Approaches to Spanish Culture and Society - Essay Example

Approaches to Spanish Culture and Society Conflicted and shared persons, official, reflective, collective as well as past memories in the public domain challenge the concept of truth, the idea of authenticity, and of novelty constituted as a memory that is a product of social construction in the present society. The process of legitimizing history takes place under the influence of politics with the application of relativization, ritualization, as well as symbolization during the development of a form of consciousness considered collective with the capacity to transform an object memory into the site memory in getting contestation of the identity of a group. Several official histories developed through manufacture and selections from many social framing of national consciousness in the past as a framework for the society within the cultural model for maintaining solidarity. It is common to find historical commemoration showing the person history written for and the benefit sometimes coming through discursive means within the history. In many aspects, such forms of history ignore many mysteries. Memory is usually associated with narratives while sites of the same harbor the locations for second-order remembrance where individuals remember their colleagues at specific locations besides how they victimized people. Many academic experts concur that past memories determine the future while at the same time enabling adaptation to the new order in the modern society. Dominant political authorities play a crucial role in shaping history, which is not a linear process. The political power continues to shift from the ideology through to images embedded in museums, memorials, and monuments. The following features remain part of the memory within the realm of social construction in the modern society. They include among others conflicted and shred persons, public, and official memories, collective recordings, factors that challenge the truth, modernism, and authenticity. World hegemonic power and countries practicing the culture of capitalism continue to influence and spread new pieces of information that also erodes the original information involving many ethnic communities and states. Most of the eroded history entails a lot of information throughout their history guiding enlightenment, freedom of the market also referred to by other scholars as market liberalization, and rationalization among many more. The existing literature especially on Spain helps in discovering and digging into the past worth remembering in unprecedented volume and speed. This entails part of the information that other literature work tend to trivialize or simply ignore. The two scholars, Alexander, (2004, p. 22) and Thomas, (2000, p. 54) provide a successful way of offering information collectively and in the process giving answers to issues with questions marks in history. Spain remains one of the few countries where writers from the west have not infiltrated to change it tremendously. The turn of the century in the year two thousand Spain commemorated the twenty-fifth anniversary after the passage of Francisco Franco. The celebrating of the end of the Francoist regime entailed a moment to ponder on the silence that griped the nation after his death. This silence represented the indirect contract among people in leadership positions from the Left to the Right to do away with past with aim of saving the future. Thomas, (2000, p. 23) holds that Spain is different from other countries that continue to experience major political shifts and transformations. Spain continues to hold and run institutions and manage people the same way the ancient political units did. The country has not witnessed a cleansing of military institutions and civilians either inherited from dictatorship or other form of leadership. On the other hand, Alexander, (2004, p. 21) points out that the case of Spain worked as an archetype of peaceful transitions running from authoritarianism to a democratic regime. In fact, many countries aim at emulating the Spanish structure. The nonviolent political transformation does not make everybody satisfied because critics continue to inquire on the effects of the political consensus of the country. A lot of emphasis put on how the leaders treated the country in the past. Critics hold that lack of memory as a deliberate step to erase the social memory of the past that remained hegemonic until nineteen seventy-five. This constitutes an active way to turn-off the collective memory of the past resulting from the fear of having things that happened in the past re-occurring documented as troublesome. Action by critics to question the tale of the entire process of democratization of Spain and center on the recovery of what for more than three decades represented in the ideologically polarized cultural landscape of the country. Alexander, (2004, p. 14) and Thomas, (2000, p. 15) take the initiative to retrieve the past including the remains of the authoritarian rule as well as the concepts embraced during the leadership of Franco spanning across many years from the start of the World War II to nineteen seventy-five. Most scholars have largely ignored this part of history important to the nation of Spain. Other authors covering the Francoist regime received motivated by the ethical essence and the desire to preserve experiences and memories suffered by people persecuted under the same regime and in the process deliberately avoided or ignored to investigate the happenings of the hegemonic ideology. This ideology largely shaped the culture of the nation for almost fifty years. Generally, academicians overlooked the levels through which the regime suppressed the Spaniards. This is within the realms of cultural trauma among the people of Spain. Cultural trauma takes place whine people belonging to the same group or society feel that a particular regime