Iberian Landscape In Jamon Jamon Film Studies Essay

Iberian Landscape In Jamon Jamon Film Studies Essay explain how Bigas Lunas mathematical function of the Iberian embellish in Jamn, dummy upn contri scarcees to our perception of the charges themes. Arguably one of the main concerns of the archaeozoic 1990s cinematic work of Spanish-Catalan director Bigas Luna is that of place or property (Smith, 2000, 89), and it is within this context that the following discussion of Jamn, bone upn (1992), the first film belonging to his Iberian Trilogy, will be placed. If location is key in ground up prognosis with regard to theme in Spanish cinema (Jordan Allinson, 2005, 36), the way in which Bigas Luna utilizes the campestral locale of Los Monegros is then profound to the auditions ability to engage with the thematic discourse. In intercourse to Jamn, jamn, Deleyto (1999, 270) emphasizes the complex delectation of filmic and real seat as the main spin with which the principal themes of gender roles and depicted object indi viduation are communicated, themes which form discussion section of what Fouz-Hernndez (2005, 189) argues is an overall strategy to scrutinize Spanish stereo grammatical cases, or Spanishness (ibid., 189), from the viewpoint of twain an outsider and insider. Consequently, by focusing specifically on the 2 aforesaid(prenominal) themes, the analysis in-hand will examine the Iberian adorn in wrong of its allegorical function, whereby it continually negotiates the binary confrontations of womanhood and maleness, nature and manufacture, as hale as geography and culture. Ultimately, as the concept of theme corresponds to the focus which unifies the of import concerns of a film (Boggs, 1996, 10), I aim to show that it is this dynamic and nonplus integration of setting which, by aiding audience perception of the themes of gender and interior(a) identicalness, facilitates a more comprehensive understanding of the filmic work as a whole.Hochbergs (2007, 57) analysis of perceptio n indicates that as film constitutes a communicative process, initiating an early connection with the audience is key to cinematic understanding a type of engagement which is immediately evident in Jamn, jamn. In the initiative instalment, the camera pans down from behind the silhouette of a home run hoarding to key out a sparse panorama of Los Monegros, however as its bareness gives limited indication as to the location other than that of rural Spain, the setting is instantly set up as a attributeatical mar de tierra, donde la aridez hace que todos los elementos destaquen (Alegre, 1991, 10. Consequently, the geographical embellish functions as an allegorical space against which stereotypes shadower be constructed, in turn alluding to the thematic treatment of characters, sooner than as individuals, as symbols of certain kinds of Spanishness (Deleyto, 1999, 270).In highlighting its starkness as the means by which the audience is steered towards acknowledging the fiddleative function of the characters, the geographical setting is performing an active role in the thematic narrative and ordure be viewed as a protagonist itself. A traditionalistic yarn of the earth as a signifier of fertility and motherhood, whilst rendering this seventh character inherently womanly (Deleyto, 1999, 273), is juxtaposed with the historical as vigorous as opticly apparent reality of Los Monegros as a terreno de secano (Madoz, 1850, 193). As a result, the landscape evokes an opposition among nurture and destruction which is later on mirrored in Carmen and Conchita the former, an embodiment of mother-earth who calls her sexuality to provide for her daughters whilst the latter is a signifier of the arid land, given her excessive displays of voracious motherhood (Deleyto, 1999, 285). As Hochberg (2007, 26) states that symbolisation bewilders likely perception at a distance, the allegorical use of the inseparable surroundings can be understand as a way of drawing au dience attention to the problematic representations of motherhood and femininity that thread throughout the film.The encounterry connected with genus Silvia further demonstrates how the landscape is used to communicate a thematic narrative on gender roles. In her first joint appearance with Jos Luis, the visual association between the hills and Silvias curvaceous breasts (Fouz-Hernndez, 2005, 193) reinforces the link between the land and femininity, with the backdrop of the naked feminine surroundings figuratively mirroring Silvias nude upper corpse and gum olibanum affirming female spatial dominance in the scene. Equally, Silvia occupies a more profound and superior physical position in the frame, as Jos Luis is seen crouching down in order to taste her breasts. As Monaco (2009, 160) argues that the source of film lies in its energy to state rather than suggest, the use of the Iberian locale to emphasise femininity can be understood as a direct sweat by Bigas Luna to thema tically undermine dominant machismo in Spain, and in doing so is calling for the audience to rethink the overall relevance of Spanish stereotypes.By describing his Iberia as a space in which locality is lived with uniquely unintellectual vividness (Smith, 2000, 107), Bigas Luna acknowledges a sexualised interpretation of the filmic setting. Hence, with sex central to the macho ibanti-racketeering law stereotype (Holder, 1998, 35), the landscapes relation to male manfulness must be examined, specifically the films thematic portrayal of a conventional, almost grotesque version of Spanish masculinity (Jordan Allinson, 2005, 168). Given that our analysis considers the question of spectator perception, it can be proposed that it is precisely by Bigas Luna using the landscape to play with audience expectation that our focus is drawn to the thematic relevance of exaggerated displays of male sexuality. The shots of the Osborne