Italian-French Co-productions and Transnational Cultural Exchange

Abstract:  The article explores some recurring features found in Pathé’s Italian-French co-productions in the 1950s and 1960s, addressing this corpus of films as a representative sample of the larger co-production trends between the two countries in the period under discussion. The analysis is based on the examination of unpublished documents as well as press material from the archives of the Fondation Seydoux-Pathé (Seydoux-Pathé Foundation) and the Cinémathèque française (French Film Library). 

As the article evidences, co-productions served as a powerful instrument of transnational cultural exchange, modern marketing practices, and the rethinking and revisiting of country-specific genres. They also paved the way for the exportation and popularization of Italian actors, directors and cinematic style across France. Great attention is paid to how the French specialist and popular press received such co-productions, whether the films’ dual nationality affected their reception and to what extent co-productions contributed to the image of Italian cinema in post-war France. (Palma, 2017)

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- Palma, P. (2017). Viaggio in Francia: Pathé Italian-French co-productions in the 1950s and 1960s. Journal of Italian Cinema & Media Studies, 5(3), 333-355.
- photograph of Marcello Mastroianni and Catherine Deneuve (1974) via

Scale of Anti-Feminist Opinion in Europe. From Sweden to Italy. Not the Anticipated Results.

Italy, rather associated with macho politics than with feminist values, might be a country with changing attitudes. According to a survey carried out in eight European countries in 2020 and released in 2021, Italians are the least likely to blame feminism for men feeling marginalised and demonised. In Sweden, a country that is often seen as "a bastion of progressive gender-equality politics", 41%, i.e., more people than anywhere else, agree with the following statetement: "It is feminism's fault that some men feel at the margins of society and demonised." 

The trend in Sweden might be explained as a backlash to successful feminist movements of the past. In other words, victories of Swedish feminist could have activated opposite atttitudes. Anti-feminist views are more or less also expressed in other countries: 30% in Poland, 28% in the UK, 26% in France, 22% in Hungary, 19% in Germany, 15% in the Netherlands, and, finally, only 13% in Italy (via).

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photograph by Erich Lessing (Cesenatico, 1960), Magnum Photos via

Individualism/collectivism and personality in Italian and American Groups

Abstract: Italian (n = 129) and American (n = 86) samples were evaluated with the Five Factor Inventory of personality and a measure of individualism/collectivism. Greater individualism was seen in the American group than the Italian group, as in the Hofstede (2019) data. For the Italian sample only, greater individualism was associated with greater neuroticism and greater collectivism was associated with lower neuroticism. This may reflect poor culture fit for Italians with a very individualistic orientation given that Italy falls between the United States and Asian countries in terms of the individualism/collectivism dimension. 

Other studies have shown better personal adjustment being associated with having a personality that fits with the culture in which one is embedded. For both Italian and American groups, higher collectivism was associated with higher extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness consistent with other reports. Additional findings included higher openness in the Italian group and higher conscientiousness in the American group. (Burton et al., 2021)

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- Burton, L., Delvecchio, E., Germani, A. & Mazzeschi, C. (2021) Individualism/collectivism and personality in Italian and American Groups. Curr Psychol 40, 29–34 

- photograph by Charles H. Traub (Naples, 1985) via

The Good Mother Sacrificing Her Professional Life. A Survey.

According to a survey carried out in Italy in 2021, about 42% of the respondents believe that "it is not possible for women to be good mothers without partly sacrificing their professional life." Two out of three respondents said that "it is more difficult for a woman to have a successful career because she would have to partly sacrifice her family life." 51% of respondents believe that people would exaggerate gender inequalities (via).

photograph of Sophia Loren and her son via

Spaghetti Italienne

(...) Italians arived in an America that was at best ambiguous about their food habits. On the one hand, in the 1890s the eating habits of wealthier Americans were being influenced by the latest trends in England, whose fancy hotels and country-house kitchens were again being invaded by "Contintental" chefs, usually bearing recipes from French haute cuisine. Upper-class American hotels, restaurants, and clubs shifted away from the overwhelmingly "American" and English dishes and meals that had previously characterized their menus. By the turn of the century "Spaghetti Italienne" had joined the extensive choice of American and French items. It was usually served as one of the first courses, along with or instead of chicken livers, sweetbreas, or other relatively light items. But the Italian invasion of elite dining rooms at around this time appears to have halte with spaghetti.

