The Italian Cinema and the Italian Working Class, Essay Example

In “The Italian Cinema and the Italian Working Class”, the author argues that between the 1930s and 1970s, Italian film focused on the stories of the working class. Traditionally in Italian art, the subject of such films were royalty or nobility. Since these were the individuals who were able to afford to have such art established, there was incentive for working artists to only focus on capturing the art of these in order to make a profit. However, with the rise of the modern entertainment industry, more value was seen in creating art, or in this case cinema, that would capture the lives of many individuals and therefore connect with them more closely. Thus, cinema allowed the artist to focus on the lives of the many, rather than the privileged lives of the few. Thus, modern Italian cinema contrasts significantly from the art that was produced during the Middle Ages and commissioned only for the wealthy to see. Now, for one of the first time’s in Italian history, the middle class working man had a voice.

In this article, the author discusses the political climates surrounding four Italian films that allowed the film’s creators to have a point of entry into the Italian film market. These films include “Gli uomini, che mascalzoni!, Mario Camerini, 1932; Ladri dibiciclette, Vittorio De Sica, 1946; Rocco e i suoi fratelli, Luchino Visconti, 1960; and Mim metallurgico ferito nel Tonore, Lina Wertmuller, 1972”. These films feature the average working man as the hero in these stories. Additional aspects incorporating discussions of the Italian culture during this time were present as well, thus marking a significant shift from focus on the wealthy to focus on the average individual.

The rise of the importance of the working class in Italy is tied to the establishment of a unified Italy. During the rise of the Italian state, there was more emphasis on the importance of the individual because the individual plays a role in the maintenance of the country. This concept was reinforced throughout World War I and World War II during and after which many of these characteristic films were created. The working man had the ability to contribute to the war effort, which was in turn backed by Italian culture because these actions were taken to support the position of their country.

Overall, it appears that the popularity of films that reflect characters that are members of the working class has increased over the period of the release of these films. They were successful because they offered stories about individuals that the viewer would be able to connect with easily, in direct contrast to the art that had been created in the past. As such, films offered not only a modern form of media, but a modern understanding of the wants and desires of the average individual. A unified Italy signified the importance of maintaining a sense of appreciation for all of the people in the nation that contribute to the success of a united land. The average worker is the hero in these films because by allowing their family to experience joy and life, they create problems and personal experiences that each individual in the audience could connect with and feel comforted by. It is apparent that film could therefore be used to observe Italy’s changing reality over time.