Violence in the Spanish Media

Something I've noticed in the Spanish media is that it is less restricted than that of the United States. While in the Spanish media it is common to see nudity, violence, and to hear the use of profane language, the United States is much more strict with laws and restrictions that regulate such things. As I read Spanish newspapers, I've noticed that violence, specifically domestic violence, is a common theme that is written about. After doing research I found out that during the times of Franco, domestic violence was something very common among married couples yet it was a private matter not to be spoken about. Once Franco died, came El Destape, where media outlets no longer had to abide by the censure and NODO laws of Franco's regime and now media outlets and movies about sex or violence were more common. The first movie in Spanish history to make domestic violence a public matter was "Te Doy mis Ojos," directed by a woman called Icíar Bollaín. Bollaín went to Toledo and actually interviewed women who had been victims of domestic violence in order to make the script of the movie as realistic as possible. Even though no physical violence is actually shown in the movie, it still created a strong impact with Spanish audiences as it is directed from the psychological point of view of the victim and transgresses from her weakest moments to her overcoming her horrible situation. This movie, although controversial, won many prestigious awards including a Goya award for making this age-long disturbing topic a public matter and urging victims (or people familiar with a victim) to come forward to authorities about their situation. 

Domestic violence is a theme that is unfortunately very much still prevalent in Spain today. Recently, I read an article about an 85 year-old man in Madrid detained in late April for stabbing his wife, 74-years-old, to death. Authorities said this case had been one of domestic violence that had been going on for years but no one had ever reported it, not even the victim. The fact that at that old age domestic violence is still a problem astounds me. The police explained that without someone denouncing a domestic violence case or reporting it to authorities, there is nothing they can do. Sadly, the same thing happens in the United States. When a victim reports a domestic violence occurrence, the aggressor is immediately contacted by authorities and a restraining order is set but this method in and of itself may be extremely flawed as victims are even more scared to denounce their aggressor because who knows what that man could be capable of doing once he finds out she reported him to authorities. This is a topic that is very disturbing to me and something that I wish was made as public in the United States as in Spain.

Eurovision Song Contest

The Eurovision Song Contest is one of the longest running television shows in the world, the first ever contest held on May 24, 1956. After 56 runnings, the contest is one of the most typical European traditions and without a doubt, one of Europe's favorite TV shows. After more than five decades featuring some 1,100 songs, the contest has become a modern classic, strongly embedded into Europe's collective mind. Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television. During the program, after all the songs have been performed, the countries then proceed to cast votes for the other countries' songs (nations are not allowed to vote for their own song). At the end of the program, the winner is declared as the song with the most points. The winner receives, simply, the prestige of having won, a trophy is awarded to the winning songwriters, and the winning country is invited to host the event the following year. This year's competition will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, following Azerbaijan's win in 2011.

In the United States the only program I can think of that is of equal magnitude and popularity is American Idol. Unlike in Eurovision, only Americans participate in the contest and therefore Americans can vote for other Americans. Also unlike Eurovision, anyone can participate in American Idol and not one person from each state. The winner of American Idol actually wins something at the end, a cash prize and a record contract to come out with their own CD. In Eurovision, groups can participate together as the sole representation of the country while in the United States, only solo singers are permitted to participate. In American Idol, there are judges that give their opinion about the singers yet the vote is completely up to the viewers, while in Eurovision there are no judges. Yet American Idol and Eurovision have something in common: they both attract record numbers of audiences and the winners of the competitions go on to become famous singers.

El Corte Inglés Spring Campaign

El Corte Inglés is the largest and most successful department store in Spain. There are hundreds of them around the country and all Spaniards know what it is and generally shop there. Yet ECI is not only known for its quality brands and products, but for its Spring advertising campaign. Every year, ECI comes out with a campaign called "Ya es Primavera" which means it's already spring. This campaign has been running for years and Spaniards have grown up around it. The advertisements are similar every year, they center on models wearing ECI clothes around a city and the final clip says "Ya es primavera... en El Corte Inglés." Everyone knows that when ECI comes out with this commercial, it means it is officially Spring and it is OK to wear Spring clothes. This ad has become so popular that now anytime someone says "ya es primavera," Spaniards automatically respond with "en El Corte Inglés." This is true to the point that when I wrote in Google "ya es primavera," Google suggested to finish it with "en El Corte Inglés," as did YouTube. When I was searching for these commercials something caught my attention. This year's campaign did not say "ya es primavera en El Corte Inglés" at the end. Instead, it had written in the beginning of the commercial "Ya es Primavera" and at the end only said "El Corte Inglés." This was the first time ECI did not say the entire phrase at the end. Maybe it's because people already know what the phrase is and therefore there is no need to say it? Or maybe it was on purpose to create buzz around the campaign and therefore bring more attention to ECI. Who knows... Here are some examples of ECI's past spring campaigns from 2010, 2011, and finally the 2012 commercial without the "ya es primavera."

ECI Spring 2010

  ECI Spring 2011

  ECI Spring 2012