The mind does not always return to the beach when the calendar marks the days of Easter. The inevitable summer days, which are so settled in the collective unconscious to get on the road and spend a few days in the sun, are not a rule for everyone.
Holy Week, although it has in its conception an aura of reflection and spirituality, for many it becomes a lifestyle that is traced year after year through the movies that always appear on the programming grid of television channels.
Although the platforms streaming have put traditional television in check, Easter is a perfect example of how the small screen still has its audience. Why is religious cinema so fascinating for many? A couple of examples, from different age generations, comment on their obsessions and feelings about it.
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“I may not know which movies are nominated for an Oscar or Golden Globe,” admits Óscar Espinal, 26, “but I can tell you the breakdown of schedules and movies for Easter. I know what days I want to stay awake, stay up late and stay up until dawn watching these tapes”.
Óscar recounts his fascination from the room of his house, one full of history books and autobiographies that cultivated his interest in studying what he does today: international relations.
Since he was a child, he sought in cultural products the way to delve deeper into his fascination with the history of civilizations. Being the one who always raised his hand in Social Studies class, he realized that there was another place to learn more about it outside of the elementary classroom.
“I started watching Easter movies around 2005, when I was eight years old. Saw Marcelino Bread and Wine and it marked me, then I realized and case that those films abounded. I started to see more and realized that I was being told about more things than just religion,” she recalls.
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In that decade he was amazed by the programming grids. In times when Netflix didn’t even appear, he saw that “there were not only movies on channel six and seven, but the special was all week and on all channels. And they showed movies about the crusades, about Joan of Arc… Movies that not only revolve more around times than Christianity. Of those that remain, practically only Cleopatra and Spartacus pass, but it is interesting because more than a religious framework, it is a cultural aspect, ”he reflects.
“Whoever sees Easter movies understands a lot about ancient history. The time of the Persians, of the Babylonians, of the Romans, of the Greeks… In my case, it generated my passion for the cultural and historical field”, he adds.
Óscar assures that he is not a practicing religious. “I am Catholic by culture of my family”, he admits, “but for me to see these movies is to generate spirituality. Many times they are repeated, but I see the six hours of Jesus of Nazareth, the five hours of The Ten Commandments and I feel happy. It is my way of assuming spirituality”.
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Doña Saray, 49, says it to the letter: “I don’t like to think about going out on those days,” she says, referring to Easter, “because if I don’t miss the movies.”
She, who works as a cook in a primary school, has a special opportunity to see the programming of this theme. As the school children go out of class all week, she is free to stay at her house and especially enjoy Ben-Hur, her favorite film.
“That’s how it’s always been and I doubt it will change,” he says, “because my family grew up that way.” “Of five sisters, only one is the one who thinks of taking a little walk these days. We saw her strangely the first times that she said that she was not going to stay in the house, but then we got used to it, ”she says with a laugh.
Why do you like these feature films? Doña Saray thinks about her answer for a bit until she finds the reason for her obsession. “I think it takes me out of the day-to-day because at Easter I don’t start sweeping, I don’t start cleaning. To cook, yes, because there is no need to cook”, she says laughing, “but for me the ritual is to sit in front of the TV, open the door of the house so that the wind can come in, and stay all the time watching the movies. It’s my way of doing it and I don’t know if that makes me religious or not, but I like it”, she concludes.
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