continues to subject them to horrendous activities leaving permanent marks in their consciousness. The events mark their memories throughout their lives because it changes their identity in future in important ways that remain or irrevocable. Two aspects come from the phenomenon of cultural trauma. The two features are collective aspects internalized in the group memory and the second feature relates to the process of forming identity linked to collective knowledge structures intrinsically and develops new ways of representation. There is close relationship between trauma and the process of both remembrance and memory because of its contemporary nature of displaced effects whether at the individual or group level. The processes continue to augment generative activities causing the first shock. The processes have similar characteristics but differences occur in the degree of complexity. Particular identity of groups, ideological, and political thought. The meanings of activities generated from group memory while referring to activities in the past. Other people record the activities that entail the interests and needs of collective members operating within the boundaries. The persecutions and atrocities that plagued the history of Spain including many horrific events over four decades could have persisted for many years degenerating into a cycle of trauma as well as the lack of the capacity to practice intercultural associations that aim at forgiveness and mutual understanding. Following through this dangerous both meant developing a nation of mutual hostility. In such a nation, fear and prejudice grip people because of past occurrences with the assumption that the same would rein freely. This would in other terms result into a state of anarchy in Spain. However, Alexander, (2004, p. 72) holds this did not happen in Spain because of the forwarding progress. Subsequent political leaders and members of the society instilled measures to cut down on the features that would increase animosity and hostility. The new measures questioned the essence of subjective group memory charged with the responsibility of offering the major avenue for practices as well as other features that shape identity and socialization of the society. Thomas, (2000, p. 77) supports this assertion and avers that cultural trauma has the capacity to survive as a clear component within the realms of group identity several years after the first brutal activities took place. According to Thomas, (2000, p. 57) this situation influences people including those who did not have firsthand experience of the brutality negatively. Therefore, it qualifies as a social construct developed on the surface of cultural memory, enhanced, and regenerated cynically by using ritualized depiction of history and art in addition to the media. Thomas (2000, p. 27), explains that meanings of activities and not events offer a sense of fear and shock. Different kinds of representation sustain the cultural memory aimed through two distinct directions. The first focuses on internal aspects that cover subsequent generations and taking charge of passing over information from the past generation to the next besides interpreting the memory. During this process, the target ensures that every member of the new generation consumes and buys the idea that he or she remains traumatized by the events. The second direction aims at reaching out to the foreign legions and people. They include among others different clusters of people taking many positions and applying symbolic capital. This feature demonstrates that group memory constitutes collective based and subject to modifications with respect to rooted needs within history. The collective memory also focuses on malleability of shred information developing into history pertaining to the contemporaries within the society it draws its origin from and in the process representing. The group identity of information and the mobility of the memories remain as mobile as the social groups holding onto the same ideologies. In view of Thomas, (2000, p. 17) and Alexander, (2004, p. 16), understating cultural emery shows the many functions it constitutes in building and marinating the solidarity of the group. It also indicates how situational it is and this proves in itself that recollection of activities remains goal-oriented and subjective. The nonviolent political transformation does not make everybody satisfied because critics continue to inquire on the effects of the political consensus of the country. A lot of emphasis put on how the leaders treated the country in the past. Critics hold that lack of memory as a deliberate step to erase the social memory of the past that remained hegemonic until nineteen seventy-five. This constitutes an active way to turn-off the collective memory of the past resulting from the fear of having things that happened in the past re-occurring documented as troublesome. Action by critics to question the tale of the entire process of democratization of Spain and center on the recovery of what for more than three decades represented in the ideologically polarized cultural landscape of the country. Alexander, (2004, p. 19) and Thomas, (2000, p. 28) take the initiative to retrieve the past including the remains of the authoritarian rule as well as the concepts embraced during the leadership of Franco spanning across many years from the start of the World War II to nineteen seventy-five. The two scholars share similar sentiments on the fact that reconstructing history aims at supporting a particular position either in the past or in the present moment. Furthermore, personal identity develops through resources gathered from the group memory that becomes the mechanism for giving group members necessary baggage contained in shared past and the capacity to comprehend the roles of the society as well as culture. Group memory gives a person a cognitive map that helps in orienting