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Call#: Van Pelt Library PN1993.5.I88 B58 2001
Pacifici, Sergio J. “Notes Toward a Definition of Neorealism.” Yale French Studies, No. 17, (1956), pp. 44-53. JSTOR, 1 April 2008.
Sergio Pacifi’s article effectively evaluates the imprint neorealism has left on Italian culture. Pacifi first discusses the main trends of Italian cinema since its inception, denoting two main traditions that held Italy back from creating a truly Italian cinema preceding neorealism. Firstly, he states “the Italian has learned to accept things as they are in a rather stoical manner, seldom wanting to analyze the foundation of moral and social life in his country and even more seldom wanting to question it” (45). The second tradition is literary, Pacifi believes Italians have “always looked with much repugnance upon any attempt to make life an integral part of literature” (45). He identifies neorealism as the product “of an intolerable way of life for twenty long, ‘black,’ years” (50). Instead of looking back at the glorious past for inspiration as had been the tradition earlier, Italy was being “re-explored and re-analyzed with an objectivity and lyricism that had been made possible only by the war and the suffering Italians had endured” (50). Depicting the real Italian and the reality of life was the main goal. Pacifi concludes that to understand neorealism, it does not suffice to pinpoint major characteristics that movies of post-war Italy share in common. It is to understand the new precedent that it has set for Italian society, and how it forced intellectuals to consistently re-examine previously set parameters and realize that what is good today may not necessarily do tomorrow.
Understanding the legacy of neorealism is important when analyzing Divorzio all’Italiana. Germi’s movie came out in 1961, when Italian filmmakers started moving away from neorealism. Although neorealist elements are found in Divorzio all’Italiana, such as on location filming, exploring mundane events, post-dubbing, reliance on music, and an unsolved ending, Germi’s movie is know to have established a completely new genre as a result: commedia all’italiana. Even though Italy had been known for neorealist films, Germi was able to break away with this past and explore a new type of cinema. Especially at a time when social protests were common, Divorzio all’Italiana represents a social commentary of divorce in Italy, as well as being funny and entertaining. Futhermore, as Pacifi notes, because of neorealism, the paradigm of only exploring Italy’s glorious past was broken, and filmmakers realized that it is alright to explore other genres and topics which are in the public’s mind at the time.
Smith Jr., Dwight C. "Mafia: The Prototypical Alien Conspiracy." Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science: Vol. 423, Crime and Justice in America: 1776-1976, p. 75-88.
There seems to consistently exist a sense of fascination with conspiracy theories. In American culture, the Mafia is one specific type of conspiracy that seems to have captured the public opinion. Dwight C. Smith, Jr examines the conspiracy of the mafia in his paper, Mafia: The Prototypical Alien Conspiracy. This paper examines the worries about not external, but internal aggressors that seek to undermine the status quo or legal system.
Smith traces the progression of various conspiracies throughout history, what is required to constitute or create a conspiracy and the way in which these conspiracies affect the mentality of a countries citizens. The eartliest examples of these comspiracies would be the illuminati of the late 18th century, the Bolsheviks of the late 19th century, and now the conspiracies that have surrounded mafia activities. In each of these cases and perhaps with all conspiracies, there is a beginning in which there is only an idea or suspicion. For the Mafia, this suspicion started around October of 1890 in which New Orleans Superintendant of Police David Hennesey and a simple allegation that a group of Sicilians known as the Matrangas were the leaders of a 300 person Mafia. The significance of the Death of the Police superintnedant was clear and retaliation swift.
The work goes on to show the progression of the Mafia as a product of cultural influence to an organization with a complex hierarchy and infrastructure. In the film “The Godfather” one can see the complexity of the organization as well as a necessity to remain “under the radar” even if it was only a formality. For example, Don Vito tells Solozzo that he does not wish to take part in his drug trade no matter how lucrative it is because essentially it would their quiet existence within circle of government officials to public and too loud for them to continue to take part in the conspiracy. This paper offers a historical understanding of the development of a Mafioso culture as a conspiracy along with all of the political corruption that is associated with it.
