In 1985 the Government of Catalonia initiated the so called Cultural Agreement, which established culture as means for an understanding between left-wing and right-wing parties. Culture was destined to manage the new democracy’s rethorics. If some aspired to get the story of the country; some other, the story of the capital. The right-wing dreamed the myth of civil society; the left-wing with that of the citizen. And both saw the bourgeoisie as the symbol of their aspirations, and incidentally, how to overcome their antagonism. The Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art (MACBA) was officially born in 1987 as a reflection of that dynamic. The common good was kidnapped since private interests were confused with public debate. The series of interviews this documentary presents wants to capture that process and provide keys of interpretation about the current cultural policies. With contributions from: Oriol Bohigas, Manuel Borja-Villel, Xavier Bru de Sala, María Corral, Josep Miquel Garcia, Daniel Giralt-Miracle, Joan Guitart, Bartomeu Marí, Miquel Molins, José Montilla, Jordi Pujol, Josep Ramoneda, Joan Rigol, Leopoldo Rodés, Gemma Sendra, Pep Subirós.

A letter to The Republic To all those racists with hypocritical tolerance To all those who built their nations on blood Now portraying themselves as preachers To all those wealth looters Murderers of Africans, All those colonialists Torturers of Algerians, This colonial past is yours It was you who intertwined our stories Now you must be held responsible for your actions You smell like blood, even if you bathe in perfume We are not here by accident Each arrival has its own departure. You developed a taste for immigration But now you suffer from indigestion. (...)

Mecca. The new King of Iraq. For decades, Movietone was one of the major international news broadcasting agencies. It shaped the collective imaginary, created by the mass media, of a large cross-section of Americans and Europeans.

Since Kyrgyzstan gained its Independence in 1991, there has been a revival of the ancient practice of Ala-Kachuu, which translates roughly as “grab and run”. More than half Kyrgyz women are married after being kidnapped by the men who become their husbands. Some escaped after violent ordeals, but most are persuaded to stay by tradition and fear of scandal. Although the practice is said to have its root in nomadic customs, the tradition remains at odds with modern Kyrgyzstan. Ala-Kachuu was outlawed during Soviet era and remains illegal under the kyrgyz criminal code, but the law has rarely been enforced to protect women from this violent practice.

“Language is a specific formalisation of expression that is assigned the role of transmitting orders to society.” “At school, language is placed in the mouth of the child, just as a pick is placed in the hands of a labourer. The teacher does not bring the children together to teach them the alphabet, but to teach them a system of orders. And when she asks a child what the sum of 2 + 2 equals she is not asking for information, she is giving an order.”