85101 - International Reception of Italian Cinema (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course students will have acquired the fundamentals in the field of international reception of Italian cinema, with regard to the main phases, trends, movements and celebrities, having grasped the basic elements of an updated methodology for analysing the theory of reception. Students will be able to reflect critically on the relationship between local, national, supranational and global, through practical examples of inter-textual and transcultural relations.

Course contents

The course proposes a general question: what are the causes of the international success of the Italian product? Based on case studies, it emphasizes how the history of Italian cinema has influenced world cinema, how this history should be viewed within a field of international forces, and how it has impacted the global cinema audience.

By "Italian product," we mean not only the film itself, but also the actor, the actress, a type of acting and stardom system. It also refers to visual culture and the narrative tradition—both written and oral—including collective epics that converge in cinematic characters.

Particular attention is devoted to the theme of migration, understood as (1) the movement of individuals and masses to and from Italy, and (2) the migration of models: acting models, character types, and comedic styles (e.g., Giulietta Masina), as well as stardom (e.g., Sophia Loren). Focusing on specific periods (the 1950s and 1960s of the twentieth century, and the beginning of the new millennium), the course will explore the historical roots of a complex process of integration between Italy and the United States. Students will learn to observe and analyze the specific creative resources of migrating individuals who blend with a culture different from their own (e.g., postwar Rome inspires the expatriate Tennessee Williams, who creates film characters performed by Anna Magnani). They will practice analyzing the processes of constructing a type of stardom (for example, its relationships with fashion and lifestyle) that has international appeal

Readings/Bibliography

Film

 

Bellissima, L. Visconti, 1951

The Rose Tattoo, D. Mann, 1955

The Fugitive Kind, S.Lumet, 1960

Il Gattopardo, L. Visconti, 1963

La Ciociara, V.De Sica, 1960

Respiro, E.Crialese, 2002

La vita bugiarda degli adulti, E. De Angelis, 2023

 

Bibliography

Excerpts from:

Peter Bondella (ed), The Italian Cinema Book, 2014

Frank Burke (ed), A Companion to Italian Cinema, 2017

Marcia Landy, Stardom Italian Style. Screen Performance and Personality in Italian Cinema, 2008

Plus Material published on Virtuale

Teaching methods

Students are invited to actively participate to the open discussions and in film analyses.

Teaching will be carried out with traditional methods: the professor will always be in the designated classroom.

Assessment methods

There will be a written test at the end of the course with multiple-choice questions and critical texts to write, based on the analysis of films from the bibliography, class discussions, and critical texts uploaded to Virtuale. The test duration is 70 minutes.

Teaching tools

Slides, audiovisual materials.

Office hours

See the website of Sara Pesce