Film poster in the “social realism” of spanish cinema

Abstract

Italian neorealism entailed, among other things, a new cinematographic aesthetics which, expressed in diverse forms depending on national characteristics, had a paramount importance in different countries all over post-Second World War Europe. In the case of Spain, this movement obviously influenced several directors in the fifties and sixties. Likewise, the neorealist stream transgressed the limits of the screen to spread to film posters in numerous occasions. In the present research paper, we intend to discuss the non-existence in Spain of a poster design which contributed to a distinct aesthetics, in contrast with the phenomenon occurred in Italy. For this purpose, we introduce the results achieved after applying a rigorous content analysis that combined both iconic and textual signifiers. Furthermore, this paper shows how a few Spanish poster designers reached high creative standards that provided interesting innovations to the advertising art, in spite of the multiple adversities they had to face, such as the censorship and lack of artistic freedom prevailing during this period.