Orphans and the Turn(s) to Childhood in Spanish Cinema : Transitions and Transformations

Through its analysis of filmic children, this thesis aims to shed light on depictions of Spanish societal changes and explore whether the concept of kinlessness has a special resonance in the Spanish cinematic context. This investigation of the depiction and representation of the orphan will take the form of a close reading of four key films: Tómbola (Lucía 1962) Cría cuervos (Saura 1976), ¿Quién puede matar a un niño? (Serrador 1976) and Estiu 1993 (Simón 2017). The ever expanding field of visual cultures within Hispanic studies has demonstrated that examining societal change through the lens of artistic visual outputs encourages a broader consideration of historical and socio-political change. I inform my analysis with insights from Childhood Studies and Spanish cultural contexts. Where the characters in my texts will play a part in directors' socio-political objectives to address social issues in their work, the reading offered in this thesis suggests that these films can be considered as part of a third cine con niño genre, one made for the child's benefit, perhaps better phrased as cine sobre el niño.