Hostesses, dancers or co-presenters, the documentary series “Was I a Vase Woman?” by Rafa de los arcos and Meritxell Aranda analyzes the sexualization of women in formats like ‘The Right Price’ or ‘Goles Are Loves’: “The only way they had to appear on television was by exhibiting their bodies”
Gila’s true story on the Republican side of the Civil War that made him want to talk to the enemy
A few days ago, when the comedian Lalachus was announced as the next presenter of the bells on TVE, she received hateful insults that were claimed on social networks to the detriment of her physique. This comedian represents a completely different type of television from the one that has been blowing audiences away for decades: a diverse television in which non-normative organisms that reflect society find their place.
This election coincides with the renewal of Cristina Pedroche as presenter of the bells on Antena 3. Pedroche connects more directly with television, common in the 90s, were the body and beauty of women become the main bait to capture the public.
Though, this Sixth collaborator also receives insults from those who believe she should go out dressed in a certain way. Nothing seems to go right and it is indeed on this basis that it is founded Was I a vase woman?the documentary by Producciones del Barrio for the Max platform which traces the history of Spanish television.
Directed by Rafa de los Arcos and Meritxell Aranda, the film investigates the role of women in the 80s and 90s through a journey through programs that have marked the history of television. It also does so with the first-person account of some protagonists of the time and the contribution of experts such as the journalist Rosa María Calaf, the researcher Elena neira or the journalist Juan Sanguino.
“Television continues to be a mirror of the society we live in,” says Meritxell Aranda. “We wanted to have testimonies from women protagonists of programs from those decades, which would invite us to think about what type of television we are making now and to reflect on whether we have changed so much or whether we continue to do the same thing,” says the deputy director of the documentary which includes testimonials from Loreto Valverde, Makoke, Patrizia Cavaliere or Beatriz Rico.
The dark and the stunning, without frivolity
“The truth is that I had never been given the opportunity to talk about this, or at least not in this way,” confesses presenter Loreto Valverde to elDiario.es. “I think
The singer and actress emphasizes that the topic “is not treated frivolously nor will it cause bloodshed”, as the documentary seeks to convey “the reality of what television was than with its dark parts, its beautiful parts and its funny parts.” “It is a joy, from the maturity of a person who is over 50, to be able to look back and remember what the country was like at that time,” says Loreto Valverde.
rafa de los Arcos admits that there is a “very biased” premise when dealing with an issue of this style. So, very wisely, the director chose to give the full weight of both episodes to the protagonists. “For us the most crucial thing is that they explained everything to us first hand. We needed there to be a lot of them feedbackthat their experience would help us write the screenplay,” declares the director, also responsible for the series. Brutal megamix for RTVE.
Loreto Valverde in ‘Was I a Vase Woman?’
One of the most notable aspects of the documentary is the analysis of the programs that guided the television schedule. Formats like The right price They were imbued with a machismo that, even though easily detectable today, became normalized in the 1990s: while the presenter Joaquín Prat represented experience and confidence, the women were tasked with providing the visual appeal.
Loreto Valverde also remembers his participation Goals are lovesa program broadcast on Telecinco between 1992 and 1993 which reported current sporting events in a “casual” way. “Each girl represented a La Liga football team, and they had to go out in shorts and cleavage to show on a ball the score each team had that day,” she describes.
“Why weren’t there a lot of great kids coming out? shorts say the results?”, asks Valverde in hindsight. “But this didn’t shock us, we had a different mentality,” says the presenter. De los Arcos and Aranda agree that “there is a part of reflection” and that criticism should not be directed at them, but “against those who were pulling the strings”.
The men behind the formats
The managers, almost all men, were the ones pulling the strings. Not surprisingly, for the same reason, all programming offers were aimed at satisfying the male instinct. “It’s the senior executives who decided that a woman’s body gave them an audience and how it gave them an audience,
This meant that although women’s roles were essential,they were only essential because they were sexualised. Loreto Valverde underlines that “the girls were,at best,co-presenters”,since in the vast majority of cases “they could only act as hostesses or dancers”.
An essential figure in the two episodes is Lola Barranco, one of the few managers of those decades.“I didn’t realize I was so alone, even though I didn’t earn like them and that made me quite angry. Why, if I do the same job, put in the same effort and have the same level of opinion?”, he goes so far as to say in the documentary.
Lola Barranco in “Was I a Pot Woman?”
Lola Barranco’s position, despite the great disadvantage she suffered compared to her peers, contrasts quite a bit with that of other women, which even makes her privileged. “The only way they had to appear on television was to show off their body.This was the role for them. It’s not that they had a choice, it’s that they put them there and it was a toll they had to pay if they wanted to go further,” explains Meritxell Aranda.
In Was I a vase woman? We also remember the phenomenon of Mama Chicho and Cacao Maravillao, one of the most triumphant ideas. “They were girls,fantastic dancers,who,although the dance they performed was very simple,had that ease,that palm,” recalls Loreto Valverde. “They appeared on the curtain in the middle of the program, did their little walk and left without saying a word. They weren’t even given the chance to say goodbye. “They were like that: a nice thing in the middle of the program.”
The documentary portrays the rise of that television and the celebrity that loomed over women treated as objects, combining the music of that period with old clips of some programs. “It wasn’t just the girls anymore, it was the sounds, the colors, the camera movements, the sets,” says Rafa de los Arcos. “Everything was really surprising,” says the director.
