Documentary Series "Spanish Guinea"

Dublin Core

Title

Documentary Series "Spanish Guinea"

Subject

Hermic Films

Description

The "Spanish Guinea" documentary series, created by Hermic Films and directed by Manuel Hernández Sanjuán between 1944 and 1946, explores the history and impact of Spanish colonial rule in Equatorial Guinea. The series, comprising ten films, aims to provide a comprehensive view of the region's culture, geography, and daily life under Spanish rule. Each film focuses on different aspects of life in Equatorial Guinea, from traditional ceremonies to hunting practices, offering a detailed visual and narrative account of various facets of the local culture and environment. The titles include "El Lago de los Reyes," "La Boda de Eucatrifé," "Entre bubi y fang," "Ebéyaba," "Aventuras de Fang y los bubis," "El pescador pescao," "Cazadores de elefantes," "Crónicas del país de los bubis," "La misión de Efulan," and "Los poblados lejanos."

However, these films must be critically analyzed within the context of colonialism, imperialism, and orientalism. Produced during the colonial period, the series inherently reflects the biases and objectives of Spanish colonial rule. The narratives and visuals are filtered through the colonial gaze, emphasizing Spanish influence and control and often portraying the colonized as passive subjects. The films likely serve to justify and legitimize colonial rule by depicting it as a civilizing mission, portraying local cultures as exotic and backward, thereby rationalizing the need for Spanish governance and intervention. This element of propaganda aims to present a positive image of Spanish colonial efforts to both domestic and international audiences.

The "Spanish Guinea" series also exemplifies orientalism by exoticizing and simplifying local cultures. By focusing on rituals, traditional dress, and "primitive" lifestyles, the films reduce complex societies to mere curiosities for the Western viewer, reinforcing the idea of the non-Western "Other." The portrayal of indigenous people often lacks depth and agency, depicting them as static and timeless, dependent on Western intervention. The series is narrated from a Western perspective, with little input from the indigenous people themselves, perpetuating the orientalist practice of speaking for and about the "Other" without granting them their own narrative agency. This approach implicitly conveys a sense of Western cultural superiority.

While the series provides valuable historical records of life in Equatorial Guinea during the colonial period, it must be critically evaluated for its cultural sensitivity and accuracy. Modern viewers and scholars need to recognize the context in which these films were made and approach them with an understanding of the power dynamics and prejudices inherent in colonial documentation. The portrayal of the colonized people and their cultures should be scrutinized for biases and misrepresentations to gain a more balanced and accurate understanding of the history and culture of Equatorial Guinea.

Creator

Hermic Films

Source

Hernández-Sanjuán, Manuel. Bajo la lámpara de bosque. 1946 (serie La Guinea Española 71) M bini: Cazadores de imágenes en la Guinea colonial Ed. Pere Ortín, Vic Pereiro. Barcelona: Altair, 2006.

Balele. (serie La Guinea Española núm. 25). 1948 En Mbini: Cazadores de imágenes en la Guinea colonial. Pere Ortín y Vic Pereiró. Barcelona: Altair, 2006.

En las chozas de nipa. (serie La Guinea Española 66). Filmoteca Española, 1946.

En el trópico huele a azahar. (serie La Guinea Española 27). Filmoteca Española, 1945.

Misiones de Guinea (serie La Guinea Española 64). Filmoteca Española, 1948.

Una cruz en la selva. (serie La Guinea Española 72). 1946. En Mbini: Cazadores de imágenes en la Guinea colonial. Pere Ortín, y Vic Pereiró. Barcelona: Altair, 2006.

Al pie de las banderas. (serie La Guinea Española 79) Filmoteca Española, 1946.

Publisher

Hermic Films

Date

1944-1946

Rights

Colección Filmoteca Española

Format

Video

Language

Spanish

Coverage

Spain, Equatorial Guinea

Moving Image Item Type Metadata

Original Format

Documentary Series

Director

Hernández-San Juan, Manuel

Transcription

From the Film Una cruz en la selva: “acquire an education that allows them to redeem themselves from their dark destiny. Faced with the helplessness of other times, in which women were considered almost like slaves, today the protection and affection of our devoted religious women rises, who have come to dignify them and to place them in the position that corresponds to them, as companions of man and creators of the family.”
Manuel Hernández Sanjuán

From the Film Al pie de las banderas: “When in Spain we talk about Guinea, when pronouncing the name of the jungle and mentioning the climate of our possessions, the image of a country always appears in the imagination where life for the white man is extremely dangerous; Without denying that the risk does indeed exist, we are going to give you a more exact idea of ​​how our colonials live, using the camera, which only captures reality.”
Manuel Hernández Sanjuán

From the film Misiones en Guinea: “It has always been a Spanish vocation to walk paths far from the homeland, to see exotic countries and open the channel of civilized life in them. As a nursery for these traditions, today we have in equatorial Africa the possessions of the Gulf of Guinea, where our ancient colonizing virtues continue to be active and fertile. Colonization means maintaining a bloodless but permanent fight against the backward customs of virgin peoples. Guinea is an example in this regard.”

“Going through the towns it is easy to witness the indigenous baleies, who often express extravagant beliefs and absurd superstitions; By contemplating these dances one acquires an approximate notion of the attraction that primitive life still retains for its performers. However, in contrast to such rude scenes, others emerge that show the great transformation that the presence of Spain has produced in these lands, the beneficent hand of the Church that is spreading Catholic doctrine.”

Manuel Hernández Sanjuán