Pedro Almodóvar
practising Catholics, at a much larger rate of decline than any other historically Catholic country. This fall, from 73% to just 61% of practising Catholics in Spain in the last seven years, has been explained by Spanish theologian, Juan Jose Tamayo, as ‘not just the rapid pace of secular ization the country has undergone this century but also the Roman Catholic Chu rch’s ‘ loss of credibility ’ , 5 something very clearly explored in both of the aforementioned films. Thus, it could quite strongly be argued that the influence of his own surrounding context within Spain is the dominant force in Almodóvar’s filmography, more important than any narrative, theme, or singular character. Another possible argument, that the central focus of Almodóvar’s filmography is how they exist and thrive within their contextual surroundings, in a way that they perhaps would not do otherwise, is through the idea of the westernization of Spanish culture, or rather through the idea of American exceptionalism that seems pervasive in contemporary Spain. As Alyssa Cadice remarks, in regard to modern Spain, ‘channels show the newest Hollywood films with Spanish subtitles; the occasional Beyonc é hit blares in the clubs; and a Big Mac is never more than a half mile away ’ . 6 This kind of American influence and westernization of Spain, in direct contrast to traditional perceptions of Spanish culture, pl ay a pivotal part in Almodóvar’s work, particularly the more recent films. For example, in 1999’s drama All About My Mother ( Todo Sobre Mi Madre ) Almodóvar heavily references Hollywood and iconography that particularly pertains to the ‘Golden Age’ of America, ‘La Edad de Oro’. From the name of the film, as a play on the 1950 Hollywood film All About Eve , to the heavy presence of Tennessee Williams’ 1947 play A Streetcar Named Desire within the film, to the repeated visual cues of American Hollywood actress Bette Davis, who is even credited in the acknowledgements at the end of the film. Furthermore, twenty years later, in Almodóvar’s most retrospective and introspective film, 2019’s Pain and Glory ( Dolor y Gloria ) he uses his famously poignant cinematography to draw the clear juxtaposition between the idyllic, picturesque, rural Spain of his youth, and the mundane, brutal realism of modern, western Madrid, by switching rapidly from shots between these two eras, relying on the opposing colour palettes to allow the audience to infer the colossal change that Spain has gone through. This emphasis that Almodóvar has begun to consistently place on the prevalence of American influence in Spanish culture is one of the most clear, modern examples of how he effectively reflects social and political changes in Spain through his filmography, in a way that is perhaps often more crucial to his intention than the actual narrative he is trying to tell. By contrast, it could be convincingly argued, that whilst it is necessary to view Almodóvar films as a product of their contextual surroundings, the hearts of these films deserve to be separated from their context and viewed for the wider intention of the film, outside the realm of simply holding a mirror to Spanish society. One of Almodóvar’s recurring themes, the idea of motherhood, is perhaps the best example in showing how more universal themes form the real core of Almodóvar’s cinematic world. Referring back again to Almodóvar’s 1999 magnum opus Todo Sobre Mi Madre , a film that focuses on the life of a mother, Manuela, following the death of her son, Esteban, meeting many eccentric and endearing figures from her glamorous past, all of whom are now mothers themselves. As Manish Mathur puts it ‘the relationships betwe en Manuela and the women in her life blur the line between
5 Juan Jose Tamayo, Rapid Catholic Decline in Spain at https://www.praytellblog.com/index.php/2010/07/30/rapid-catholic-decline-in-spain/. 6 Alyssa Cadice, Spanish Life and the Pervasive Influence of American Exceptionalism at https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/posts/spanish-life-and-the-pervasive-influence-of-american- exceptionalism.
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