Author:

Keywords:

Italian Culture, Italian History, Italian Film, 1968, Violence

Abstract:

Reframing 1968 and its cinematographic storytelling The present paper proposes an analysis of the representation of violence in recent films on 1968, the year that in Italy lasted a decade. It will explore: - the visualization of violence - the representation of histocial key events (protest movements & terrorism) - the role of perpetrators and victions in the film and its audience - the polarization of Right/Left-wing movements - the representation of its members and interpersonal relations (which eventually turns the protagonists into martyrs or heroes) - the use of original footage and music - the use of narratological devices - the degree of fictionalization of History - the impact on the audience in order to establish to which extent film can reframe Italy’s recent History. The paper will focus on two films released in 2009, Michele Placido’s Il grande sogno and Renato De Maria’s La prima linea, which continue to give rise to controversy, relating them to other recent cinematographic representations on 1968, such as Buongiorno notte, Lavorare con lentezza, La meglio gioventù, Mio fratello è figlio unico… The current debate on the two films makes clear that 1968 keeps on dividing the public opinion in a right and left wing and/or that storytelling on 1968 can reduce itself to a sentimental journey. Biography Inge Lanslots is senior Lecturer in Italian at Lessius University College (University of Leuven) and the University of Antwerp. She completed her Ph.D. on the notion of time in contemporary Italian Literature, ‘Gli orologi molli’: la narrativa italiana contemporanea e la conoscenza del tempo (1998). She published several articles on various contemporary authors (Baricco, Benni, Camilleri, Ortese Tabucchi…) and on cultural memory (Carlo Giuliani’s death, 1968). She co-edited Piccole finzioni con importanza. Valori della narrativa italiana contemporanea (1994) and Noir di noir (in press). Institutional Affiliations Lessius University College (University of Leuven, KUL) ; University of Antwerp (UA)