Call#: Van Pelt Library PS153.I8 B49 1997
Beyond The Godfather, Italian American Writers Writing about the Real Italian American experience is a collection of stories from various Italian authors who offer an intimate and unique insight into what there lives were like completely disconnected from the experiences depticted in a movie like “The Godfather”. This work is not so mucha response to the film “The Godfather” as it is a reaction to those that have seen the film and can not distinguish between reality and fiction or are simply content to place stereotypical
The first story in the book is that of Louise Desalvo called “Finding My Way” and his experiences as a young boy growing up in Hoboken, New Jersey and going to grammar school. This interesting little story shows how important education was this Italian American family and the pride that they felt to become integrated into American society as opposed to the extra legal activities that you would experience in “The Godfather.” Moreover, his real-life experiences at school prove him to be quite astute and polite. This quaint story ends as it had began ground in the real experience of family, one that has no connection to the mafia.
This book takes a step back from the stereotypes that one might decide to adopt from the portrayals of Italian Americans in The Godfather. Understanding the distinction is important not only because stereotyping a group of people is ignorant, but because in realizing that the book or the movie are a work of fiction should increase one’s appreciation of the work.
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Shiel, Mark. . Italian neorealism : rebuilding the cinematic city / Mark Shiel. [1904764487 ] London ; New York : Wallflower Press, 2006.
Call#: Van Pelt Library PN1993.5.I88 S55 2006
< With Italian Neorealism: Rebuilding the cinematic city, Mark Shiel creates a compact, yet thorough introduction to the rich history of mid-20th century Italian cinema, also known as the age of neorealism. Like many works that focuse on Italian neorealism, Shiel chooses to highlight the dichotomous relationship between two films: Roberto Rossellini's Rome, Open City (1945) and Vittorio de Sica's Bicycle Thieves. Shiel argues that the most groundbreaking legacy of de Sica's masterwork is his and his frequent collaborator Cesare Zavattini, "merger of metaphysical and political concerns." This merger stood in sharp contrast to Rome, Open City, which contained an explicit depiction of Catholicism. According to Shiel, an indictment of Italian society that focused on religiosity was deemed to limiting for de Sica and Zavattini. Indeed, Zavattini was known for looking for ways to promote social justice from a humanist perspective to combat "ignorance, alienation, injustice, and poverty" (54).
< In his discussion of Bicycle Thieves, Shiel details how de Sica and Zavattini create an authentic milieu of Italian society in the 1940's by focusing the lens on a protagonist that is, in a word "typical" (55). In Antonio Ricci, a man who is simply attempting to maintain a decent quality of life for him and his son Bruno in the midst of the devastating poverty and unemploymnet that occurred post-war. The film's depiction of the search for the bike follows, according to Shiel, the "classical narrative structure, active characterisation, and narrative closure" that was found in more mainstream motion pictures, but there was also a commitment to showing so called "life as it is," not the prevalent idealism, and in some cases, censorship that occured in Fascist Italy and throughout Europe in other places known for cinema like Franco's Spain and Nazi Germany.
Verdone,M . "The Italian Cinema from Its Beginnings to Today" Hollywood quarterly [1549-0076] 5.3 (1951). 270-.Tomasulo,FP . "" Bicycle Thieves": A Re-Reading" Cinema journal [0009-7101] 21.2 (1982). 2-.
http://www.jstor.org/view/00097101/ap040032/04a00020/0
What reality is Vittorio de Sica's Bicycle Thieves conveying? That is the question that Tomasulo's polemical essay "Bicycle Thieves: A Re-Reading" (1982) attempts to answer. Tomasulo argues that although there are unquestionable links between neorealism and its social/historical moment, Bicycle Thieves does not accurately portray the social forces that create the situation for Antonio and Bruno. In his Marxist influenced critque of de Sica's film, Tomasulo charges that "at best, the film is reformist; at worst, it legitimizes the ideology of bourgeois liberalism." Also disputed by Tomasulo is Bazin's assertion that the Bicycle Thieves is a break from the classical narrative by pointing out that the film does indeed follow an organized plot structure.
Unlike Shiel, who asserts that Bicycle Thieves is a humanist work, Tomasulo makes the claim that the film convey's "a quasi-mystical aura of Christian brotherhood," by pointing to the scene in the film which takes place at a charity ward because traditionally these institutions were associated with the Vatican. Ultimately, it is a sense of religiosity that makes the film's perceived solidarity with the poor, ring inauthentic to Tomasulo.
Call#: Van Pelt Library PN1993.5.I88 R45 2002
Call#: Van Pelt Library PS153.I8 B49 1997
The book Beyond the Godfather: Italian American Writers on the Real Italian American Experience, is a collection of essays written by writers of Italian descent. The book is in response to the wide popularity of The Godfather. The popularity of this book and movie has overshadowed the culture of Italians. As a result, these essays were compiled in order to give an overview of the styles of writing of the Italian Americans.