wangle hoarding, in both(prenominal) the opening sequence and the scene where Jos Luis forces himself on Silvia, present a unique perspective from which to view Aragons paisaje desolado (Santabria, 2007, 16) expressly, via the rear outline of the bulls private parts. Whereas from the wayside the observer could straightforwardly identify the image and, in the case of a Spanish audience, its meaning as a famous brandy advert (Vilars, 1998, 235), viewing the bull hoarding from behind renders its significance difficult to decipher. Furthermore, the cameras focus on the bulls paquete, whilst rendering the perspective oversexed, also shows it to be fractured and so, as it sways unsteadily onwards the inherently feminine landscape, the shot captures a exemplary destabilization of stereotypical Spanish machismo. Consequently the manipulation of point of view in relation to the landscape (Deleyto, 1999, 273) is a way of asking the audience to take also critical view of Jamn, jamns representation of excessive masculinity.Paradoxically, the rel ationship between men and the rural landscape contributes to the thematic commentary on gender roles and stereotypes, in turn highlighting the binary complexities associated with Bigas Lunas use of setting. In Rals opening sequence, the use of a travelling shot crossways the dry land followed by an extreme long shot stresses the flesh of him in these arid surroundings, with the distance blurring the boundaries between land and men (Fouz-Hernndez marketplacenez-Expsito, 2007, 21). Given that Monacos (2009, 197) treatment of the diachronic shot indicates that unlike close-ups which deprive us of setting, long shots serve to emphasise context over drama and dialectical over personality, Jamn, jamns thematic concern for stereotypes over individuals is thus resonated in Bigas Lunas negotiation of the geographic space. Furthermore, as the role of cinematography, and in picky camera movement, is key to how we perceive film by announceing the ideas and images that characters represen t (Jordan Allinson, 2005, 46), Rals engagement in a mock bullfight, a stereotypically Spanish and male activity (Jordan Morgan, 1994, 59), illustrates how the use of cinematographic conventions that incorporate the dynamics of setting serve, in effect, to define Ral as the quintessential macho incarnate.Nevertheless, it can be argued that any masculine association of the landscape is merely constituted in order for it to be interrupted by femininity, as the opening sequence then cuts to Conchitas underwear factory where a female employee, Silvia, runs a sewing machine across a pair of mens briefs, then to some other eating a ham sandwich. Given that psychologically the cut is the truer theme of our natural perception (Monaco, 2009, 172), Bigas Lunas use of it here thus encourages the audience to make an instinctive association between both the preceding and subsequent image the dramatic interruption by these feminine images figuratively implying male emasculation and the undermi ning of the machismo image which precedes it and thus reverting back to a reading of the landscape as inextricably feminine.The encounter in the cinematic space of femininity and masculinity reveals a further allegorical use of the rural landscape as a vehicle for thematic talk. The way in which both the huge bull hoardings and the Sansn advertisement image of Rals genitals penetrate the feminine soil as well as Rals use of this poster to demonstrate his worthiness to Silvia, suggest a dauntless masculine invasion of the feminine panoramic. Yet, no matter how imposing these symbols of masculinity initially seem against the female landscape, they will never match the great physical scale of Los Monegros given the immenses tendues de terrain quon y trouve (Berthier, 2001, 30). Subsequently, the central position which appears to be given to the male is shown to be no more than an illusion (DLugo, 1995, 71), as it can be suggested that it is the female terrain which in fact enables these emblems of masculinity to be erect in the first place and therefore holds the power to castrate. steal Stone (2002, 195) proposes that by flailing so dramatically at machismo Jamn, jamn destroys audience identification with the characters, nevertheless it is this exaggeration, maintained via Bigas Lunas allegorical use of the landscape, which contributes to the films thematic treatment of discipline identity. In the night-time bullfighting scene Rauls genitals are obscured by the darkness of the physical environment, with the sole light emanating from the corn liquor of Mother Nature. Yet, instead of her glow framing the naked male body it delicately highlights the bulls horns and so this gentle treatment of the bull, a phallic emblem and symbolic representation of masculinity in Spain (Jordan Morgan, 1994, 59), combined with a refusal to reveal Rals paquete, weakens the Spanish stereotype of potent machismo. Given the existence of a stereotypical nonion of national identi ty in which male virility in particular is central (Morgan-Tamosunas Jordan, 1994, 60), the landscapes role here in contend the validity of masculine phallic dominance can be understood as a way of highlighting the issue of problematic national identity in post-transition Spain.The juxtaposition of the rural landscape with the make setting, a space of non-Spanish, globalizing capitalism (Fouz-Hernndez Martnez-Expsito, 2007, 21), further evokes the ambivalence of national identity an opposition which is reflected in the male protagonists association with setting. Whilst Rals establishing shot sustains his visual association with the natural surroundings, Jos Luis is situated within the artificial setting of his family home, a space highly reliant on external symbols of purchasing power (Fouz-Hernndez, 2005, 192). Consequently, the initial relationship the males hold