When Mussolini was captured, political power over Italy was restored to the royal family heir, Victor Emmanuel III. His first action was to appoint a man named Marshal Pietro Badoglio as Prime Minister, who then pledged cooperation with the allied forces and promised to continue fighting in the war. The fascist government party was dismissed and many political activists who had been imprisoned under Mussolini’s rule were granted amnesty and released.
Although fascism no longer had a hold on Italy, the repercussions of Mussolini’s government and the physical and social destruction left behind from the war left Italy in a state of serious depression. Social conditions in this post-war Italy were almost unbearable. Cities like Naples and Palermo were left in a state of physical dismay. From this, Italy began to question the future. It was during this period of unstable political and social conditions that neorealist filmmakers took to the impoverished streets of post-war Italy to document the lives of working
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The neorealist films were a way for Italians to reflect on the past and the events that lead to the conditions in which they were living. The repercussions of relying on one person, specifically one politician, to take responsibility and solve problems for the masses was being reflected on the screen, and this inspired Italians to take control of their own political, social, and economic issues. The paradox created by these films was simply that, although the movies were centered on the fatalism of Italians and how this affected the poor conditions, they inspired the people to rise from the ashes and change for the better. These movies, with the uncertainty of outcomes and fatalistic endings, paradoxically led to a new, prosperous
Zinn Assignment Howard Zinn states that the U.S. was very similar to the policies of West Germany or Italy; “In one of its policies, the United States came close to direct duplication of Fascism.” He continues on explaining how Japanese americans were basically bound to be exterminated and stripped of many rights due to the hysteria catalyzed by the attack of Pearl Harbor by Japan. Zinn then points out that Roosevelt wasn’t at all in a frenzy but still signed Executive order 9066 without a second thought and this allowed for the army to take charge and forcefully arrest and escort Japanese-Americans to their appropriate internment camps. Holistically Zinn brings many supporting facts to depict the endless troubles Japanese-Americans had to undergo.
1.) Bicycle Thieves, produced by Vittorio De Sica in 1948, significantly exemplifies the art of Italian Neorealism. De Sica depicts Italy during the post era of World War Two showcasing the struggles that were prevalent during this time period such as tough economic times and the difficulties of finding decent work. The concepts displayed in Bicycle Thieves representing the ideas of Italian Neorealism completely contradict those of Classical Hollywood Cinema. One example of the differences in these two types of film styles would be the filming of Bicycle Thieves.
World War I devastated countries throughout Europe. Economies collapsed and dismantled the way of life for the majority of people, especially in Germany. The Allied powers had blamed them for being the perpetrator of the war and so they punished Germany severally. In the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin ruled the country with an iron fist that resulted in millions dead and/or starving. In Italy, the country had been promised territory but never received any land.
The emphasis on the daily struggles of ordinary people is a key concern of Italian neo-realist directors. In fact, they wished to portray reality in a more truthful manner than the era 's main escapist studio production, whether it is came from Hollywood or Italy 's own Cinecitta. Apart from these, other typical characteristics of neo-realism also included of location shooting and the use of non-professional actors as well. On the other hand, one of the most distinctive features of The Bicycle Thief is its use of non-professional actors.
The world of film is a complex web of discourses that try to understand, in a cinematic manner, the past without tarnishing it. Many films, especially historical films have tried to operate on a level that not only accurately tries to represent the past with all its intricacies, but to do it in a fashion that addresses real life truths and feelings that correlate with that specific historical figure, event or issue. While historical films may distort details about certain figures or events from a specific history, these films, however, reflect and expose truths that could be applied to the past. In the first two course films, Breaker Morant and La Grand Blanc de Lambarene it is clearly understood that the filmmakers are fictionalizing moments
Casablanca, a Romantic Propaganda Introduction Casablanca is one the classic Hollywood movie which is one of the most critically acclaimed Hollywood movies of all time and also very famous. Casablanca is a romance story that happens during World War II but the question is does it end there? Is Casablanca just a Romance movie? In this essay, I will be discussing how the movie Casablanca which is one of the most famous and critically acclaimed films of all time is a propaganda movie and what message is sending and the effects that propaganda movies make and why it’s important for governments.
