Figuration of the sacred in España heroica

a sociological excursus

Abstract

The aim of this text is to analyze the film España heroica (1938), a propaganda piece made by the insurgent side during the Spanish Civil War and produced in Germany. Considered by some scholars as the “most consistent propagandistic monument of national cinematography”, the objective of this study is to discuss some aspects that the notion of sacred assumes in the film, particularly those related to politics. The methodological approach draws on the work by Pierre Sorlin who emphasized the way the film is organized, taking the filmic construction as a set of propositions about society, which the sociologist seeks to understand. Since our purpose is to understand the society portrayed in the film, we will avoid explaining it by its production context, thus not discussing: aspects of the civil war, the status of propaganda, the relations between Spain and Germany or the factual accuracy about events presented in the film.