with their environment renders them personifications of the tensions between the old (Raul) and the novel (Jos Lu is) in postmodern Spain (Fouz-Hernndez Martnez-Expsito, 2007, 20). Subsequently, the clash between the manufactured and natural setting in the filmic space reinforces the discord of national identity, including frequent shots of lorries as symbols of consumerism crossing Aragns barren terrain and the underwear factory drawing Ral away from his traditional ham warehouse, a space which is a face of hyper-Spanish and hyper-masculine associations (Jordan Allinson, 2005, 167). In addition, the use of Ral body as a vehicle for commercial consumption via the underwear advertisements which litter the rural panoramic, helps undersell his strength as the physical embodiment of the prototypical macho ibanti-racketeering law (Morgan-Tamosunas Jordan, 1998, 78) and therefore the waning relevance of this image in 1992 Spain. The binary opposition between manufacture and nature can be interpreted as a way of highlighting the national Spanish struggle between traditional and contemporary defin itions of economic culture and identity (DLugo, 1995, 69).The infiltration of modernity is not simply presented as oppressive, as both Ral and Silvia actively want to occupy the commercial space, with Ral aspiring to own a Mercedes and Silvia desiring a shoe cupboard, both in parallel with Conchita as a representation of consumerism. As such, rural Aragon as an allegory of traditional Spain, is shown to be a place where the tho possible escape is via materialistic transactions, reflecting late twentieth century capitalism (Holder, 1998, 33). The characters conjunction in both the manufactured and natural space thus alludes to a definition of national identity which is no longer based on static traditions, but one that is changing through globalisation, as the postmodern deconstruction of identity means recognition of the fact that Spanishness is a change concept, encompassing plurality and contradiction (Labanyi, 1995, 397).The final perspective from which the Iberian landsca pe will be examined is revealed by Freixas (1992, 36) interpretation of its resonance not only in geographical but also heathenish terms. Consequently, the barren space of Aragon can be seen as a canvas on which pagan references are painted in order to reinforce the themes of gender roles and national identity. The binary conflict of the physical landscape, as both manufactured and natural, nurturing provided destructive, is characteristic of Dalis painting Naturaleza Muerta, Viva. Likewise, the positioning of the factory, cars and coke can as symbolic dashes of globalisation against the natural space brings to mind the paintings primary interpretation of an erasure of boundaries (DLugo, 1995, 72), thus echoing the theme of problematic Spanish national identity in relation to globalised post-modern context.Bigas Lunas omnipresent allegorical use of the bull and the pig, two animals closely related to Spanish gastronomy and culture (Fouz-Hernndez, 2005, 193), equally reinforces a heathen reading of the landscape. The Osborne bull itself, by historically transcending its original commercial connotations, became an entire part of Spains ethnic landscape (Fouz-Hernndez Martnez-Expsito, 2007, 22). Likewise, the geographical setting and the cultural significance of the pig are fused in the final sequence in a reworking of Goyas Duelo a garrotazos la rfrence au peintre aragonais Goya dont le tournage sest prcisment effectu dans la rgion natale de ce dernier signalant une filiation artistique (Berthier, 2001, 60). Consequently, Bigas Lunas parodic weft of a fight with hams instead of cudgels renders el famoso jamn a ser arma no del macho excelente y excesivo, sino de su opuesto (Vilars, 1998, 235). Furthermore, the aftermath of the duel sees the women return as a central focus to simultaneously bring together the thematic discourse in a parting pieta the shot panning out to reveal the vastness of Los Monegros, its aridness evoking the power of mother earth which has drained the liveness from the men which stand before it and thus undercutting the myth of Spanish machismo in a culturally prestigious environment (Deleyto, 1999, 281). Monaco (2009, 172) affirms that we are seldom implicated in the intervening filmic space, yet the cinematographic pan draws our attention to just that, therefore its use in the final sequence can be seen as a way of emphasising the resonance of both the geographic setting and its cultural implications.In conclusion, as film corresponds to a one-way system of communication which is composed with the intention of relaying a desired message (Monaco, 2009, 162), the discursive use of setting to reflect the dualities of gender and national identity constitutes a apprised attempt by Bigas Luna to thematically engage with the audience. By rendering femininity dominant and so subverting Spanish machismo, the Iberian landscape acts as the political program on which a critique of Spanish stereotypes is constructe d. Furthermore, the juxtaposition of the natural versus the manufactured setting acts as a means of connecting with a Spanish audience through self-referential reflections on the process through which their identity has been reshaped by multinational capitalism (DLugo, 1995, 69). Hochberg (2007, 26) argues that our perception of a films themes comes not only from what we see but from what we do not see, therefore it is both the recurrent visual bearing of the geographic landscape alongside its symbolic and cultural associations which renders it an effective art in aiding our understanding of the thematic discourse of a film which contempla irnicamente los ritos de una cultura que est intentando desojarse de lo negativo del pasado pero tratando de no sustituir lo bueno tradicional por lo malo moderno (Evans, 2004, 41).