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World War II had profound effects on the national cultures and politics of, both, the United States and Italy, though in very different ways, leading to national cinemas that addressed the realities and consequences of the war in ways that were unique to each nation’s condition. The films of these post-WWII national cinemas did not focus specifically on the results of the war, but their most prominent genres, noir in the US and neorealism in Italy, produced narratives that contained the cultural and political milieu that were directly a result of the war.
Political conditions may have had the greatest effect on the formation of the US and Italy’s postwar national cinemas and though the political conditions of each nation during this era …show more content…
The first year after the war, “year zero” was the beginning of political renewal after the collapse of Italy, and more broadly, Europe’s political circumstances and infrastructure. At this time Italy was experiencing the Italian Spring, during which the nation began to commit to the very leftist ideologies that the US feared and worked to counteract with the Marshall Plan, while also experiencing a brief period of political optimism, commitment to leftist ideologies, social and cultural renewal grounded in these ideologies, and a commitment to a new Europe and a new Italy. The political tendencies of the Italian Spring led to the emergence of neorealism, a vehicle for social, economic and moral reconstruction, which allowed Italy to reflection the atrocities of war. As such, neorealism focused on the working-class and poor, addressed concerns of postwar life, and reflected critically on the past. Furthermore, Italy was much more directly affected by the war due to its inclusion in the war zone and, as such, Italian neorealist stories functioned as a way to reflect upon reality as it was, to understand how terrible events occurred, grieve for the war and transpose the emotions of war onscreen. (Zarattini). This neorealist reflection on the war and its effects is evident in Shoeshine (1946), in which the moral decay of Italy’s youth is addressed through the story of the kids accused of stealing and then try escaping for a juvenile reform camp. An even more telling example is the Bicycle Thieves (1948), which addresses the post-WWII realities of the working class poor in Italy. Ricci and his family’s financial stability rely on his bicycle which he had pawned in order to pay for bills, upon returning to exchange sheets, some of his
World War II had profound effects on the national cultures and politics of, both, the United States and Italy, though in very different ways, leading to national cinemas that addressed the realities and consequences of the war in ways that were unique to each nation’s condition. The films of these post-WWII national cinemas did not focus specifically on the results of the war, but their most prominent genres, noir in the US and neorealism in Italy, produced narratives that contained the cultural and political milieu that were directly a result of the war.
Political conditions may have had the greatest effect on the formation of the US and Italy’s postwar national cinemas and though the political conditions of each nation during this era …show more content…
The first year after the war, “year zero” was the beginning of political renewal after the collapse of Italy, and more broadly, Europe’s political circumstances and infrastructure. At this time Italy was experiencing the Italian Spring, during which the nation began to commit to the very leftist ideologies that the US feared and worked to counteract with the Marshall Plan, while also experiencing a brief period of political optimism, commitment to leftist ideologies, social and cultural renewal grounded in these ideologies, and a commitment to a new Europe and a new Italy. The political tendencies of the Italian Spring led to the emergence of neorealism, a vehicle for social, economic and moral reconstruction, which allowed Italy to reflection the atrocities of war. As such, neorealism focused on the working-class and poor, addressed concerns of postwar life, and reflected critically on the past. Furthermore, Italy was much more directly affected by the war due to its inclusion in the war zone and, as such, Italian neorealist stories functioned as a way to reflect upon reality as it was, to understand how terrible events occurred, grieve for the war and transpose the emotions of war onscreen. (Zarattini). This neorealist reflection on the war and its effects is evident in Shoeshine (1946), in which the moral decay of Italy’s youth is addressed through the story of the kids accused of stealing and then try escaping for a juvenile reform camp. An even more telling example is the Bicycle Thieves (1948), which addresses the post-WWII realities of the working class poor in Italy. Ricci and his family’s financial stability rely on his bicycle which he had pawned in order to pay for bills, upon returning to exchange sheets, some of his