Homosexuality and Italian Cinema: From the Fall of Fascism to the Years of Lead

Description

This book is the first to establish the relevance of same-sex desires, pleasures and anxieties in the cinema of post-war Italy. It explores cinematic representations of homosexuality and their significance in a wider cultural struggle in Italy involving society, cinema, and sexuality between the 1940s and 1970s. Besides tracing the evolution of representations through both art and popular films, this book also analyses connections with consumer culture, film criticism and politics. Giori uncovers how complicated negotiations between challenges to and valorization of dominant forms of knowledge of homosexuality shaped representations and argues that they were not always the outcome of hatred but also sought to convey unmentionable pleasures and complicities. Through archival research and a survey of more than 600 films, the author enriches our understanding of thirty years of Italian film and cultural history. Front Matter ....Pages i-xvi Introduction (Mauro Giori)....Pages 1-9 Silence (Mauro Giori)....Pages 11-45 Enjoying the Darkness (Mauro Giori)....Pages 47-73 Undressing the Other (Mauro Giori)....Pages 75-96 Luchinidi and Pasolinidi (Mauro Giori)....Pages 97-142 Love in the Time of Panic (Mauro Giori)....Pages 143-173 Sexual Revolution, Italian Style (Mauro Giori)....Pages 175-190 Pornography of Death (Mauro Giori)....Pages 191-204 The Only Good Thing (Mauro Giori)....Pages 205-230 Homophiles and Gays Go to the Movies (Mauro Giori)....Pages 231-246 Conclusion: Martyrdom and Pleasure (Mauro Giori)....Pages 247-252 Back Matter ....Pages 253-272