[NYTr] Cuban Media: The Thawed Cuban Films
 
Date: Fri, 6 Apr 2007 15:41:36 -0500 (CDT)


Via NY Transfer News Collective  *  All the News that Doesn't Fit
 
Progreso Weekly - Apr 5, 2007
http://www.progresoweekly.com/index.php?progreso=Ramy&otherweek=1175749200

Dateline Havana

The Thawed Cuban Films:

A comment on a letter to Alejandro Armengol's blog

By Manuel Alberto Ramy

In Cuban Radar of March 29, Progreso Semanal published -- under the
headline "Positive Effects of the Colloquium on the Gray Quinquennium" --
the news that two Cuban films "that broach subjects dealing with the social
reality on the island" had been shown on Cuban national TV, over
Educational Channel One.

The movies -- "Pages from Mauricio's Diary" (March 17) and "Suite Havana"
(March 24) -- were shown at 8:30 p.m. during the program "The Critical
Spectator." The news item ended by saying that "it seems that the freezer
is open and that other forbidden films will be aired."

Obviously, the news item linked the telecasting of both films to the
colloquiums and forums about the Gray Quinquennium that have been held in
Cuba since Jan. 30. It was a positive evaluation of those forums.

In Alejandro Armengol's blog -- which I read daily because of his quality
as a journalist and his sharp analyses, even if I don't agree with some of
them -- published March 29 under the headline of "Cuban Film and TV," I
found a brief commentary about a letter from a Mr. Julio Las that questions
the effectiveness of those telecasts.

Las's dismissal (echoed by Armengol) is that "both films were shown on the
Educational Channel during a program ['The Critical Spectator'] that airs
Saturdays at 8:30 p.m., exactly at the time the whole of Cuba is watching
the telenovela being shown by the main channel [Cubavisisn] ..."

One issue at a time. First, let me stress that the movies were shown for
the first time on TV and during prime time. Second, it seems to me an
exaggeration to say that, at that time, "the whole of Cuba [was] watching
the telenovela" shown by Cubavisisn.

Even when voicing a criticism, Mr. Las should refrain from the habit of
false unanimity and total complacency that is so abused by the media on the
island. To express it graphically, it would be like saying that "the whole
of Cuba watched the Round Table yesterday."

There's not only exaggeration but also concealment. The soap opera in
question -- "Passion and Prejudice" -- was a rebroadcast (not even a
remake) of a film first shown in 1993. The segment of the population that
didn't watch it at that time is a generation that today is barely 14 years
old. Is this the usual viewership of the telenovelas, especially of shows
made in Cuba?

As Mr. Las must know, this segment of the population would rather watch the
reality shown by the other two films, until now banned from TV. Forbidden
fruit has a tremendous seductiveness, particularly to young people. It
seems Mr. Las leaped from infancy to adulthood.

The reader ends by saying (according to Mr. Armengol) that "It is very
clear that it is as if the measure didn't exist [...] because it's the
equivalent of saying that almost no one has seen the films on TV.
Therefore, indifference reigns among TV viewers ..."

In any country in the world, the number of phone calls to the stations or
written reaction to journalists' commentaries is always far below the
actual number of TV viewers or readers of a specific space or column. But
it is a very important factor. Does Mr. Las have any idea of how many
viewers did see the films? Or how many phone calls from extremists were
received by the ICRT [Cuban Institute of Radio and Television] because it
showed the films?

According to a source close to the ICRT, the number of calls congratulating
the institute for showing "Havana Suite" exceeded 278. I don't have a
figure for the calls that criticized the presentation, but such calls were
made at the time and will be made again, because conservatism defends its
spaces.

But I must point out that the effect of the films was such that
Cubavisisn's "Third Show Saturday" -- a program that every Saturday
rebroadcasts whatever movie is most requested by viewers -- on March 31
again aired "Havana Suite."

I understand that critic and essayist Frank Padrsn expressed his
displeasure because his weekly program "From Our America" was unable to
show the two Cuban films, which had spent a long time on the shelf. They
are films appropriate for his program profile: Latin American cinema.

I have also been told that he was angered because the selection of another
program and another host for the presentation of those films would brand
him as "politically incorrect."

In my opinion, nothing is farther from the truth. Padrsn has practiced his
profession for 30 years in the official media and nobody who is
"suspicious" would spend all that time expressing his opinion. He's far
from being an amateur.

In the Cuban media, as anywhere else, there is a drive and a quest for
backing to be the first to air or print news that have impact. It's called
a "scoop." Could that have happened? Frank Padrsn could supply the answer;
and he could also talk about the support that (I am told) he got from his
advisers and work team.

In essence, starting from the undeniable presentation on TV of two films
never before shown on TV, Mr. Las attempts to diminish their impact and to
downplay the fact that the showings were the consequence of the so-called
war of e-mails that preceded the forums and debates held about the
Quinquennium.

In effect, Mr. Las performs a task that aids a certain bureaucratic group
that is eager to minimize the surprising but vigorous reaction of Cuba's
cultural and intellectual circles.

Now I'd like to share with you some information conveyed to me by people in
Cuba's television industry, whose names I shall omit.

According to my sources, the ICRT is now engaged in a process of analysis
with a view to a restructuring, based on the repeated realization that its
target audience is not homogeneous but has dissimilar interests, tastes and
preferences. It would be a more personalized television, in line with the
nation's pluralistic and diverse reality; an outlook different from the old
notion of "the whole of Cuba" expressed by Mr. Las. This new vision would
affect the four national channels.

The current structure, which involves departments according to the profile
of the programs (drama, children's shows, musicals, newscasts, etc.) and is
centralized in the Institute's headquarters, would be replaced by work
groups in each channel that will take over a specific task so they can give
each channel its own profile and identity.

Thus, TeleRebelde would continue to specialize on sports and even expand
its sports coverage. Cubavisisn, the leading channel, would cover a broader
spectrum, devoting its daytime hours to programs aimed at elderly viewers,
retirees and night workers. Educational programs and classes would be shown
on the two Educational channels.

If this setup is instituted, programs of all types will be shown at all
times, except during the early dawn.

An acceptance of the diversity of interests and the existence of population
segments with specific preferences would also be reflected in Educational
channels One and Two. They would give priority to an audience of teenagers
and children and would broadcast series and dramatized shows such as those
available from The History Channel, The Discovery Channel, and other
international networks.

As to Havana Channel (which, in my opinion has the best image and  served
as trial balloon for the study), it will remain the same, because it has
proved to be successful. It does a professional job with a team of young
and dynamic creators who establish an active dialogue with the viewers.

This 4-year-old channel has distinguished itself for its original use of
graphics, its unusual use of cameras, and an imaginative presentation of
spots and commercials. My sources also tell me that the ICRT is considering
surveying the preferences and interests of televiewers.

It is clear that the restructuring of the governing institution in Cuban
radio and TV -- a change long demanded by cultural circles and the public
-- has been spurred by the forums and colloquiums about the Gray
Quinquennium, as well as the unrestricted arrival to Cuba of foreign
television programs. For that reason, according to sources, the ICRT is
ready to respond with major improvements in nationwide programming.

If that happens (and I am not as categorical as Mr. Las), let us welcome
confrontation. We Cubans would benefit from television with better quality,
primarily aimed at satisfying the diversity of tastes and interests.

[Manuel Alberto Ramy is Havana bureau chief of Radio Progreso Alternativa
and editor of Progreso Semanal, the Spanish-language version of Progreso
Weekly.]
       
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