The image of the Arab immigrant in the Spanish cinema
The lecture will focus on the image of the "Arab immigrant" in the Spanish cinema, "immigrant" in the economic-social sense, and "Arab" as a stereotype dating back centuries.
The relations between Spain and the Arab countries, dating back to the times of Al-Andalus, went through good times, but there were also moments of tension. Thus, every historical event turned out to create new images or revive old ones. These mental images can be seen conveyed in literary works, works of art or films.
Films such as Saïd (Llorenc Soler, 1999); Canícula (Álvaro García Capelo, 2001); Poniente (Chus Gutiérrez, 2002); Ilegal (Ignacio Vilar, 2002), Retorno a Hansala (Chus Gutiérrez, 2008), among others, will be quoted.
Malak Al-Shamayleh, is a professor, translator and researcher. She holds a PhD in Spanish literature and culture studies from the University of Santiago de Compostela. The subject of her doctoral thesis: Imágenes detrás de las imágenes: una imagología de la migración magrebí́ en el cine español y norteafricano (Images behind the images: an imagology of Maghrebi migration in Spanish and North African cinema).
She has been a lecturer in Spanish language at Princess Sumaya University of Technology, and a research trainee at the University of Santiago de Compostela. She is currently a lecturer in Spanish language and literature at the University of Jordan.