User:Riapandey/sandbox

Overview
Filmic representations of women have developed in tandem with changing historical and socio-cultural influences. Italian neorealism was a movement that, through art and film, attempted to "[recover] the reality of Italy" for an Italian society that was disillusioned by the propaganda of Fascism. Representations of women in this era were influenced heavily by the suffrage movement and changing socio-political awareness of gender rights. The tension of this transitional era created a spectrum of female representation in film, wherein female characters were written to acquiesce, or more commonly reject, the patriarchal standards imposed on the women of the age.

Socio-economic context of Italy in the 1940-50s
In the mid-twentieth century, Italy existed in a transitional state as it emerged from the decline of Fascism and into the establishment of itself as a new republic. As a member of the Axis Powers, the impact of losing the war was extremely detrimental in terms of the immediate economic and social burden it placed on the country- resources, be it human, natural or capital, were extremely limited. It is during this time of economic crisis and hardship that cultural industries, like the Italian film industry, began to shift their approach in the creation and production of services to make use of limited resources, as well as create goods i.e. films, that appropriately addressed the political climate of the era.

However, this loss of socio-economic status was accounted for after the first decade post-World War II, when the country experienced a miracle economic boom.

The role of gender
In terms of a post-World War II social context, Italy, as a republic, began to increase economic and social opportunity for Italian women, with the first Republican Parliament of 1948–1953 being represented by highly educated, accomplished, radical, militant women. However, despite the radical presence of women in Italy's emerging political framework, the role of traditional gender stereotypes still persisted in the perception of women in society. For example, the expectation of female politicians to be presented as "[an] attractive and natural [image]..." yet not overly sexual was a clear indication of the dichotomous patriarchy endured by women of the era.

Neorealism as an artistic response
Italian neorealism spanned the tail-end of World War II and the start of the establishment of the Italian Republic, being active during the years: 1943-1952. In response to the moral devastation of World War II and the decline of Mussolini's fascist regime, Italian filmmakers began to reject the traditional cinematic conventions of the preceding filmic era. This included discarding the either empty, aesthetically driven, or high-brow and esoteric, nature of the dominating genres of Telefoni Bianchi and Calligrafismo, respectively, which served the purpose of producing the propagandic cultural media in Italy during the Fascist regime. In addition to this, the progression and eventual conclusion of the Second World War, resulted in the destruction of Cinecittà, the largest Roman studio complex, and the general shortage of production resources like sets, lighting and sound equipment. Italian Neorealism arose as an artistic response to the combination of these social and economic factors, and as a result, Neorealist mise-en-scene was dependent on actual locales and the use of unprofessional actors. The situational nature of these characteristics further contribute to the consideration of the genre as not just "politically committed", but also a style of national film with an extreme inclination to social awareness and justice, in contrast to Hollywood's intense focus on the glamour and stardom-driven nature of their filmmaking process and industry As a consequence, Italian Neorealism is seen to be a clear response from the cultural industries of the era, to the changing moral, economic, social and human values of the time.

Significant Characterisations
Portrayals of femininity and womanhood in Neorealist films were influenced by the liberation of societal attitudes from the influence of Fascist ideologies. Arising from this transitional state was a "spectrum" of representation, where the femme fatale represented one end of the spectrum "and the natural woman represent[ed] the other... [with] the prostitute somewhere in the middle." Neorealists' rejection of the Fascist stereotype of the subjugated woman is personified in these two tropes, with both these roles being expressed as a strong, feminine role compensating for a weaker, male lead.

Natural Woman vs Prostitute
A significant character in Italian neorealism is the "natural woman", who is characterised in a post-war world and depicted to "have her roots in the cult of fertility, rurality, creativity." The germination of this "natural goodness" lies in the historical influence of Catholicism on the values and structure of Italian society, as well as the Neorealists' rejection of the excessive and consumeristic "diva" characters of a pre-war, Fascist Italy. In the context of an increasingly radical and progressive Italian society, the natural woman was able to express these values through a liberated sexuality. Roberto Rosselini's 1945 Neorealist film Rome, Open City depicts this idea through the characterisation of Pina- a woman who is characterised to have engaged in premarital sex, an identifier of her liberated sexuality, as well as being the epitome of natural values- her political activism, natural demeanour and dress, is a strong contrast, not only in terms of aesthetic but also personality, to the excess of the divas in the Fascist film period.

In contrast to this, another significant characterisation in this particular film period was that of the "prostitute." In a period of economic scarcity, the character of the prostitute was the "nodal point at which economic survival and sexuality [met]." By taking into consideration this historical context, this representation of femininity is seen as another expression of a womanhood that is independent of a patriarchal, male authority.

*** continue

Femme Fatale
In Italian neorealism, the femme fatale trope is used as a medium to translate the dominating influence of Hollywood on the global film industry. Italian neorealist films borrow this concept from the film noir genre, individualising it by contextualising their characters on the aforementioned spectrum of representation i.e. natural woman - femme fatale. Characteristics such as feminine sexual prowess and manipulation were justified in Italy's national cinema through the suggestion that they are derivatives of the essential, feminine nature i.e. the natural woman. The existence of these core, feminine qualities in an Italian, neorealist femme fatale is seen to shift the perception of her as villainous or immoral; rather she is seen as an expression of female autonomy and liberation.