(...) the fact that the character of Italian immigration into America had changed markedly in the previous twenty years must also have discouraged thoughts of popularizing Italian food among the upper crust. Before 1880 the relatively few Italian immigrants to America had often been skille people from the north of Italy who were relatively acceptable by native-born White Anglo-Saxon Protestant standards. By 1901, however, as the deluge of unskilled and poverty-stricken immigrants from the Mezzogiorno struck America's cities, Italy no longer merely connoted Rennaissance palaces and happy gondoliers on the native-born mind. More immediate were images of swarthy immigrants in teeming tenements: sewer diggers, railroad navvies, crime, violence, and the dreaded cutthroats of the "Black Hand." Spaghetti could stay on the menu, but only as "Italienne", the French spelling bringing some reassurance that the original Italian dish had been civilized and purified in French hands. (Levenstein, 1985:77)

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- Levenstein, H. (1985). The American Response to Italian Food, 1880-1930. Food and Foodways, 75-90.
- photograph via

Italian Children No Longer Automatically Named After Father

The constitutional court has ruled that Italian children should be given the surnames of both parents (alternatively parents should choose one surname together) and no longer be automatically named after their fathers since this practice was "discriminatory and harmful to the identity" of the child (via).

photograph by Vivian Maier via

Giovanni and Roberto in Sardinia

Photographer Giovanni Corabi and creative director Roberto Ortu spent two weeks in Sardinia capturing "the rebellious youth" living on an island where the "traditions are strong and can sometimes feel heavy" making many people decide to leave and for those who stay hard to find their own voice. Corabi and Ortu celebrate "the rebellious youth that lives on the island but is an active part of where the culture is headed, somewhere between tradition and modernity" including migration (via).

photographs via

Sunday Music and Jovanotti's Appeal to the Prime Minister

Lorenzo Cherubini, known as Jovanotti, is a popular Italian singer and songwriter. In a rap song, he urged then Prime Minister D'Alema to cancel the debts of developing countries, of countries that had been colonised and then left alone drowning in the so-called progress the colonisers had brought. That was back in 2000. Jovanotti pointed out that one billion people had less than one dollar a day to survive, that their poverty was not their choice and had an impact on their health, education, and future in general (via). D'Alema agreed to act and, for instance, write off Mozambique's debt to Italy (via).



Mezzogiorno, a lovely song (and makes-you-smile video) from 2008 that inspired several flash mobs and a social clip with contributions from fans:



More Jovanotti on YouTube:

::: Tutto l'amore che ho: WATCH/LISTEN
::: Ti porto via con me: WATCH/LISTEN
::: Il più grande spettacolo dopo il Big Bang: WATCH/LISTEN
::: Tanto tanto tanto: WATCH/LISTEN
::: Baciami ancora: WATCH/LISTEN
::: A te: WATCH/LISTEN

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photograph via

Per dirti ciao. Tiziano Ferro (2012)

Tiziano Ferro is an Italian singer and songwriter and "one of the best-selling artists" in Italy. At the height of his fame, in 2010, he finally came out as gay after years of struggling to make this decision (via). Ferro came to the conclusion that he wanted a better life, hence decided to come out (via).

"Despite his fears, his coming out did not negatively affect his career, as fifth album L'amore è una cosa semplice was the best-selling album of 2012 in Italy, and his first greatest hits album was supported by a stadium tour. As of 2015, Ferro has sold over 15 million records worldwide." (via) 

Most of his fans are women. In an interview, Ferro points out that he has never had concerns about losing female fans after coming out as he generally trusts them more than men (via). Some of his fans, of course, had difficulties handling Ferro's coming out such as Tiziano Zarantanello, a fan who wrote in a Rolling Stone article how disappointed he was when he learned that he had been "fooled" by Ferro since he had believed every single word of his lyrics about women. As a gay person, he should not sing about hetereosexual love, he concluded and added that Ferro should have come out at the beginning of his career instead of betraying his fan(s) (via). "Interesting" reactions like this may add to making coming out more difficult, dear disappointed fan.



image via

"Too Ugly to be Raped." Turning Rape into a Privilege.