At the end of World War II, Italy’s government started to fall, which made living there even tougher than it already was. The social class difference was an all time high and neorealism had become far more noticed by the people. Italian film was just becoming more popular and with everything happening in Italian society, filmmakers saw the opportunity to react. Italian cinemas began playing films showing difficulty within the economy along with problems in everyday life. This grabbed the attention of a significant amount of people including the government.
The French New Wave was a film movement in the 1950’ and 60’s that consisted of an explosion of new film techniques, values, and styles that became a defining moment of cinematic innovation that’s impact is still present in the modern film industry. An influx of new, young directors sought to narratively, ideologically and stylistically veer off from the dominant, traditional mainstream cinema production standards and redefine the French film industry. The movement didn’t happen overnight and its origins and influences stem back to the occupation of France by Nazi-Germany during World War II, the subsequent Italian Neo-Realism movement, and a combination of previous film periods. During World War II, Paris was occupied by the Germans. This was a
In the conclusion of the three-part war trilogy from Roberto Rossellini is a film titled Germany Year Zero. Released in 1948 and an Italian produced film, Germany Year Zero is shaped by Italian neorealism, an aspect intrinsic in the Italian films of the time. Italian neorealism attempts to paint a true reality of the situation at hand just as it objectively depicts a ruined post-war Berlin. Rossellini also presents melodramatic forms of narrative through the characters in the story in another form of objectivity and distance from emotion. Employing forms of Italian neorealism, Rossellini presents an evocative view of feeling for the audience to experience the situation alongside the characters.
Every now and then the art world is struck by a wave of change that leaves a strong impression, which can last for a long time. Visual arts saw the rise of impressionism and cubism, surrealism and realism took literature to an opposite direction, and film has evolved over the years through cultural and artistic development such as expressionism, auteurism and film noir (House, p.61). The 1940s and post World War II gave rise to a new style of American film, these films appeared pessimistic and dark in mood, theme, and subject. The world created within these films were portrayed as corrupt, hopeless, lacked human sympathy, and “a world where women with a past and men with no future spent eternal nights in one-room walk-ups surrounded by the
This essay will discuss how the film uses these two techniques, in reference to the film, and to what ideological and political ends are the techniques used in the films with specific references from the film to support the argument. A Man with a Movie Camera is based around one man who travels around the city to capture various moments and everyday
As a young man, he walked on the footsteps of his father and became a socialist. He worked as an elementary school teacher for a very short time and realized that he has more interest in politics. He moved to Treno and worked for a local socialist party. He also became the editor of the Italy’s Socialist Party newspaper, Avanti! His compelling works and quality of writing brought so much delight and anticipation to the socialist ranks.
Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany were similar in that both were dictatorships. Both Mussolini and Hitler came to power through legal means and believed that people were divided into either inferior or superior races. For example, Hitler was obsessed with the Aryan race and called for the genocide of Jews during WWII. In addition, both Mussolini and Hitler favored the wealthy, believed that an individual was meaningless and must submit to the decisions of their leaders, and aimed at self-sufficiency so that each could survive entirely without international trade. Furthermore, Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy “had aimed for prestige and power for their countries, and brought instead humiliation and destruction” (Tarr, R.,
Among many advocacies contributed to on-going and loosely constituted film movement “New Latin American Cinema” starts from 1960s, the manifesto “Third Cinema” highlighted certain significant traits of film in Latin America. The word “third” does not necessarily refer to the Third World, yet it suggests a particular response to the first and second cinema, namely the mainstream industrial production in Hollywood and European auteur film respectively. These cultural hegemonic countries, such as United States, United Kingdom and France, are also the imperialist enforced neo-colonialism to Latin American countries. In conjunction with the struggle for national and continental autonomy in Latin America, filmmakers endeavour to liberate people from
The real face of the Italian film industry began to appear between 1903 and 1908, by the help of three organizations, which were ‘’Cines’’, ‘’Amrosio Film’’, ‘’Italia Films’’. The very early films were the adaptations of books and theatrical plays, such as the adaptation of the book ‘’The last days of Pompei’’ written by Arturo Amborio. The first popular Italian actors were Emilio Ghione, Alberto Collo, Bartolomeo Pagano and others.