current personality. It is important to remember what Alexander, (2004, p. 33) holds that members of the group practically use the mechanisms provided according to the situation and subject to the prevailing circumstances. Application of these tools also reflects on the pool of information found in the initial group memory. In this case, it either adds or eliminates redundant components and this affects the connection between an individual and the group, present and past making it dependant mutually. It is at this point that the group or individual needs to clarify the exact moment a social trauma turn cultural. It is clear that the progression of the trauma starts by being social before developing to become cultural. Culture is one of the complex concepts that attempts to sum up the working of the society in general. The epistemology of the terminology culture shows that it is generic for all material development and the entire intellectual creations of a particular group of people. This forms the basis for Alexander, (2004, p. 29) defining culture as a complex entirety that brings together belief, knowledge, morals, art, custom, and law in addition to other abilities and behaviors acquired by people being members of the same group. Other academicians agree with Thomas, (2000, p. 37) and Alexander, (2004, p. 36) that past memories define the future. Julian Marias ponders over what future writers coming at the turn of the millennium in the next twenty years after writing his wonders would say of Spain. This would particularly be factors and events that shaped the culture and nation of Spain between nineteen seventy-six and nineteen seventy-nine. What Marias predicts comes to appear in the works of Alexander, (2004, p. 39) and Thomas, (2000, p. 41) that incredible occurrences following the death of Francisco Franco termed as a dictator carry the potential to create and develop a disbelief and skepticism. He describes the first forty months following the death of the head of state as scary. Compounded with existing criticism involving the changes, it would create a moment of incredulity in the shape of a provocative question. The question would be, how was all this possible? Finally, Marias recommends the study of post-Franco Spain. This is what Thomas, (2000, p. 57) and Alexander, (2004, p. 46) delve into in addition to covering some aspects of the era during the Franco reign. The two scholars explore means through which history can undergo the process of freeing it from previous interpretations that tried to categorize a particular brand of thematic undertakings and aesthetics in simple ways as well as to scorn past culture entirely. The new measures questioned the essence of subjective group memory charged with the responsibility of offering the major avenue for practices as well as other features that shape identity and socialization of the society. Thomas, (2000, p. 51) supports this assertion and avers that cultural trauma has the capacity to survive as a clear component within the realms of group identity several years after the first brutal activities took place. According to Thomas, (2000, p. 56) this situation influences people including those who did not have firsthand experience of the brutality negatively. Therefore, it qualifies as a social construct developed on the surface of cultural memory, enhanced, and regenerated cynically by using ritualized depiction of history and art in addition to the media. Thomas, (2000, p. 62) concentrates on residual history of the authoritarian past of the country in their works. It reads modern past of Spain and culture with the aim of recognizing the present negotiation methods either consciously or not. This is in addition to cultural activities, traumas, and mind-shaping concepts in history. The activities indicate their memories throughout their lives because it changes their identity in future in important ways that remain or irrevocable. Two aspects come from the phenomenon of cultural trauma. The two features are collective aspects internalized in the group memory and the second feature relates to the process of forming identity linked to collective knowledge structures intrinsically and develops new ways of representation. There is close relationship between trauma and the process of both remembrance and memory because of its contemporary nature of displaced effects whether at the individual or group level. The processes continue to augment generative activities causing the first shock. The processes have similar characteristics but differences occur in the degree of complexity. Particular identity of groups, ideological, and political thought. The meanings of activities generated from group memory while referring to activities in the past. Other people record the activities that entail the interests and needs of collective members operating within the boundaries. Alexander, (2004, p. 71) explores the relics of Spanish culture putting into perspective how Falangist and Francoist ideologies shaped the culture of the people of Spain. Thomas, (2000, p. 92) also evaluates the present status borrowing a lot of information from both fictional and intellectual literature regarding the present and past status of Spanish culture. The author locates the conceptual traces veiled, conscious, visible, or unconscious in the tangible experiences and appearances of the dictatorship regime. This discourse puts into consideration works by Alexander, (2004, p.88) and Thomas, (2000, p. 117) the essence of cultural trauma getting the input of Francoist regime in the cultural dimension. Bibliography Alexander, Jeffrey C. (2004). ―Toward a Theory of Cultural‖, in Ron Eyerman, Bernhard Giesen, Neil, J Smelser and Piotr Sztompka (eds.), Cultural Trauma and Collective Identity , pp 10-17. Thomas, Walsh. (2000). Hispanic Anthology: Poems Translated from the Spanish by English and North American Poets. New York: Putnams Sons. Read More