In March 2015, a young man raped a 22-year old woman, his friend kept watch. The men were sentenced to three and five years prison in the first trial in 2016. The Court of Appeal in Ancona - consisting of three female judges - recently decided that the woman was too ugly to be raped. After all, the man had stated that he hadn't even been attracted to her, had saved her phone number under the name "Vikingo" which underlined the fact that her appearance was rather masculine. A victim's photograph was shown as evidence; the photograph the judges had drawn their conclusions from. The female judges called the victim "the clever Peruvian" who looked too masculine to be raped, who may have "organised" the whole evening and provoked the young man who possibly saw having sex with a masculine woman only as a sort of challenge. She was too ugly to be raped, her story was not credible.



The woman has left Italy and moved back to Peru (via). An "Italian problem"? According to estimations, 94% to 98% of rapists go free in the U.S. (via).

“The worst thing is the cultural message that came from three female judges who acquitted these two men because they decided that it was improbable that they would want to rape someone who looked masculine.”
Luisa Rizzitelli

People protested immediately, politician Valeria Valente called the decision an extremely dangerous one that would throw the country back many years, the language chosen by the judges would harm the victim and send out a wrong message to younger generations, a great many associations said it was a disgrace. The case will be reheard (via).

"She’s not my type. I would never rape her. I’m not a rapist, but if I were, I wouldn’t rape her because she doesn’t deserve it." Jair Bolsonaro, 38th President of Brazil

In 2014, shadow cabinet leader at East Hampshire District Council commented on Facebook that Serena Bowes, at the time a 21-year-old student who alleged she had been attacked in an Italian nightclub, was too ugly to be raped: "Not sure anyone would want to even think about it looking at her." (via). Female lawyers are groped in court and told that they are "too ugly to rape" (via). The list can be easily continued...

In a recent interview with New York radio station Power 105.1’s “The Breakfast Club”, Damon Wayans went on a misogynistic rant in defense of Bill Cosby. In his rant, Wayans said that many of Bill Cosby’s accusers were seeking money and exploitation of Cosby’s career. Wayans was relentless in his attempt to invalidate their claims of rape and sexual assault regardless of the fact that over 45 women have come forward with frighteningly similar accounts of their trauma. He even went on to say, “Some of them, really, is unrapeable. I look at them and go, ‘No, he don’t want that. Get outta here!’”
Ashleigh Shackelford

I was raped when I was 18 by a man who subsequently told me that I should feel grateful that anyone would want to touch me. “You should feel so lucky, you fat bitch,” he said. I never told anyone because why would anyone believe that a fat Black girl like me could be assaulted, when my own attacker made sure to mention that I was fortunate to even be considered for such violence. My attacker made sure to remind me that rape is a badge of honor that only worthy women can wear and that I was lucky to be chosen.(...)
Popular culture and media forms reinforce the standards of beauty to be whiteness, thinness, cisgender identity, heteronormative sexuality, and having an able body. Anyone else who does not fit within these identities has deviated from these unrealistic expectations and is subject to be seen as “ugly” and therefore unrapeable according to our society and folks like Damon Wayans. If the face of victimhood for sexual assault is a thin, white, cisgender, heterosexual woman, what does that mean for everyone else? What does that mean for transwomen? What does that mean for fat folks? What does that mean for gender nonconforming folks, men, and children? What does that mean for people of color? What does that mean for folks who identity as queer? What does that mean for people with disabilities? What does that mean for folks who identify with more than one of these identities?
Ashleigh Shackelford

Rape is not a flattering compliment, it is not a privilege. It is a crime. And the notion that women are raped because they are beautiful, stating that rape is just giving them positive feedback is a sick and sickening part of rape culture. Rape myths (e.g. rape is just another form of sex, all women secretly desire to be raped and enjoy it, women ask for it by the way they dress and behave, women could avoid rape if they really wanted to, etc.) "serve to objectify women, minimilize women's value as human beings, and personally and socially control women's sexuality". They "create a hostile environment for rape victims at individual and societal levels" which affects reactions of friends and family members but also of criminal justice professionals who may assign responsibility to victims (Suzuki 2014). Rape has been used as a weapon of war for centuries (e.g. during the three months of genocide, 100.000 to 200.000 women were raped in Rwanda) (via and via). Rape is used to control, to punish, to harm, and to kill women. It is no privilege. It is a crime.

