In what ways can ¡Bienvenido Míster Marshall! be seen as a criticism of Franco’s regime?

IBENVEIDO MISTER MARSHALL AS CRITICISM OF FRANCO’S REGIEME
Student’s Name
Course
Professor
University
City
Date
iBienvenido Mister Marshall as Criticism of Franco’s Regime
Introduction
Francisco Franco established one of the longest dictatorial regimes in Western Europe. At the end of the Spanish Civil War in 1939, Franco ruled over Spain in a severe form of dictatorship (Treglown 2014, p. 65). His dictatorial type of governance lasted for 36 years. Over this period, Franco’s administration limited press freedom. The state used restrictive regulations to promote fascist ideologies of the leadership. Film censorship was one way that government limited freedom within the film industry. In July 1937, film censorship offices were established in Salamanca and Seville. The law required that movie scripts be submitted for scrutiny before being aired in Spanish media (Triana-Toribio 2012, p. 100). Film censorship targeted three major aspects in the Spanish society; sex, politics, and religion as discussed by Treglown (2014, p. 34). Limitations under these aspects crippled competitiveness of Spain’s film industry. Film consumers turned to foreign movies. Franco’ post-war dictatorship came to an end in 1975, following his death. However, Francoism ideologies and perceptions held root in Spain. Bienvenido, Senor Marshall! of 1955 is one of the movies that sought to break off from Francoism with the film industry (Llorens 2010, p.887). This analysis looks into the ways which the film Bienvenido, Senor Marshall! Served as criticism of Francisco Franco’s rule in the country.

This study considers features of the script, the context of its making and the opposition that it offered against the principles of governance held by Franco, on sex, religion, and politics.
Discussion.
Luis Garcia Berlanga, directed the film Bienvenido, Senor Marshall. The film served as a vehicle to criticize both American and Spanish governance. One of the most significant scenes in the movie takes place in the village of Villa de Rio. Isolated in the plains of Castilian, in Spain, the village suffers from financial problems, and a stagnated social life. Villa de Rio, just like the rest of the regions in Spain, suffered from the events of the civil war. The end of the civil war marked a new beginning for the people of Villa De Rio. The coming of Americans meant that the people had the chance to achieve what they wished for. The government facilitated the arrival of Americans. Villagers were instructed to dress in traditional garments as depicted in the film. A villager in return tabled down a wish list of the things that they desire from the coming Americans. Even the otherwise wealthy town mayor, Don Pablo, wishes for the Wild West. He wishes for a marshal’s position in American society. Ordinary members of the village make some of the most satirical wishes. For instance, Leon, a farmer wishes for a tractor which will be presented by three American pilots. The advent of the Americans results into a falsified transformation of the once sleepy town into a bustling and lighted city.
Bienvenido, Senor Marshall, offers a strong contrast between Spain, both in local and international perspective. Franco used this propaganda to seek allegiance with countries like America. After the nation was marginalized from the rest of Europe, there rose need for the country to seek new allegiances. Historical happenings spanning from 1900 and 1950s saw Spain develop a bitter relationship with several European countries. While it is clear that Franco’s governance asked for support from the United States, Franco presents himself as an equal partner. Friendship with one of the most powerful nations in the world empowered Franco’s wrath against his enemies. He likens the Spanish development to American growth (Treglown 2014, p. 220). Bienvenido, Senor Marshall, shows the reality of some of the highly-praised regions of the country. Franco had shown his affection to the Castilian countryside. He failed to recognize how different the outskirts of the Castilian town are. Bringing out the state of poverty in rural places like Vila De Rio is the primary aim of the film. Additionally, the film rejects American interventions, in the name of intergovernmental partnerships.
Apart from ridiculing the Spanish American relationship, the movie showed the reveals the role of religion in the Spanish society. The Catholic religion roots in the traditions of the Spanish society. Franco was known to be a staunch Catholic and a strong defender of Catholicism. Hence, Franco impliedly and expressively declared Catholic as the national religion. Franco believed that religion was an important part of national Unity. To be Spanish was equal to being Catholic (Schwartz, 2008 p. 78). Franco discouraged beliefs or action that undermined the Catholic religion. The film industry was not exceptional. Film scripts were closely scrutinized to determine if the defined religious values are in line with the Catholic church. The movie Bienvenido, Senor Marshall shows how the custodians of Catholic beliefs deviate from Franco’s political ambitions.
As stated before, the film highly protests the advent of the Americans. The state’s interest in American aid is explicitly condemned in the movie. In one scene, a convoy from Madrid visits the town mayor. The government messengers inform the mayor that Americans visitors should be perfectly received to the city. An American actor greatly criticizes this scene from the movie. In the American version of the movie, this scene is censored, along with a scene that shows the American flag floating down a stream of a river. The two show the resistance of Franco’s diplomatic efforts to create close ties with the Americans. The people on the ground do not need any aid from the America as much as Franco’s governance does (Schwartz 2008, p. 32).
