Dear Reader

We’re an eclectic mob here at Artifex Antiquus, and we thought you might be interested in something very different for a change.  Read on and enjoy!   Ed.

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Defining the term, “popular culture” is necessary, but presents difficulties as it encompasses many different forms, including, but not limited to, cinematography, music, art, education, religion and folklore. Thus, for the purpose of this essay, I have constructed a hybrid definition of ‘popular culture’, which reflects its open-ended nature, based upon John Storey’s chapter dealing with this term (Storey, 2002). Popular culture is a medium formed by the people, that reflects consumerism, ideology, and/or carries cultural value. Through the study of popular culture, we can see how society has changed and been limited. In this essay, I will define gender relations as ‘the ways in which a culture or society defines rights, responsibilities and the identities of men and women in relation to one another’ (Bravo-Baumann, 2000). Hence, I will explore how the films Retrato de Teresa  (Retrato de Teresa, 1979) (RDT) and Margarita y el Lobo (MYEL) (Margarita y el lobo, 1969) portray the rights, responsibilities and identities of the contemporary societies in Spain and Cuba. These films are hailed as feministfilms that follow the lives of two female protagonists. The films explore a wide range of themes such as: the of integration of women in work, domestic life, marital crises, education, patriarchal society, and Catholicism which will be covered in this essay. These themes are inextricably linked to the rights, responsibilities and identities of the men and women. In order to fully understand the changes and limitations depicted in the films, it is necessary to delve into their historical contexts and periods preceding when they were produced.

Margarita y el lobo was set during the Francoist dictatorship, so I shall refer to this period as well as the period of the Second Spanish Republic. The Second Spanish Republic (1931-1936) was a period of significant reform (Aguado, 2014), vastly improving women’s rights. The 1931 Constitution, for instance, granted women the right to vote, the right to stand for election and the right to divorce. Moreover, it declared the secularization of the state, distancing the state from The Church (Payne, 1993). This is of particular relevance, as it signified the breakaway from the conservative views of The Church, which constrained women’s role within society. Labour and educational reforms also improved and expanded the rights and role of women within society, as underpinned by the coining of the new term “the modern women” (Museo Reina Sofia , n.d.).

In contrast, Franco’s regime revoked many of the previous reforms promulgated by The Second Spanish Republic, which brought about a change restricting women’s rights and participation within society. The early years of the dictatorship were particularly regressive. For example, the 1947 law mandated that women, once wed, would lose their employment, limiting them to the status of housewife (Davidson, 2011), such that ‘women’s principal role in society was full-time dedication to their families’ (Valiente, 2002).

MYEL was produced in the later years of the dictatorship, after the 1961 Law for Political, Professional and Labour Rights for Women was introduced (Davidson, 2011), which was founded on egalitarian principles and changed women’s rights. The Sección Femenina (SF) played a notable role lobbying for reforms that favoured females’ rights and was crucial in fomenting the aforementioned law (Davidson, 2011). However, during the film job opportunities for women are limited to roles such as: housekeepers, maids, housewives and secretaries. Men have more senior roles; Lorenzo is seen leading a board meeting dominated by men, with women notably absent. Despite the 1961 law, the persistent misogyny surrounding women’s roles and the limitations on the professions they could pursue are evident and are consistent with the narrative that women should be directed to “female” professions (Otero – González, 2020). Moreover, up until 1976, women were limited in that they required martial permission from their husbands to work (Davidson, 2011), highlighting the ingrained patriarchal structure. This structure wielded power in determining the incorporation of women into the work force.

