Resumen de Encountering Difference: Images of Otherness in Contemporary Spanish Film
Andrea Meador Smith, Sara Cox Campbell
Addressing the underrepresentation of films by female directors in Spanish language and culture classes, this work proposes the inclusion of two films, Chus Gutiérrez’s Retorno a Hansala (2008) and Icíar Bollaín’s También la lluvia (2010), in the curriculum of advanced or upper-level Spanish courses. Both films expand students’ knowledge of current and historical events affecting the Spanish-speaking world, offer opportunities for additional research and investigation, and pose thought-provoking questions for students to consider and debate. Although they deal with topics as diverse as the Conquest of the New World and contemporary North African immigration to Spain, both films are ultimately concerned with issues of identity and allow students to reflect upon enduring questions related to Otherness, marginality, and the search for belonging. We provide a rationale for the inclusion of each film and suggest pre-viewing tasks, discussion topics, and post-viewing activities for undergraduate language learners.
