Surrogation as intergenerational transmission of memory

Abstract

This article examines the intergenerational transmission of cultural memory in Spain and Portugal and the role of gendered perspectives in opening up discussions about the legacies of the past. Drawing on Marianne Hirsch’s notion of surrogation as an alternative mode of intergenerational transfer, it explores how works by Pedro Almodóvar and Inês Pedrosa challenge heteronormative conceptions of cultural transmission through disrupted and displaced lineages. These works thus undermine Francoist and Salazarist notions of the family unit as the inherent foundation of the nation.