In order to demonstrate the limiting and unequal power dynamics between the genders, the director employs a variety of cinematographic techniques, such as music. The lyrics to one of the songs in MYEL read: ‘Little Red Riding Hood…if you fall in love, close you your ears, close your mouth…put on adhesive tape’ (Sahagún, 2016). Close your ears perhaps infers that information is not for them: close your mouth infers that men do not want to hear them as they have nothing interesting to say. The metaphor of adhesive tape refers to the silencing of women’s voices and opinions.  Under the dictatorship, women were denied the right to vote, and the right to run for parliament, therefore, the right to be heard.  The film itself, produced by the director Cecilia Bartolomé, was censored for expressing views contrary to the regime and Bartolomé was blacklisted (Faulkner, 2022), temporarily halting her career.Another cinematographic technique the director employs isthe use of camera angles, which is also illustrative of the unequal male-female power dynamic. In one scene, Margarita appears vulnerable, sat on a bed (at a lower level), whilst Lorenzo towers over her and strides over to the bed, delivering a string of critical and condescending comments. His comments attack Margarita’s intelligence and question the value of her academic pursuits, “I don’t know why you waste your time filling your head with books that you don’t retain a single word of”. The derogatory comments are accentuated by the camera angles, thus strongly highlighting the commonality of unequal partnership in marriage, at that time, and showing how females were limited. In this instance Margarita is limited in her aspirations and freedom.

During Franco’s regime, the state and the Catholic Church realigned so that the Catholic Church had more influence. As a result, society’s perception of women’s rights, responsibilities and identity in Spain became more limited. The Church advocated the domestic responsibility and place of women in society, indoctrinating the role of domesticity and ‘feminine virtues: being kind, submissive, tidy, clean, and quiet’ (2000, cited in Jaslikowski, 2017, p. 13), reducing them to the limited role of a housewife. In MYEL, the Catholic Church’s presence is highlighted through the imagery of the ecclesiastical judge, the cross and ringing of the church bells. The judge lectures Margarita on the sacredness of marriage, urging her to reconsider her decision. This undermines her autonomy and perpetuates the stigmatization of divorce.

Margarita, the protagonist of MYEL is unyielding to limitations of societal norms. Unlike her name, which translates to Daisy, something delicate and to be admired, she rebels.Throughout the film, Margarita narrates through interspersed monologues, employing the technique of breaking the fourth wall. The dialogue mentions society’s limited expectations of women: to be people pleasing, empty headed subordinates, however it is filled with irony and humour, and shows Margarita’s defiant character and intelligence. In one particular dialogue Margarita says “Husbands are generally very happy that their wives are very good friends…our charming chats…a perfect recital of feminine stupidity. We talk about…cooking recipes….” She adds that she believes it is “Disgusting, but everything is in its place”. This acknowledges the patriarchal structure of society, where men expectation’s limit women to non-intellectual relationships. There is a limitation on aspirations, personal interests and knowledge, preventing women from advancing their roles and responsibilities.

As aforementioned, Spanish women were subjected to the constraints of patriarchy, a reality mirrored in Cuba and present in the film Retrato de Teresa (RDT). Thus, similarities can be drawn across the two films. However, it’s crucial to note the historical and legal context differs and therefore requires further explanation.

Prior to the Cuban Revolution, very few women worked and women’s role in society was largely confined to homemaking and childcare. As Lamrani notes, under the Batista Dictatorship (1952-1958), women represented 17% of the Cuban labour force, and were lower paid than their male counter parts (Lamrani, 2016). A significant change was that Castro’s government, conversely, recognised that women had been discriminated against, promoted gender equality and sought to increase female participation in the work force. ‘Between 1965 and 1985 the female labour force doubled’ (Gonzalez, 2010), notably contributing to the Cuban economy  (Macias, 2018). The film demonstrates this; Teresa, the protagonist, works in a textiles factory, predominantly alongside female co-workers. This important change emancipated females, expanding their responsibilities and role beyond the home. However, this also resulted in marital tensions. In an argument, Ramon complains that he rarely sees Teresa and criticizes her for neglecting domestic responsibilities and him. Teresa retorts that that’s not true and that she is in fact “working like a slave” to do the housework and look after the children, whilst working a full-time job and unpaid volunteering. Thus, it may be argued that although this initiated a change in women’s role, it did not have the effect of emancipating them from the home, as it added to their responsibilities. The term ‘double shift’ (Baron, 2009) refers to doubled workload.

