I often preface my research by saying that it is frivolous. I research celebrity, and my focus is the early years of the Franco regime. It's certainly not a moment in time that many in the US particularly care about, and sometimes it seems like not a lot of Spaniards do either. Or that people only care about this time period in certain ways: Post-Civil War repression, World War II, economic suffering.
Life under the early Franco regime was hard. And a distracting culture of escapism flourished and helped people survive that hardship. But even escapist culture is built within specific structures. And those structures persist in the present day. For example, ¡Hola! magazine was founded in 1944. It's now one of Spain's biggest international conglomerates, and it launched its US imprint in 2016 (just before the election. Hillary and Bill Clinton were on the cover of the October/November issue that year).
I study how the Spanish press wrote about foreign celebrities under the censorship of the Franco regime because it helps me understand my own country, both then and now. And while celebrities are frivolous in some ways, they shine a light on our best and worst selves. They show us the world we are and guide us to building the one we want to be.
The King and Queen of Spain, Felipe VI and Letizia, were in the US this past week "celebrating" 300 years of Spanish-US relations. They came to Texas, made a stop in Louisiana, and ended at the White House. This tweet allowed the White House to put forth a distracting headline in week of horrible news out of this administration.
Life under the early Franco regime was hard. And a distracting culture of escapism flourished and helped people survive that hardship. But even escapist culture is built within specific structures. And those structures persist in the present day. For example, ¡Hola! magazine was founded in 1944. It's now one of Spain's biggest international conglomerates, and it launched its US imprint in 2016 (just before the election. Hillary and Bill Clinton were on the cover of the October/November issue that year).
I study how the Spanish press wrote about foreign celebrities under the censorship of the Franco regime because it helps me understand my own country, both then and now. And while celebrities are frivolous in some ways, they shine a light on our best and worst selves. They show us the world we are and guide us to building the one we want to be.
The King and Queen of Spain, Felipe VI and Letizia, were in the US this past week "celebrating" 300 years of Spanish-US relations. They came to Texas, made a stop in Louisiana, and ended at the White House. This tweet allowed the White House to put forth a distracting headline in week of horrible news out of this administration.
A great visit with the King & Queen of Spain at the @WhiteHouse today. Queen Letizia & I enjoyed tea & time together focusing on the ways we can positively impact children. pic.twitter.com/IiaMQOil3K— Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) June 19, 2018
What's interesting to me is how this visit has been covered in the Spanish-speaking press, especially given the current crisis at the US-Mexico border, and Spain's tradition of positioning itself as mediating "Hispanic" issues to the US (both under Franco and since). ¡Hola! primarily covered Letizia's fashion choices (see articles here and here), and OK Diario claims that Letizia almost caused an international incident over the "machismo" of being relegated to sipping tea with Melania while Felipe got to do the "real" diplomatic work of meeting with the President, Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell and Nancy Pelosi.
I wonder if Letizia wasn't protesting about something else entirely, though. I want to think that part of Letizia's protests were against meeting with this family, period. She comes from the press. She knows about optics, and she knows that their visit would be used as a sort of international rehabilitation of the current presidency and its human rights violations. She knows that the tensions between the US and Europe right now make it look like F&L are choosing some sort of side.
The discussion of the ways they "can positively impact children" made a great distracting headline for the White House, as it deals with the crisis of family separation at the US-Mexico border, but it doesn't help Spain one iota. Image is never just image.
I wonder if Letizia wasn't protesting about something else entirely, though. I want to think that part of Letizia's protests were against meeting with this family, period. She comes from the press. She knows about optics, and she knows that their visit would be used as a sort of international rehabilitation of the current presidency and its human rights violations. She knows that the tensions between the US and Europe right now make it look like F&L are choosing some sort of side.
The discussion of the ways they "can positively impact children" made a great distracting headline for the White House, as it deals with the crisis of family separation at the US-Mexico border, but it doesn't help Spain one iota. Image is never just image.
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