The Pact of Madrid signed by Spain and United States in 1953, was one of the earliest forms of collaboration agreements that showed how the two countries knew little about each other (Rosendorf 2014, p. 340). However, the pact of great interest to the Franco. His worst threat was from the European Recovery Program, commonly referred to as the Marshall plan. Franco did not openly express his concern on the Marshall plan. However, the people were aware of the implication of Spain’s world war alignments. Spain, as well as Franco, felt humiliated from the United States and the rest of Europe. Bienvenido, Senor Marshall, shows the sense and in depth of humiliation that the people of Spain suffered under. The formation of the United Nations, with the exclusion of Spain, promoted the potential severity of the Marshall plan against Spain.
In the 1950s, the period in which the film was released, censorship scrutiny was still an important exercise carried out at the disposal of Franco’s government. Bienvenido, Senor Marshall, was not an exception. Berlanga, a famous and experienced film director had for so long fell victim of film censorship. In the movie Bienvenido, Senor Marshall, Berlanga decided to play the rules. The script was subjected to partial censorship. The only reason why every feature of the film was not censored is that it reflected some of the interests of the national government (Triana-Toribio 2012, p. 230). The film depicted Spain’s stand in the Cannes meeting. Hence, it was flagged to be aired at the Cannes Festival. Bienvenido, Senor Marshall, did, however, portray some features that were against the spirit of nationalism that Franco highly promoted. The policy of ‘national interest’ aimed at self-sufficiency of Spain as a nation. Self-sufficiency includes a satisfactory culture that did not borrow from other cultures. The film highly borrows from the American culture. The film received international recognition, surpassing Franco’s wishes of an enclosed nation. By using Spain’s historical perspectives on the rest of the world, the movie acknowledged international ties that Spain was developing. Franco’s well known to have discouraged foreign relationship at the height of his regime.
Filmography of Bienvenido, Senor Marshall, shows the development of the censorship intensity during the reign of Franco. The film opened for attention towards Berlanga’s previous works like Esa Pareja Felix that exposed the rot in the Spanish society. The censorship authorities barred the movie from showing the level of unemployment and consequent suffering in the country. Bienvenido, Senor Marshall, achieved a breakthrough. Use of a narrator in the film blinds of the primary intent of the movie. When authorities expect that the movie does not show the current state of being in Spanish societies, the narrator reveals the state of the nation through the characters involved. The use of satire and irony by the narrator is provocative to post-Franco regime authorities that upheld Francoism. The film ridicules government intermediaries who knew less about the village. For instance, the government convoy calls for the town officials to present the industrial score record for Villa De Rio, which practically does not exist. Such and several other scenes show how disengaged was Franco’s governance from the rural areas (Rosendorf 2014, p. 34). One can interpret that, Franco’ right wing men did not perform what they purported to be doing in the presence of Franco.
The film uses the contrast between dreams and realities to bring to attention the people of Spanish how the fear of America and Francoism is depriving the society of its potent. The Catholic priest presents the traditional perspective of religious leaders towards the American people. Religion, especially the Catholic church plays a very crucial role in politics and social status of Spain. Many religious people held Americans to be false and evil men that Spanish people should ultimately discern. The film reflects the actual relationship between America and Spain, based on traditional values and beliefs. In a dream, Don Cosme shows how members of the Kuk Klaks Klan held the priest captive. The Catholic priest, throughout the film, condemns allegiance and association to Americans. In another scene, the priest is presented to a Committee of Un-American activity. Ironically, this committee condemns the priest of his anti-American campaigns. Franco’s party is well involved in campaigning for acceptance of Americans within Spain. The film depicts the connection by using an arrow as the emblem of the committee.
Berlanga uses the film to discern American influences on Spanish society. While homegrown movies have regularly been subjected to censorship, American movies have taken over the Spanish audience. The impact of the films on the people reflects in their dreams. For instance, Don Luis dreams of the imaginary glory of Spain. This vision serves as a reflection of the movies and parodies that tried to show Spain as a developed country. On the other hand, the town mayor dreams of the Wild West. There is such a sharp contrast between the two dreams. The city mayor apparently hopes for the better as seen in American movies. Despite his prestigious position as town mayor, his reality is that America’ a much better society as opposed to Spain. Don Luis strives in dreams that have been bestowed by Franco’s ruling.
Leon’s dream is apparently connected to the film genre spread of the Soviet Union. A connection between the two films is that people should not focus on the falsified glamor of the present but look forward to the best. The people of Spain, considering the kind of media that they were restricted to, have been forced to believe in the present lie. Film censorship highly restrained viewing of movies that spread pro-Soviet Union ideologies with Spain. Franco did not aspire for the people to hold faith unto the future. As seen from the previous discussion, dreams, as shown in the movie, are grounded in the kind of movies that one has viewed. Leon’s exposure to Soviet movies is a riddle to the censorship authority. Hence, the movie criticizes the administration’s effectiveness in regulating the film industry. Berlanga is certain of liberating Spain’s film industry under the noses of the censorship authorities.
