The Image of Schools in the Early Years of Spanish Francoist Cinema: Autarchy, Patriotism and National Catholicism (1939-1950)

Abstract

Films set in the classroom comprise an important resource for studying the History of Education, thanks to their ability to represent, either faithfully or in an idealised manner, the period they belong to. In this sense, Spanish cinema from the early years of Francoism (1939-1950) enables us to uncover what the film industry was like at the time, as well as how society functioned and how the regime wanted it to be. Autarchy, patriotism, anti-Communism, Falangism and National Catholicism determined which films were made in this early stage, and this can be seen in the films set in educational settings. This article aims to highlight a major part of Spanish film heritage and investigate the particularities of the type of education seen in early Francoist films. To achieve this, the following films were analysed: ¡A mí no me mire usted! (1941), Forja de almas (1943) and Pequeñeces (1950), which belong to different genres and focus on distinct social classes. Based on these considerations, this article intends to reflect on the image of Francoist schools through an analysis of some of the most representative films from this period.

Keywords: history of education, Spanish cinema, Francoism, representation of schools.