Resumen de Spain on the big screen: Regional imaginary, popular culture and national identity in the Spanish cinema of the first half of the twentieth century

Marta García Carrión

• The article studies the role of cinema in the development and dissemination of discourses and narratives concerning Spanish national identity. It presents a historical overview from the beginnings of cinema to the first decades of the Francoist dictatorship. The analysis focuses on two main areas: the relationship between cinema and other forms of popular culture, and the use of regional symbols in cinema in order to personify the essence of Spanishness.