Texts, producers, institutions

It is fair to say that Spaniards are not proud of their television. After they took stock of fifty years of broadcasting in 2006, the consensus of the press, political parties, and viewers’ associations was that Spanish television is trash (telebasura). Educated citizens dismiss the medium as the caja tonta or “stupid box”. Yet Spaniards are amongst the most avid consumers of television in Europe, watching some four hours daily. And in the past decade there has been an explosion of local production, especially in quality drama. In a supposed era of globalization, Spanish TV, unlike Spanish cinema, has not just held its own against Hollywood but shunted US shows to the margins of the schedule. A top-rated drama or comedy such as TVE's Cuéntame cómo pasó (Tell Me How It Happened) or Antena 3's Aquí no hay quien viva (No-one Can Live Here), reaches a bigger audience in a single night than all Spanish feature film production in a year; and a day's broadcasting of the five channels of national reach (public Televisión Española or TVE 1 and 2, private Antena 3 and Tele5, and the regional consortium known as FORTA) offers more hours of content than a year's feature film production. Clearly those who are concerned with Spanish culture and society cannot afford to neglect Spain's most popular and dynamic medium. Indeed in the debate leading up to the recent historic vote that legalized same-sex marriage (June 30, 2005) the gay characters in the sitcom Aquí no hay quien viva proved a flash point for controversy.

The sheer volume (or “flow”) of television content must thus be borne in mind by those who brand the medium “trash.” After all, we do not dismiss the novel as a genre because much commercial publishing is considered unworthy of critical attention or acclaim. Moreover, changes in distribution and exhibition mean that television no longer seems as ephemeral as it once did. A feature film now takes most of its profits and audience in the first weekend of release. A TV series may engross millions for years or even decades, forming a vital part of the affective and everyday life of a nation. Re-released on DVD, seasons of such shows become as durable as the classics of cinema.