Potted women, a thing of the past?
In the mid-1990s, the national mood worsened due to, among other reasons, economic decline. The glitter that had conquered an entire country since the beginning of the 1980s suddenly ceased to be of interest. Spain wanted to see another type of television. And what was at the top for many years was lost in its own creativity.
“It wasn’t a logical and natural evolution, it was a very drastic change,” confesses Loreto Valverde.“What we loved was suddenly no longer popular and we had to make a radical change. Telecinco, such as, changed the directive and made a clean one. What was wonderful before is now worth nothing”, continues the actress and singer.He acknowledges that although he has been able to “continue working” in his profession, “many colleagues have had to reinvent themselves”.
The “cleanliness” to which Valverde refers presents similarities with that recently experienced in Mediaset, in which programs such as save me with the aim of renewing telecinco’s image. however, the presenter states that, compared to what she experienced in her time, “there has not been such a drastic change because the image of Telecinco has not changed much”: ”They have removed some things that were errors and that themselves “They realized they should never have committed it, but it was a light housekeeping.”
Am I a vase woman who is put there because I’m pretty, or am I an emancipated woman who comes out like this because I feel like it, because I like it, because I’m beautiful and I don’t care that the public sees? me as I want?
In fact, Loreto Valverde believes that many programs of the time were not “as harmful” as those broadcast today.”Passive-aggressive television that makes someone else’s life bloody and airs the family’s dirty laundry seems terrible to me,” he comments. “Give me 20 Cacaos Maravillaos who dance and sell me a brand that doesn’t exist, rather than the acid TV of gossip and which causes damage at the expense of playing with the lives of others.The first is spectacle, beauty, joy… The second is not.”
Meritxell Aranda is of the same opinion, according to whom “now there is more commercialization of emotions”: “All this The island of temptations programs like The Wheel of Fortune where a beautiful girl turns the letters when today one could perfectly use a remote control… A type of television is being built that is no better than before.”
“Am I a vase woman who is put there because I’m pretty, or am I an emancipated woman who comes out like this because I feel like it, because I like it, because I’m beautiful and I don’t care that the public sees me as I want?”, asks Loreto Valverde.The debate that she and the documentary raise shifts to the controversy that surrounds Cristina Pedroche every year. Is she an emancipated woman or another victim of the patriarchal system?
For Rafa de los Arcos “it is a question of plurality”, since “if the bells format has to be based on an attractive girl next to a funny man, thus becoming the norm, there is a problem”. But “if we, as spectators with a certain sensitivity, can find an alternative to all this, it is indeed already a step forward”. “The problem is when things are uniform and there’s only one way to do them,” says the director.
The documentary’s directors say the film will make the viewer reflect ”on their role as a consumer.” “What do you consume on an audiovisual level and what did you consume 20 years ago? This is where the focus is,” says De los Arcos. For her part, Meritxell Aranda adds that “we must realize that, even if we have made progress, it is indeed still a backpack that we carry around.”
And perhaps Cristina Pedroche’s television and Lalachus’ television have more in common than it seems. They are both women who will receive criticism no matter what they do and however they go out. Are they vase women? Were they the girls of the 80s and 90s? Most likely it is not they who have the key, but rather the viewers when they see them on screen.
How do firsthand accounts from figures like Rafa de los Arcos and Loreto valverde contribute to our understanding of media representation and gender bias?
The reflections of Rafa de los Arcos and Loreto Valverde on the evolution of television programming, particularly regarding gender roles, reveal much about the prevailing attitudes of their time and the shifting nature of media representation.De los Arcos emphasizes the importance of firsthand accounts from those involved, allowing for a nuanced exploration of the issues at hand. His series, Brutal Megamix, seeks to capture the essence of these experiences, shedding light on biases that have historically influenced programming.
Valverde’s recounting of her involvement in programs like Goals are loves highlights the objectification of women on television during the 1990s,where their roles were often relegated to mere visual appeal rather than substantive participation. This portrayal raises important questions about the normalization of machismo in media, as she points out the contrast between the authoritative presence of male hosts and the often superficial roles assigned to female counterparts. The observation that these women were placed in positions where they were “at best, co-presenters” underscores a notable disparity in the industry.
The intricacies of the industry are further revealed through the experiences of women like Lola Barranco, who navigated a male-dominated landscape. Despite her challenges,Barranco’s narrative also suggests an unexpected level of privilege compared to her peers,who frequently enough had to use their bodies to gain visibility in a format that allowed little room for genuine agency. Meritxell Aranda’s comments about the necessity of “showing off their body” for female presenters exemplify the structural barriers faced by women in the industry.
As the documentary discusses the transition away from such outdated formats, it highlights a broader cultural shift within Spain.The drastic changes in television programming during the mid-1990s mirrored shifts in societal values and economic challenges, leading audiences to seek content that departed from the excesses earlier embraced.Valverde’s reflections on the need for reinventing careers post-shift demonstrate the resilience of those affected by these transformations.
The analysis of past television formats and their implications for gender representation serves as a powerful reminder of the ongoing struggles for equality and authenticity in media.As the landscape continues to evolve, it is indeed vital to reflect on these lessons to ensure a more inclusive and realistic portrayal of all identities in future programming.