In the present essay, I will take into account some Italian war films made in the 1950s, such as“Carica eroica” (“Heroic Charge”, 1952, Francesco De Robertis), “I sette dell’Orsa maggiore”(“Hell Raiders of the Deep”, 1953, Duilio Coletti), “Mizar - Sabotaggio in mare” (Mizar, 1954,Francesco De Robertis), “Divisione Folgore” (“Folgore Division“, 1954, Duilio Coletti), “Lagrande speranza” (“Submarine Attack”, 1954, Duilio Coletti) in order to reflect upon theirrole in building Italy’s memory of its past as well as the perception of Italian war crimesin public opinion. These productions extend a unifying narrative of the war, consolidatingthe myth of the “good Italian” (“italiani brava gente”). Through the inclusion of the soldierin collective memory by silencing his role as aggressor, Italian combat films participatedand consolidated the process of collective amnesia about the fascist regime and how theyinfluenced the way in which Italian viewers constructed a shared sense of the past.
Verso una memoria culturale autoassolutoria. Ruoli di genere e mascolinità nel combat film italiano degli anni Cinquanta
samuel antichi
2021-01-01
Abstract
In the present essay, I will take into account some Italian war films made in the 1950s, such as“Carica eroica” (“Heroic Charge”, 1952, Francesco De Robertis), “I sette dell’Orsa maggiore”(“Hell Raiders of the Deep”, 1953, Duilio Coletti), “Mizar - Sabotaggio in mare” (Mizar, 1954,Francesco De Robertis), “Divisione Folgore” (“Folgore Division“, 1954, Duilio Coletti), “Lagrande speranza” (“Submarine Attack”, 1954, Duilio Coletti) in order to reflect upon theirrole in building Italy’s memory of its past as well as the perception of Italian war crimesin public opinion. These productions extend a unifying narrative of the war, consolidatingthe myth of the “good Italian” (“italiani brava gente”). Through the inclusion of the soldierin collective memory by silencing his role as aggressor, Italian combat films participatedand consolidated the process of collective amnesia about the fascist regime and how theyinfluenced the way in which Italian viewers constructed a shared sense of the past.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.