La imagen de España en el cine catalán posterior a 2012

Abstract

An essential component in the study of peripheries, the epistemic construction of the notions of center and centrality can be approached from many different perspectives. This paper focuses on the intersection of two of them: the imagological paradigm and the theory of nation branding. In the intersectional space between them, concepts such as cultural stereotyping, soft power and commercial nationalism are mobilised in ways that differ when a peripherical mindset is favoured. These theoretical tools open up a reflection on the processes of resemantisation that the image of Spain undergoes in contemporary Catalan cinema, as exemplified in the later works by director Ventura Pons. A commentary of Miss Dalí (2018), in the broader context of Pons’ production and of recent Catalan cinema, leads to provisional conclusions about strategies such as erasure, rarefication, negativisation and othering.