women on the verge of a nervous breakdown reflects changing notions of ‘family’ and cross-gender relationships during the Spanish Transition.
Analyze the ways in which Pedro Almodóvar’s Women on the verge of a nervous breakdown reflects changing notions of ‘family’ and cross-gender relationships during the Spanish Transition.
Introduction
The death of Francisco Franco made a huge change of Spain, which marks the end of film censorship and patriarchy. As one of the most well-known feminist directors, Pedro Almodóvar’s movie is a reflection of the oppressive patriarchal society to a new order. He makes the matriarchy to mainstream cinema, not only in Spain but worldwide. Women on the verge of a nervous breakdown is one of his typical movie. This movie shows the change of different aspects which appear in Posfranquismo. In the essay below I will firstly present how this movie reflects changing notions of family. Secondly, how cross-gender relationships change during the Spanish Transition.
Changing the notion of family
Frederic said conventional families are blown apart in Almodóvar’s films, but they are always replaced by new families, odder families certainly, but also more satisfying. The reason why those families are odd can be explained from Almodóvar’s interview: I do not like the normal family very satisfactory. But like animals, human beings need each other. These new families are highly heterodox, but they are real families none the less and express a real need for affection. (1)Absent of father
After the death of Francisco Franco, patriarchy gradually disappeared in Spain. As a feminist Pedro Almodóvar record this facts in his movies .Unlike the traditional family, the family in Women on the verge of a nervous breakdown (1988) and the other eighteen movies of Almodóvar are special and even utopian. In Pedro Almodóvar’s movies the absence of father is the most common thing, Women on the verge of a nervous breakdown is no exception. Almodóvar says in concordance with this facts that “The idea of motherhood is very important in Spain. The father was frequently absent in Spain”. In Women on the
Introduction
The death of Francisco Franco made a huge change of Spain, which marks the end of film censorship and patriarchy. As one of the most well-known feminist directors, Pedro Almodóvar’s movie is a reflection of the oppressive patriarchal society to a new order. He makes the matriarchy to mainstream cinema, not only in Spain but worldwide. Women on the verge of a nervous breakdown is one of his typical movie. This movie shows the change of different aspects which appear in Posfranquismo. In the essay below I will firstly present how this movie reflects changing notions of family. Secondly, how cross-gender relationships change during the Spanish Transition.
Changing the notion of family
Frederic said conventional families are blown apart in Almodóvar’s films, but they are always replaced by new families, odder families certainly, but also more satisfying. The reason why those families are odd can be explained from Almodóvar’s interview: I do not like the normal family very satisfactory. But like animals, human beings need each other. These new families are highly heterodox, but they are real families none the less and express a real need for affection. (1)Absent of father
After the death of Francisco Franco, patriarchy gradually disappeared in Spain. As a feminist Pedro Almodóvar record this facts in his movies .Unlike the traditional family, the family in Women on the verge of a nervous breakdown (1988) and the other eighteen movies of Almodóvar are special and even utopian. In Pedro Almodóvar’s movies the absence of father is the most common thing, Women on the verge of a nervous breakdown is no exception. Almodóvar says in concordance with this facts that “The idea of motherhood is very important in Spain. The father was frequently absent in Spain”. In Women on the