Divide, conquer, entertain

Abstract

This dissertation examines the role played by the popular film melodrama of interiority in the dissemination and normalization of authoritarian ideology regarding the private and intimate spheres in France under the German Occupation (1940-1944), Spain under Francisco Franco in the 1950s (1951-1961), and Romania under Nicolae Ceauşescu in the late 1960s (1965-1971). Two major theoretical concepts, strongly connected with each other, structure my analysis: the intimate sphere, which I define as the space of discourse created among the closest emotional and psychological groupings of family and friends; and the melodrama of interiority, which I describe as one of the two major tendencies of the melodramatic mode centering on the conflicts within the intimate sphere. This theoretical aspect is doubled by a historical grounding of my dissertation in the social, economic, and political context of each country, with a specific focus on the organization and transformation of the three chosen cinema industries. Each authoritarian state sought to eliminate or control private groups and associations, and to reorganize intimate publics following a conservative, patriarchal model that emulated the relationship between the state and its citizens. Films were produced, distributed, and exhibited with the full knowledge of authorities. My analysis of the most popular melodramas of interiority in each country—L’éternel retour (The Eternal Return, 1943) in France, El último cuplé (The Last Torch Song, 1957) in Spain, and Dacii (The Warriors, 1967) in Romania—suggests that their commercial success relied on the well-organized system of production and promotion that supported them and on their melodramatic characteristics; these films contributed to the ―naturalization of state ideology regarding the intimate sphere. Through such texts, authoritarian regimes sought to seduce and conquer their publics.

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