Introduction to Italian Cinema (251-0-20)

Instructors

Domietta Torlasco
847/491-8269
1860 S. Campus Drive, Crowe Hall #2-131

Meeting Info

Kresge Centennial Hall 2-343: Tues, Thurs 11:00AM - 12:20PM

Overview of class

As new media and AI challenge our understanding of reality, we will investigate how Italian cinema has created a film language that is able to document reality in its social, political, and ethical complexity. The course is divided into four main parts. The first part will introduce the groundbreaking film movement know as Italian Neorealism and analyze its key films, from Roberto Rossellini's Rome, Open City (1945) to Vittorio De Sica's Bicycle Thieves (1948). The second part will explore the remarkable production of the 1950s and 1960s, the so-called years of the "economic miracle," a period of profound transformation for the country. The third part of the course will survey the output that followed the events of May 1968. Finally, the fourth part will turn to contemporary Italian cinema and its use of both fiction and documentary to address the country's economic crisis, the Mediterranean migration crisis, and the resurgence of far-right politics. As we contextualize these films, we will work to acquire the critical and methodological tools necessary to analyze film as a complex mode of textual production.

Learning Objectives

Learn to view cinema with a critical attitude and see each film as a complex cultural text; understand the relation between form and content and analyze "how" (form) any given film expresses "what" (content) it does. Analyze the formal and thematic innovations brought about by Italian cinema and situate them in the context of specific socioeconomic, political, and cultural transformations (i.e. end of War World II, the economic miracle, the "years of lead"). Reflect on how and why this kind of cinema was (and, to some extent, still is) possible; what it would mean for mainstream cinema and television to adopt some of its techniques and subject matters in the present and how this, in turn, would make viewers more attentive/responsive to issues of power, social justice, and equity. Produce incisive written analyses and oral interpretations, balancing precision, knowledge, and imagination.

Teaching Method

Lecture

Evaluation Method

Attendance and participation in class discussions; response papers; midterm exam; final paper

Class Materials (Required)

All films and written text will be available on Canvas.

Class Attributes

Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area
Global Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: REASON: Pre-registration is not allowed for this class. Please try again during regular registration.