Affect and Belonging in Contemporary Spanish Fiction and Film : Crossroads Visions

This Book Brings Together Recent Spanish Fictions And Films That Point To Individualism As The Root Problem Driving Diverse Circumstances Of Social, Economic, And Psychological Suffering In The Present And Recent Past. The Works Privilege Sensation, Movement, And Emotion―rather Than Identity―as The Core Elements Of Existential Experience. However, The Works Also Problematize Notions Of Intersubjectivity, Confronting Ideals Of Affective Immersion And Cultural Nomadism With The Concrete Contexts That Shape Particular Lives And Social Formations. This Confrontation Underlies A Series Of ‘crossroads’, Or Productive Engagements, That Guide The Book’s Five Main Chapters: Locally Rooted Identity And Global Cultural Circuits; Historical Contexts And Universal Modes Of Being; Personal Authenticity And Consumer Culture; Migration And Cultural Identity; Spain's Historical Underdevelopment And Impending Future Crises. All Of These Issues Make Affective Connection And Attachment The Greatest Existential Challenge Facing Individuals And Collectives In The Contemporary World, Both In Spain And Elsewhere.--publisher's Description. Jesse Barker. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 219) And Index. Front Matter ....Pages i-xi Introduction: Spanish Crossroads—Affect and Belonging in the Democratic Era (Jesse Barker)....Pages 1-26 No Place Like Home: Gabi Martínez’s Ático (Top-Floor Apartment) and Javier Calvo’s “Una Belleza Rusa” (A Russian Beauty) (Jesse Barker)....Pages 27-60 History and Trauma at the Crossroads: Guillermo del Toro’s El laberinto del fauno (Pan’s Labyrinth) and Isabel Coixet’s The Secret Life of Words (Jesse Barker)....Pages 61-100 Synthetic Skins: Mercedes Cebrián’s La nueva taxidermia (The New Taxidermy) and Pedro Almodóvar’s La piel que habito (The Skin I Live in) (Jesse Barker)....Pages 101-143 Unraveling Cultures: Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Biutiful and Najat El Hachmi’s L’ultim patriarca (The Last Patriarch) (Jesse Barker)....Pages 145-180 Unsheltered: Pablo Berger’s Blancanieves (Snow White) and Jesús Carrasco’s Intemperie (Out in the Open) (Jesse Barker)....Pages 181-211 Back Matter ....Pages 213-226