There are three main sections of the book: Memories and Memoirs, Italian American Literature and Identity Politics. Memories and Memoirs are full of anecdotes from Italian American everyday lives. In Louise DeSalvo’s story, “Finding My Way,” he discusses his education experience growing up. From this essay, it is apparent the importance of family as well as education in the life of this Italian American. The Italian American Literature section mainly discussed the different types of styles of writing. This is used to show the diversity in terms of its culture. Lastly, Identity Politics discusses the role that Italian Americans have in the United States. In the essay, “Italian Americans and American Politics,” Michael Barone discusses the influential role of Italians in the U.S. government, and the prominent figures, such as Fiorello LaGuardia, that were present in society.
The purpose of this book was to respond to the stereotypes of Italian Americans that was created by The Godfather. Although Mafia is an aspect of Italian Americans, the book highlights other aspects of their culture. Most notably, it shows the power that Italian Americans have in America. However, this power is through respectable positions in government and not through illegal ways. In addition to this, the importance of family is evident through the essays written, which is mirrored in the movie.
Velikonja, Joseph. "Italian Immigrants in the United States in the Mid-Sixties." International Migration Review: Vol. 1, No. 3, Special Issue: The Italian Experience in Emigration, p. 25-37.
This article by Dr. Joseph Velkonja discusses the history of Italian Immigration with a focus on the mid-sixties. The article points out that the immigration and expansion of Italians in America increased exponentially due to the new Immigration act of the mid 1960s. Prior to this, not many new immigrants were allowed into the country, which kept the amount of Italians in America at a small level. Between the years of 1952 to 1965, the annual quota allowed for Italian Immigrants was 5,666, however these immigration laws were lifted, and an exponential increase of Italians entered the United States followed.
In addition to immigration, this article discusses Italian American’s expansion across the United States. Much of the expansion was related to economic reasons. Although many Italian Americans stayed on the eastern seaboard, others relocated to the Midwest and the West coast in cities such as Chicago, St. Louis and Los Angeles. It is also shown that there was a greater number of second generation Italian Americans who expanded westward.
Much of these things directly relate to the plot of the movie. The small number of Italians allowed into the country allowed for these citizens to create families and create a basis of power and influence on these Italian neighborhoods. In addition, at the end of the movie, the Corleone family decides to move to Las Vegas due to the economic potential that the city and casinos possess. Finally, Michael Corleone is second generation Italian American, thus this migration mimics the trend that this article’s statistics show.
The plot of the movie is a reflection of society during the post war era. This correlation leads to a realistic plotline and helps one understand the overall state of society.
Smith Jr., Dwight C. "Mafia: The Prototypical Alien Conspiracy." Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science: Vol. 423, Crime and Justice in America: 1776-1976, p. 75-88.
The article, “Mafia: The Prototypical Alien Conspiracy,” written by Dwight C. Smith Jr. discusses the role that the “Mafia” has played in American society, and the ways in which America has tried to deal with this issue. The term “Mafia” became popularized before the 19th century, when people began to develop conspiracy theories against Sicilians. Stemming from the Hennessey murder case in New Orleans, a stigma was developed against the Sicilian population of the town. Although there was no real proof of mob ties, these Mafia rumors lived on which led to support and implementation of immigration laws.
During the post World War II era, the “Mafia” legend was revived. Beginning with the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, rumors persisted about the Mafia and immigrants. These rumors reached its pinnacle when the President’s Crime Commission agreed with the concept of a Mafia conspiracy. Smith Jr. writes that the reason behind the creation of this “Mafia” myth is to explain the failure of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics to eliminate the existence of narcotics in America. By using the “Mafia” as a scapegoat for their failures, the Bureau popularized this idea. Whether or not it actually existed is debatable, but it led to changes in society.
From the popularization of the “Mafia,” those in entertainment began to capitalize on it by selling it as a product to the public. Mario Puzo wrote the book, The Godfather, which focused on the world that America was so worried about.
This article gives background into the reasoning behind the making of the movie, The Godfather, as well as providing explanation of the content of the movie. The movie is a period film, set post World War II, which as the article has shown was the era in which the “Mafia” conspiracy was being revived. In the movie, the reason that the five families began to fight was due to introduction of narcotics. At this time, drugs were a big problem in America, thus showing parallels between the period of the movie and societal problems. Also, Paramount capitalized on the publicity that the “Mafia” genre was receiving by producing Mario Puzo’s book. This led to The Godfather becoming one of the most successful movies of all time.