History and fiction in television. 'Isabel' and the representation of the past

Abstract

Period pieces have a long lasting tradition in the history of Spanish television, but since the beginnings of the twenty-first century the genre has been outstandingly present in Spanish networks’ programme grids. In view of the fact that current access to historical knowledge is steadily departing from bookish culture and hinges more and more on audiovisual products, historical fictions reveal themselves as a valuable tool in reaching out to mass audiences. A large part, however, of Spanish series that purport to have a grounding on history simply use the historical past as a backdrop for their stories, while their scripts often include flagrant anachronisms. Unlike these productions, Isabel (TVE, 2012-2014) represents a paradigmatic example of “historical fiction”, since it is soundly documented and uses historical evidence rigorously while at the same time possessing high entertainment value, as is to be expected from a TV series. The goals of our research work are to provide an overview about the evolution of historical drama series in Spain’s television; to set up a classification in order to discern among the several types of history-based fictions; and, more specifically, to examine how Isabel deals with the representation of the past. Our study will resort to a methodology that combines the analysis of the series’ discourse with first-hand evidence gathered from interviews with Javier Olivares –the series’ creator– and Mª Isabel del Val –a historian specialized in the figure of the Catholic Queen–. Our contributions will likewise draw upon unpublished documents provided by the show’s creator, like the screenwriting and character bible or his script-in-progress notes. Such an approach will enable us to appraise the balance between fiction and history in Isabel, its degree of historical rigor and socio-cultural value.The main conclusion of our study is that historical knowledge contributed by fiction may well be different, yet not necessarily antagonistic to that afforded by written history. What happens is that audiovisual fiction uses explanatory tools to deal with the past that clearly differ from the rationality of written historical discourse. Thus, certain facts that would be deemed “off-field” in the context of academic history through lack of supporting sources, may become “scenes” in a piece of historical fiction as long as they remain plausible and consistent with documented events.