Arrested Modernities: The Popular Cultures that Could Have Been
Arrested Modernities: The Popular Cultures that Could Have Been
This chapter discusses two possible counter-figures of the ‘intellectual’, or ‘cultural agent’, focusing mainly on writer Luis Mateo Díez's relationship with the peasant cultures of northwest Spain and on that of Juan Marsé with the working-class cultures of Barcelona. It argues that the enthusiasm for regional autonomy during the Spanish transition gave rise to a favorable breeding ground for experimentation with forms of political and aesthetic modernity that were capable of including aspects of traditional rural cultures. It also examines how ‘writer-workers’ such as Marsé constructed their poetics inspired by the collective modes of creative consumption of an incipient postwar mass culture. The chapter argues that the transition to democracy created an extraordinary demand for individuals who could embody the ideal of modern, cosmopolitan intellectuals while also producing not only ‘works’ but also ‘names’ that could function as ‘brands’.
Keywords: intellectuals, Luis Mateo Díez, peasant culture, Spain, Juan Marsé, modernity, rural culture, writer-workers, mass culture, democracy
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