Emotion and impegno in Italian migration cinema

Jones, Lauren Amelia (2024). Emotion and impegno in Italian migration cinema. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

Preview

Jones2024PhD.pdf
Text - Accepted Version
Available under License All rights reserved.
Download (4MB) | Preview

Abstract

This thesis investigates how emotion functions in Italian migration cinema to reinforce political and ideological narratives. That is, it considers how an analysis of emotional engagement can aid our understanding of a film’s level of impegno (socio-political commitment). Since the 1990s, immigration to Italy has increasingly become a topic of public and political discourse, which has led to numerous filmmakers interpreting the phenomenon. This thesis explores this growing corpus by analysing films from the period 2005-2018 which engage with the theme of immigration to Italy, whether by depicting the recent arrival of migrants in Italy (films such as Once You Are Born You Can No Longer Hide and Mediterranea), or the experiences of first-generation Italians who are the children of immigrants (such as Good morning Aman and Lezioni di cioccolato 2).
The thesis provides an in-depth analysis of seven films to question how emotional engagement with a film can lead to ethical reflection of socio-political issues, and conversely how it can also reinforce problematic and exclusionary discourses surrounding immigration. Within this thesis, films are analysed for the ways in which they engage with the topics of migration, national identity and belonging. Therefore, impegno is understood as the ability to challenge hegemonic powers and discourses which both impact the experiences of migrants and reinforce limited conceptions of Italian national identity.
The theoretical framework draws on cognitive and phenomenological film theories to interrogate how films encourage emotional and empathic responses from audiences which function in relation to political and ideological narratives surrounding immigration and national identity, taking into consideration intersecting notions such as gender, sexuality, and race. In doing so, this thesis demonstrates how emotional and empathic engagement can contribute to a film’s ability to challenge or reinforce dominant and exclusionary conceptions of national identity and belonging. It contributes to discussions of cinema d’impegno by reconsidering how socio-political narratives and emotion work together in the cinematic experience in ethically significant ways.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

Supervisor(s):