Berlanga ridiculed, most of Franco’s attempts through the movie Bienvenido, Senor Marshall. Tourism was one of the areas that Franco strived to support to uplift Spain’s national image. One of Franco’s Ambition was to protect the tourism sector from foreign interference, as much as he owed for support and investment from outside. Hence, the best shot for the dictator was to show highest form of hospitality towards the foreign convoys who served his interests (Llorens 2010, p. 867). Berlanga, in the movie, parodies the level of hospitality that Franco showed his visitors as well as the falsified image of tourism in the country. In the film, residents of Villa de Rio are dressed like bullfighters and dancers. Inhabitants of the village are presented as happy, and regular Spaniards who enjoy a great culture. In their singing, members of the community praise Americans are using the little form of knowledge that they had about American. This method of extreme levels of hospitality worked for Franco. However, the film criticizes the lies and assumptions between the Africans and the Americans.
From the recent discussion, music is very crucial in enhancing communication. In the movie Bienvenido, Senor Marshall, Berlanga uses folk music to support the grotesque image depicted in the movie. For instance, when the delegate general arrives at Villa de Rio, music intensifies. The audio-visual interaction develops a sense of mighty for the government representatives. Of The use of Spanish songs and folk songs is an accurate reflection of Francoism. Even though Spanish music developed earlier before the dawn of Francoism, this essential aspect of the Spain culture was well promoted. Hence, the use of folk song and Spanish music developed a sense of unified nationality (Schwartz 2008, p. 45). Traditional music served as the image of a unified Spain. Berlanga uses music to communicate the irony of nationalism in the presence of seeking help from Americans. The ultimate peak of the movies is marked with musical rehearsals. There is, however, something that deviates from the standard. The lead singer for the folk song Lolita Seville is not intelligent nor successful enough as it should be in a normal Spanish society. Apparently, Berlanga condemns how France has partially benefited a few in society, in the name of promoting traditions and nationalism.
The film Bienvenido, Senor Marshall, is described as one of the most influential movies in Spanish, during the verge of dictatorship. The film rose and conquered an industry that was widely known to be following values of Francoism. It is stunning that the movie received national recognition from authorities that more than often used censorship to curtail freedom of the industry. One of the most genius approaches utilized by the director of the film was to attack governance from the perspective of traditions and nationalistic values, states Treglown (2014, p. 67). Mixed with humor, parody, music and culture Berlanga exploits Franco’s vulnerability in protecting and upholding is interesting.
Conclusion
In the 1950s, Spain was still recovering from the civil war shock. During that period, the rest of Europe was busy developing. Hence Spain suffered seclusion from Europe. Much of Spain’s suffering can be attributed Franco’ dictatorship in the period. In the 1960s, Spain began to regain economically as a result of support from countries like the United States’. However, the country was still suffering under a controlled media, a partially enclosed economy and a struggling social composition of the country. Bienvenido, Senor Marshall, is a contemporary artistic reaction to the relationship between the United States and Spain. The film criticizes, parodies and develops humor in the relationship as well as Franco’s governance. Berlanga, the director of the movie, develops s story that addresses more pressing issues than those that the censorship authorities are seeking in Spanish films. The film parodies attempt by Franco to paint a wrong impressive image of Spain that will lure Americans into supporting Spain. This discussion reflects on scenes from the movie and actual happenings to show the criticism on Francoism, developed in Bienvenido, Senor Marshall.
Reference List
Llorens, C., 2010. Spain’ Media Concentration Policy; A Pacth Work Crucial to Understanding Spanish Media System. International Journal of Communication, II(3), pp. 844-864. <http://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/viewFile/791/462>.
Rosendorf, N., 2014. Franco Sells Spain to America: Hollywood, Tourism and Public Relations as Postwar Spanish Soft Power. 1st ed. s.l.:Palgrave Macmillan. <http://www.palgrave.com/la/book/9781137299284>.
Schwartz, R., 2008. Great Spanish Films Since 1950. 1st ed. s.l.:Scarecrow Press.
<https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Ronald_Schwartz_Great_Spanish_Films_Since_19
50?id=PmMYAgAAQBAJ>.
Treglown, J., 2014. Franco’s Crypt: Spanish Culture and Memory Since 1936. 2nd ed. s.l.:Random House. <https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/mar/21/francos-crypt-spanish-culture-memory-since-1936>.
Triana-Toribio, N., 2012. Spanish National Cinema. 1st ed. s.l.:Routledge.
<https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=c_ywjhPbOREC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v
=onepage&q&f=false>.