Photo by George Biards
Pedro Almodóvar is a prominent Spanish filmmaker with international recognition and can be described as part of popular culture in cinema. His films have a recognisable narrative, often black-comedy dramas that deal with passion, love, sexuality, politics and family. They have a distinctive visual style, bright fashion, popular music, retro décor and pop culture references (GDI – Gottlied Duttweiler Institut n.d.). Almodóvar rose to popularity following the Franco-Spanish dictatorship, as part of the cultural movement La Movida Madrileña in the mid-1970s. During this time, Madrid experienced new freedom to explore a new lifestyle previously taboo during the regime, such as music, recreational drugs and homosexuality (Zaino, 2017). Not only did Almodóvar experience this personally as part of this cultural movement, it was also the subject matter for many of his movies. The characters of his films were often the underdog, including prostitutes, drag queens and drug addicts rather than people from upper-class society, such as the characters in Pepi, Luci, Bom y otras chicas del monton 1980. Raymond Williams (2018, p.904) attributes this notion of against high culture, instead of with a focus on the common majority in which many people are involved; as Almodóvar was living and expressing the lifestyle of the majority in his films at the time, they can be seen as a representation of popular culture.
Almodóvar overtly makes references to popular culture in his films, including fashion, music, television, cinema and design. For example, the film Kika (1993) references fashion through the main character Kika who is a make-up artist who critiques mass communication television through its narrative. The audience recognises these pop culture signs, some of which have a nostalgic and familiar quality. For example, the interiors of his films are often glossy, 60s and 70s retro-inspired décor that are reminiscent of mass-produced suburban products of the 20th century (Gonzalez, 2020), as seen in All About My Mother (1999). Almodóvar also uses well-known actors to reference pop culture, repeatedly casting Penelope Cruz, Antonio Banderas, Cecilia Roth and Carmen Maura who star in many of his films. Interestingly, Almodóvar helped to establish their careers in the Spanish industry and through the success of his films they have grown into international stars and symbols of exotic “sexy” latin beauty. Through his castings, Almodovar has created pop culture icons.
These references to popular culture in his films, have helped Almodovar to become popular himself and could have aided in his recognition on an international level, as a wider audience connects with his films. In 2000, Almodóvar won the Academy award (Oscar) to the best foreign-language film category with the movie All About My Mother (1999), gaining global recognition not only for this film but also for all his filmography. Almodóvar can be considered part of popular culture with his break into Hollywood helping his films to reach a mass audience and become more commercial. One theory of popular culture is a commercial and industrial mode of production, as noted by Takacs (2014, p.4) “This body of theory which we will call critical theory, often refers to popular culture as mass culture because it is mass-produced for commercial profit by centralized cultural industries”. Although it could be argued that categorising his films as foreign or art house, would make them not part of mainstream popular culture as they are produced for a niche audience.
Despite the many pop culture references in his films, specific ideologies can make it difficult to define popular culture itself. Examples of this are some of the references in Almodóvar’s films that are specifically Spanish, such as political subject matter or the Catholic devotion shown in Bad Education (2004). These references may not be easily understood or considered part of mainstream culture for a non-European audience.
Although it may be difficult to define, Almodóvar has gained his place in popular culture through the reference of popular culture itself.
La Movida Madrileña y Pedro Almodóvar from Molly Marcy on Vimeo.
References:
GDI – Gottlied Duttweiler Institut n.d. Pedro Almodóvar, Film Director, Global Influence, viewed 24 March 2020, <http://www.globalinfluence.world/en/leader/pedro-almodovar/>
Gonzalez, B 2020, All About the Vibrant Décor in Pedro Almodóvar’s Films, houzz, viewed March 24 2020, <https://www.houzz.com/magazine/all-about-the-vibrant-decor-in-pedro-almodovars-films-stsetivw-vs~131255473>
Takacs, S 2014, Interrogating Popular Culture: Key Questions, Hoboken: Taylor & Francis
Williams, R 2018, ‘Popular Culture History and Theory’, Cultural Studies 32, no.6, pp.903-928, viewed 24 March 2020, Taylor & Francis Online Journals Collection
Zaino, L 2017, A Brief Introduction to La Movida Madrileña, Culture Trip, viewed 24 March 2020, <https://theculturetrip.com/europe/spain/articles/a-brief-introduction-to-la-movida-madrilena/>
