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gender roles of women in literature
gender roles of women in literature
gender roles of women in literature
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Italian Neorealism, a movement that focused on the arts began in 19th century post war Italy and “became the repository of partisan hopes for social justice in the post war italian state.” (Marcus, xiv) Even before the war, Italy had been under the dictatorship of Benito Mussolini and his corrupt form of government, Fascism, which caused oppression throughout the country. Neorealistic films allowed filmmakers to use common styles and techniques to finally reveal the world filled with anguish and misery that Mussolini had created. These films allowed the rebirth of Italy with the new ideals of freedom and social order. Some directors choose to add melodramatic elements to their neorealistic film which goes against Neorealism’s goal to project the Italy in its real form. However, although Rome Open City by Roberto Rossellini and Bitter Rice by DeSantis have classic hollywood narrative characteristics, the portrayal of women and children represent neorealist principles that help us further understand the struggles and conflicts of women and children during post-war Italy.
The concept of Italian Neorealism includes location shooting, natural lighting, lengthy takes, the superior use of medium and long shots, the use of non professional actors which would include the individuals natural dialect, and the avoidance of any major editing to provide the viewer with a more real quality. (Marcus 22) On the other hand, a classic hollywood narrative, also known as hollywood realism, used professional actors, set up a plot patterning style, used lights and themes to enhance the characters, action, struggles and decisions that are being played out in the narrative. Unlike Italian Neorealism, hollywood realism includes “individuals who struggle...
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...e resistance leader Giorgio Manfredi. Pina and Marina are compared throughout the whole film as two very different characters and personalities: the way they dress, the way they present and execute themselves, and the expectations they have from the love of a man. Contradictory to Pina’s character representation, Marina depicts the weakness and materialistic side of women at that time who ended up submitting to the Nazi’s. When we are first presented to Marina in the film, Hollywood Realism characteristics are immediately seen as she lays in her in her extravagant room in a glamorous set. She also uses her “white telephone” which is a symbol and reference to white telephone films while she also carries the “melodramatic motifs of jealousy, revenge and treachery” -Landy 88. It is quickly learned that although her life looks fabulous, Marina’s life is controlled by her
Beginning the mid 1920s, Hollywood’s ostensibly all-powerful film studios controlled the American film industry, creating a period of film history now recognized as “Classical Hollywood”. Distinguished by a practical, workmanlike, “invisible” method of filmmaking- whose purpose was to demand as little attention to the camera as possible, Classical Hollywood cinema supported undeviating storylines (with the occasional flashback being an exception), an observance of a the three act structure, frontality, and visibly identified goals for the “hero” to work toward and well-defined conflict/story resolution, most commonly illustrated with the employment of the “happy ending”. Studios understood precisely what an audience desired, and accommodated their wants and needs, resulting in films that were generally all the same, starring similar (sometimes the same) actors, crafted in a similar manner. It became the principal style throughout the western world against which all other styles were judged. While there have been some deviations and experiments with the format in the past 50 plus ye...
To draw the conclusion, it can be effectively said that it is very difficult to incorporate the ideas contained in books into films, especially when one has to prove some theory. Pasolini has done it successfully by incorporating his film theory contained in the book Heretical Empricism into the film Mamma Roma. Pasolini’s creativity is an integral part of the classical art. He gave his life to change the world for the better through his films. He has not only presented his socialistic thoughts in the film, but also included religious motifs of Christianity to show the plight of a woman in this materialistic society. The development of unforgettable emotions and memories are guaranteed in return. Modern society should know and remember the
Multiple historians have touched on the change in government during Fascist Italy’s reign in World War II. In Italian Fascism: Its Origins and Development, Alexander De Grand clarifies the many promises Benito Mussolini fabricated for the Italian people in order to get them to join his cause such as the improvement on poverty with the rise of a new Roman Empire. De Grand also gives an opposite view, with some citizens seeing Fascism as a “model of efficiency.” In Melton S. Davis’ Who Defends Rome?, t...
Today, only 16% of protagonists in movies are female, and the portrayal of these women is
In American culture today, women continue the struggle of identifying what their roles in society are supposed to be. Our culture has been sending mixed messages to the modern day female, creating a sense of uneasiness to an already confusing and stressful world. Although women today are encouraged more than ever to be independent, educated, and successful, they are often times shamed for having done just that. Career driven females are frequently at risk of being labeled as bossy, unfeminine, or selfish for competing in many career paths that were once dominated by men. A popular medium in our culture such as television continues to have significant influences as to how people should aspire to live their lives. Viewers develop connections with relatable characters and to relationship dynamics displayed within their favorite shows. Fictional characters and relationships can ultimately influence a viewer’s fashion sense, social and political opinion, and attitude towards gender norms. Since the days of Bewitched and I Dream of Jeanie, where women were commonly portrayed as being the endearing mischievous housewife, television shows have evolved in order to reflect real life women who were becoming increasingly more independent, educated, and career oriented throughout the subsequent decades. New genres of television are introduced, such as the workplace comedy, where women are not only career oriented, but eventually transition into positions of power.
Italian neorealism emerged after World War II, and had profound historical and cultural impacts on society and the film industry. Three specific traits of neorealist style included, but were not limited to: the use of working class characters (non-professional actors); the use of real locations as settings; and open, oftentimes unhappy, endings. In the closing scene from Bicycle Thieves (Vittorio De Sica, 1948), all three of these neorealist elements are present.
