Cuéntame cómo pasó/Tell me how it was: Narratives of memory and television drama in contemporary Spain

Abstract

This article examines the role of audio-visual media in the negotiation and representation of cultural memory in contemporary Spain. The political silencing of one version of history during the Francoist dictatorship and the Transition to democracy sees the country battling with over 70 years of ideological manipulation of history and silencing of personal recollections. This article looks at the way in which the media are playing a significant role in sustaining, renegotiating and remediating memory in the light of the silence that precedes it. It argues that testimony, television and other popular media forms deserve sustained critical attention with regard to the creation of memory in Spain and should not be dismissed as simply vehicles for nostalgia or as spurious recreation of a brutal past but that, in line with work on the dynamics of cultural memory, should be seriously considered as part of attempts to redress the legacy of silence and mobilise a discourse of memory.

What is the ‘Television’ of the European Journal of Cultural Studies? Reflections on 20 years of the study of television in the Journal

“…Articles which look at how national or regional television in Europe works to generate certain kinds of identification and memory: Interestingly, articles about Spanish television are notable here, including Abigail Loxham’s (2015) work on the negotiation and representation of cultural memory in the light of the silences associated with the Franco era and an article by Ferré-Pavia et al (2016) on a ‘European case’, which examines ‘the perceived effects of televised political satire among viewers and the communication directors of political parties’ by focusing on the Spanish programme Polònia (2006-).…”