I think Cinema can be one of several sources. I'm curious about which aspect of cinema you'd like to investigate? The directors, the films, the production, cinematic technologies, audience, the theaters, advertising, promotion...media uptake...etc? Many exciting angles!

Also, for Spain, first person who comes to mind id Pedro Almodovar, but maybe his films are influenced more from 70's Franco era, also from Catholicism and his earlier desire to be a priest? Maybe even studying the work of Luis Buñuel may help? 

It's mainly the films and what's the meaning of each character and history linked to it's society. The filmmaker I'm working with are Berlanga, Bardem, Saura, Buñuel and others less known abroad.

I am not sure, I understood your question correctly. Can cinema be used to reconstruct historica facts? I doubt it. Can it be used to reflect a certain era? Defenitely. Films are produced in a specific environement, historical, regional, economical ideological etc Tie and place can be detected in a film, but you have to be able to read to. Start with Kracauer for a theoretical context.

I started with Marc Ferro and Pierre Sorlin and their theories about fiction as a hidden representation of the society of a moment. I'll give an example: a western like "The Searchers represents hidden manners and way of thinking of the 50s society in America? The age is like the surface of the main questions of a society.

Yes, I have already worked on this project and am still continuing. Cinema is highly helpful in reconstructing the societal changes and sociological transformations that crept into the society from time to time. India is the world's largest film maker; being a third world country having a slave history for over 400 years, its cinema production constituting both retrospect as well as prospect has been highly helpful to discern and unravel the social thought that constituted or engaged human mind and life during its long pre-and-post independence eras. Towards this I have divided Indian cinema into several epochs and studied several dimensions of Indian culture and diversity . Read my paper Indian cinema as a model for de-westernizing media studies which is available in this portal in full text. If French history and revolution could help contribute to develop Cinema theory in the West, why not Indian cinema or cinema of any nation of independent cultural moorings can do the same?

 Thank you so much. I'll read it when I have a bit of free time. The Indian case is interesting, but does anybody is working in something similar in America, Europe, Asia, Africa or Oceania?

This is slightly tangential but it could be argued that the use of theatre is a primary study for the society of ancient Athens since many of the plays are believed to reflect quite narrowly societal concerns at the time they were written.  Therefore, you may consider looking at the wealth of literature on this topic for ideas on how to construct a framework.  I particularly recommend starting with JP Small (2003) The Parallel Worlds of Classical Art and Text since this introduces the problems of interpreting the necessity to compromise visual representations of text, and indeed suggests mechanisms for identifying which version of a text is being used.

 Interesting Timothy. Thank you.

Dear Merlo,

Of course yes! The beautiful culture and life of the Ghanaian people are vividly displayed in the imageries, costumes, and plots of their cinematographies. The wonderful Kente, Adinkra clothes, stools and palanquins, spokesperson staffs, ceremonial swords shown in our cinemas unveil the traditional political and administrative systems in Ghana. Also, they show the material, visual and artistic culture of the people.

What about the dance forms and styles (performing arts), the folklore, miming, incantations, proverbs and riddles (verbal arts) that clung beautifully in Ghanaian cinematography? They are vessels that carry the philosophy, ideologies, belief systems, norms and values of the Ghanaian people.

Merlo, cinemas beautifully paints the lives and cultures of ethnic societies and nations in awe-inspiring ways.

Thanks.

Dickson Adom

Thank you Dickson. Even Ghana has something interesting, even in football, when president Nkrumah used it as a political tool for reaching an hegemony in Africa.

Yes, it's possible. But what aspect of History? You need to define the historical context you aspire to examine. Cinema is potentially a colonial creation. Now putting cinema as well as means for historical reconstruction is virtually discussing cultural influences imperialism of colonial project. 

Thanks for the compliments my brother Merlo. All the best.

It's only the social aspects of each country. Thanks for answering, me. Shehu.