Italian Neorealism concentrates on the troubles of working class population of post-war Italy. It dates after the end of World War II, as Italy’s and its people’s psyche and conditions of everyday life were going through major changes. Italian society was facing poverty, oppression, injustice, and desperation; each being major themes in neorealist films. After Italy’s dictator, Benito Mussolini’s (1883 – 1945) execution and Italy’s liberation from Germany in April of 1945, the nation begun to break from old notions to new ways, also know as the Italian Spring . This conformation also affected the film industry that turned towards new (neo) realistic approach. In Italian film history, neorealism is defined as a movement or a trend, rather than an actual school or group of theoretically motivated directors. Ossessione (...
In their pieces on the Smurfette principle, Pollitt and Ellis both discuss the idea that gender representations have intense effects on the children who absorb certain types of popular entertainment. Although we are hesitant to accept it, we are all influenced by the media in a very powerful way. Whether it be through TV shows, billboards, movies or the news. One thing that we commonly wonder about is if the adult female population is as influenced by the stereotyped gender roles present on TV or are we shaped at a young age and carry that perspective with us throughout our lives. This Smurfette principle has been around for almost two decades. It was introduced by Katha Pollitt and is unfortunately still present in our current 21st century.
When Adolf Hitler was put in as Chancellor in 1933, he started to begin the program of the NSDAP, the National Socialist German Labor Party. The highest priorities were to put all men back to work and to increase the birthrate. Both were accomplished by re-instituting the traditional roles of men and women. Within the next 10 years, most women were won over to National Socialism, content to do their part in the great national resurgence.
The Italian Neo-Realist movement began to emerge with the fall of Mussolini's Fascist regime in 1943 and was able to entirely establish itself with the end of World War II with the end of German occupation. This caused audiences all around the globe to be “suddenly introduced to Italian films” (Historical Origins of Italian Neo-realism, n.d.) through works by “Roberto Rossellini (1906–1977), Vittorio De Sica (1902–1974), and Luchino Visconti (1906–1976)” (Historical Origins of Italian Neo-realism, n.d.). With the oppressive shackles of fascist censorship now gone, Italian directors began to pursue a new style of cinematic realism. A style which combined the realist cinema and German expressionism that was already present during the fascist era but combining it with new unexplored topics such as social, political and economic issues that the regime would simply not of tolerated. As a result neo-realist cinema often took a critical approach to how it viewed Italian society and culture and tended to focus attention towards the social issues the country was facing. With directors often looking at the effects of the “resistance, post-war poverty and chronic unemployment” (Historical Origins of Italian Neo-realism, n.d.). Neo-realism for many Italian’s allowed them to “put an image to the resistance” (Ratner, n.d.) which before the emergence of neo-realist cinema had seen little to n...
	Another fine example of neorealism is The Bicycle Thief (1948), written by Cesare Zavattini and directed by Vittorio De Sica. The narrative of this film unfolds in post-W.W.II times. The film is a portrait of the post-war Italian disadvantaged class (the majority) in their search for self-respect. It is a time of struggle for the Italian people, amplified by a shortage of employment and lack of social services. In the first scenes of the film, these conditions are evident as Antonio Ricci (Lamberto Maggiorami) meets his spouse Maria (Lianalla Carell) on his way back home. We see the "men" arguing at the employment "office" as the "women" argue about the shortage of water. Although the director's pessimism drives the plot, it is ultimately the clash with human optimism which gives this film affective power.
Italian Neorealism has often been referred to as the “Golden Age” of classic Italian cinema. These neorealist films were evidence of the cultural change in Italy after World War II. Traditionally these films presented a contemporary story which was often shot in the streets due to the destruction of the film studios that were significantly damaged during World War II. In DeSica’s 1952 film Umberto D. you see postwar neorealist everyday life.
The postmodern cinema emerged in the 80s and 90s as a powerfully creative force in Hollywood film-making, helping to form the historic convergence of technology, media culture and consumerism. Departing from the modernist cultural tradition grounded in the faith in historical progress, the norms of industrial society and the Enlightenment, the postmodern film is defined by its disjointed narratives, images of chaos, random violence, a dark view of the human state, death of the hero and the emphasis on technique over content. The postmodernist film accomplishes that by acquiring forms and styles from the traditional methods and mixing them together or decorating them. Thus, the postmodern film challenges the “modern” and the modernist cinema along with its inclinations. It also attempts to transform the mainstream conventions of characterization, narrative and suppresses the audience suspension of disbelief. The postmodern cinema often rejects modernist conventions by manipulating and maneuvering with conventions such as space, time and story-telling. Furthermore, it rejects the traditional “grand-narratives” and totalizing forms such as war, history, love and utopian visions of reality. Instead, it is heavily aimed to create constructed fictions and subjective idealisms.
The aim of this report is to discuss Italian Neorealism (Neorealismo); looking at how the movement played a significant element in European cinema during and after the times of Benito Mussolini’s fascist regime. The report not only looks at how but why Neorealism became a growing phenomenon for filmmakers during its debatable 10 year period, and what implication of messages these Neorealist directors were trying to send out through their films. Backed up by several reliable book sources, the evidence for this report will also highlight the influences Neo-realism has created in modern filmmaking today.
Nevertheless Italian NeoRealism was essential to Italy’s film industry at the time the war ended and while Europe was recovering from the war. Its impact on modern film has been monumental, not only in Italian film but also on French New Wave cinema, and ultimately on films all over the world.