Domestic Violence and Social Responsibility in Contemporary Spanish Cinema: A Portfolio View of Behavioral Dynamics

Domestic abuse continues to claim many lives in Spain despite a series of new laws to protect women and to punish abusers. This essay explores the cultural influences of contemporary Spanish cinema on domestic violence. Four films are assessed against a Portfolio Model of social responsibility that uses two basic dimensions: realism and human rights. Realism in each film is determined by the behavioral components of the internationally recognized Duluth Model and the Wheel of Power and Control. The human rights dimension addresses equality, power and agency for women. This study focuses on Icíar Bollaín's Te doy mis ojos (2003), Javier Balaguer's Sólo mía (2001), Benito Zambrano's Solas (1999), and Pedro Almodóvar's Pepi, Luci, Bom y otras chicas del montón (1980). The results demonstrate significant variations in the measure of social responsibility indicating that contemporary Spanish cinema may play a role in perpetuating gender-based violence.