ITL 321 - Italian Cities in Italian Cinema

1 course unit

The title of this course recalls the name of the Italian national film studio, Cinecittà, which translates literally as “Cinema City.” Taking its cue from this compound neologism, the course will pursue a double objective: we will explore Italian cinema by watching, studying and analyzing major works of Italian film culture from the post-war period to the present from a wide variety of genres and styles; and we will examine the astounding transformation of Italian society, politics, and culture from 1945 to the present, as embodied in the country’s urban landscapes. In so doing, we will learn to read and interpret Italian films on their own turf, so to speak, and with attention to their particular systems of code (cinematic and architectural); and we will learn to read and interpret Italian cities, not as the shiny, Disneyfied tourist destinations featured in Hollywood movies or tourism websites, but as living organisms, shaped by politics, greed, crime, war, artistic ideals, the daily struggles and joys of residents, and even by cinema itself. This course is taught in English and no knowledge of Italian language is necessary.
Meets general academic requirement HU.