In order to support women in the workforce, the state began to provide subsidized childcare Children’s Circles in 1961. It can be argued this change was essential in allowing women to play an economic role in the development of Cuban economy. This initiative was driven by Vilma Espín, the president of Cuban Women’s Federation (FMC) (Macías, 2016). There was a direct relationship between the provision of childcare and the reduction of absenteeism of the female workers. During a union meeting, Teresa comments that since the introduction, absenteeism of the female workers had reduced from 23% to 1 %. The provision of adequate childcare improves gender relations, reducing the strain upon it. Likewise in Spain, the Sección Femininaprovided childcare which was overwhelmed by demand. Consequently, the SF collaborated with the State to provide a national system (Davidson, 2011). Again, this can arguably be seen as creating a positive change in gender relations.

In Cuba one of the changes that had implications on gender relations was the 1975 Family Code law (Baron, 2010 ), which advocated for responsibility of housework and childcare to be split equally between married couples. However, as demonstrated in the film RDT, the benefits of this law do not come to fruition. In the film, Teresa is portrayed waking up early, before everyone else, racing about before she starts work to complete the household chores, prepare her children for the day and make breakfast for her husband.  Meanwhile, her husband Ramon slowly gets out of bed, and eats his breakfast prepared by his wife. This scene demonstrates that despite the four years passing since the Family Code Law, traditional gender roles and responsibilities remained prevalent. Thus, the implications of this law may, therefore, be viewed as a superficial level of change in regard to gender relations, as females were still expected to carry out their domestic roles. 

Conversely, men were expected to provide for the family. They were the head of the house and considered the natural authorities within the family and society. The male characters in both films have employment and appear to be ambitious. In RDT, Ramon is seen to prioritise his education and advancement above his wife’s. He mocks her ‘pretty’ diploma and downplays her achievements yet instructs his son to study hard. Teresa meanwhile had to quit school to balance her commitments. Teresa’s mother reinforces these patriarchal ideas, that a women must be meek, mild and malleable to her husband’s will, scolding Teresa “You’re the one who must yield”. Through this double standard, we see the limitations enforced upon women, that opposed their upwards mobility and further education. Moreover, this demonstrates women’s secondary and unequal status. Similarly, in MYEL, Lorenzo admits to a friend that he believed that ‘there was a time when [he] thought [he] would change her’ conveying the idea that he believed Margarita should be submissive and malleable.

Both films depict the situation through the lens of a female protagonist and therefore play a key role in enlightening society to the women’s situation and dismantling conservative views limiting women to the role of an “angel of the home”  (Macias, 2018). Upon the release of RDT, in mid-1979, half the adult population of Havana, had seen the movie ‘within the first six weeks’ (Burton, 1981). Therefore, the importance of these films in sparking the gender relations debate, questioning and challenging the traditional identity, roles and responsibilities imposed on women, leading to change cannot be undervalued. Moreover, MYEL, despite initially being censored, has been acclaimed and reached a large audience and been projected at numerous film festivals.

In conclusion, despite the films being completed 10 years apart and on different continents, the changes and limitations in gender relations bear striking similarities. Looking at the films in conjunction to their historical context, enables us to see the changes in gender relations and to what extent laws relevant to gender relations were enforced and embraced.In both countries female led organisations were at the forefront of conducing the changes in gender relations. Moreover, in both films, the patriarchy is portrayed as an obstacle to changing women’s rights, responsibilities and identity, and therefore resists the full implementation of laws such as the 1975 Family Code in Cuba and the 1961 Law for Political Professional and Labour Rights for Women in Spain. Thus, one many argue that these reforms and their implications were surface level. However, they were nonetheless significant, as slower and more incremental change generally incurs less resistance. The conservative view constricting women’s role to domesticity is so entrenched within each society, that it takes considerable effort and time to achieve change. These views were embedded during education, by the Church and passed from parents to children. Both female protagonists are portrayed as challenging the established gender relations imposed by these institutions and the films (forms of popular culture) themselves play a crucial role in the process of dismantling the pre-established societal limitations imposed on women, and thus changing the rights, responsibilities and identity attached to men and women.

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