Francoist Spain

Set in post- Civil War Spain, Pan’s Labyrinth (Guillermo Del Toro, 2006) offers the audience diverse perspectives on the situation of women during Francisco Franco’s dictatorship. Each of the three female characters that the audience is immediately exposed to embodies the traits that were expected of them at the time: Carmen, the pregnant mother; Ofelia, the pretty young girl and Mercedes, the housewife and servant. Del Toro shows the evolution of the characters based on whether they choose to respect

The early Francoist period of Spain’s history was filled with violence, discourse, and the beginning of a new government. Soon after the end of the Spanish Civil War, there was still fighting going on between the victorious Nationalists and the Republicans. The fantasy film Pan’s Labyrinth depicts this time period of Spain in a surrealist setting as it follows the adventures of a young girl, Ofelia, as she goes between a dark underground world and the real world. While the film is often surrealist

Franco’s Spain can be characterised as an embodiment of the traditional values that comprise fascism. Payne asserts that while Franco’s ‘political orientation was definitely pro-fascist’1, the nature of Francoist Spain never resembled anything that was analogous to Mussolini’s Italy, with Payne confidently stating that ‘scarcely any of the serious historians and analysts of Franco consider the Generalissimo to have been a core fascist’.2 The central premise of Payne’s argument is that Francoist ideology

the BBC, which was forbidden by the regime, while his wife writes letters to an absent loved one along at her desk. The envelope is addressed to a Red Cross camp in France, where refugees of Spain were interned. The fugitive character Ana visits in an abandoned old barn, is likely a member of the anti-Francoist resistance. Also during the film, Ana goes through her family photo album, and we see a glimpse of her father in a snapshot with Miguel de Unamuno, the intellectual who was a brave critic of

The White terror that occurred in Spain during and after the Spanish Civil War refers to the actions carried out by the Nationalist regime. Among these actions were politically motivated acts of violence, rape, and murder. Such brutality was used because the Nationalist Movement believed that they needed to cleanse the country of all leftist ideologies. Lfhe purge of the nation did not stop with the war's end because there were still those individuals who refused to change their beliefs and accept

a bigger army compared to the Republicans. According to “Document Page: Spanish Civil War”, “The insurgents [Nationalists] seized control of the agrarian provinces of western Spain but failed in the more urban industrial regions of Catalonia, Aragon, the Basque provinces, Valencia, and Madrid. By the end of July 1936, Spain was split in two. From the north, the army of Gen. Emilio Mola pushed toward Madrid and Franco's forces did likewise from Andalusia; and the

Ana is so fascinated by the story that it leaves her asking many questions. Ana is extremely gullible, that when Isabel shows her Frankenstein’s “home”, an abounded sheepfold Ana believes her. Overall, the film presents what it is like to live in Spain during the Franco regime, which was an emotional disintegration and isolation through the use of allegory, fantasy, and symbolism. During 1973, the Franco regime was slowly coming to an end, however according to Pavlovic, “The early 1970’s saw even

movie Frankenstein, Ana is so fascinated by the story that it leaves her asking many questions. Ana is extremely gullible, that when Isabel shows her Frankenstein’s “home”, an abounded sheepfold. Overall, the film presents what it is like to live in Spain during an emotional disintegration and isolation through Ana. During 1973, the Franco regime was slowly coming to an end, however according to Pavlovic, “The early 1970’s saw even more turmoil, and opposition to the regime became more violent at the

The transition was an event that took place in Spain. The transitional period’s international significance was unlike the international context of the Spanish Civil War. Still, the U.S. and the world understood how significant the death of Franco affected Western Europe and the creation and ratification

The Socialist Party of Spain (P.S.O.E.) rose to power as one of the popular parties in Spain after Franco’s death. Franco and his regime banned political parties that could become a threat. Freedom of the press existed late in the sixties but it had limits. The fact remained that Spain in the 1970s entered a period of uncertainty. Franco’s health had declined and ETA assassinated his successor and Prime Minister, Admiral Carrero Blanco in 1973. The people were unsure of Prince Juan Carlos and his