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- Suzuki, Y. E. (2014). Rape: Theories. ResearchGate
- photographs by Charles H. Traub (1980s, Italy) via

"a big advantage for women." Monica Vitti (1971)

"What do you think about divorce?"
"It is one of the most sacred things, a big advantage for women."



"And about unmarried women who want to have or do have a child?"
"I completely approve of women who are mothers without being married." 
Rome, 21 November 1971



Monica Vitti is one of the most popular Italian actresses; she received a great many awards. Alzheimer's Disease "removed her from the public gaze" in the 1990s (via).



- Costantini, C. (1997). Le Regine del Cinema. Roma: Gremese Editore; page 185
- photographs via and via and via

Mina, Unmarried Couples, Illegitimate Children, Divorce, and the Parental Alienation Syndrome

Mina (Anna Maria Mazzini) is an Italian singer, "known for her three-octave vocal range, the agility of her soprano voice, and her image as an emancipated woman" (via).



In the early 1960s, Mina was banned from TV and radio in Catholic Italy for two years because of her relationship with Corrado Pani, a married actor (who had been separated from his wife, divorce was not yet possible) and their son born out of wedlock. Her record sales, however, were not affected by the ban and the Italian public broadcasting service RAI had to end the ban due to public demand (via). In 1963, their son Massimiliano was born. They could, however, not live together as a family as this would have meant breaking the law against concubinage and risking two years in prison (via).

"After the ban, the public broadcasting service RAI tried to continue to prohibit her songs, which were forthright in dealing with subjects such as religion, smoking and sex. Mina's cool act combined sex appeal with public smoking, dyed blonde hair, and shaved eyebrows to create a "bad girl" image." Wikipedia

Divorce was finally legalised in Italy in 1970 (via). Fast forward a couple of decades, and Italy's government wants to introduce divorce law reforms that are seen as a threat to women's rights, autonomy, and emancipation, and have been criticised by the United Nations. The bill was proposed by conservative senator Pillon of the "hardline anti-immigration party" Lega, a man who also happens to be against gay marriage, same-sex parents and abortion, and a mediator. The bill requires all couples wanting a divorce with children to use a professional mediator (via). Pillon is one of the organisers of "Family Day", an anti-gay event that takes place every year and campaigns against the so-called "gay lobby". Pillon's next step will be "proposing a law that would punish women who accuse their husbands of domestic violence if the husbands are not convicted" and to make abortion illegal (via). With the bill, he says, he only thinks of the child, adding: "Away with maintenance cheques, away with the ideological battle of women against men." (via).



"In Italy’s conservative society, less than 50 percent of women work outside of the home, and most of the burden of child-rearing falls upon mothers. Because women with children struggle to find stable employment, critics argue that the abolition of child support would raise the poverty rate among divorced mothers and could make them unable to provide for their children. Critics fear that the bill could encourage women to stay in abusive marriages rather than opting for a divorce with no child support.
The proposed law also endorses the disputed notion of Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS), a term first coined in the 1980s by American psychiatrist Richard Gardner. PAS holds that a parent can belittle or bad-mouth the other parent to the point that their child becomes hostile and no longer wants to spend time with them. But PAS is not listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, and the American Psychological Association has “no official position” on whether the syndrome is real, citing a lack of evidence that supports its existence.
Critics worry that claims of PAS could be used to strip custody from mothers or even be used in court to deflect attention from abusive parents. Evidence from the United States also suggests that PAS has been disproportionately used against women: According to a 2017 examination of 238 U.S. court cases involving alienation claims, fathers not only made the vast majority of alienation claims but also won their cases at a much higher rate than women making claims against men.
“Fathers who alleged alienation were more than twice as likely to receive a custody outcome in their favor as mothers who alleged alienation,” read the paper, which was published in Law & Inequality: A Journal of Theory and Practice, a law journal at the University of Minnesota Law School."
Anna Momigliano

“If a child says ‘I do not want to see my father, I am worried’, they will immediately analyse the mother for alienation syndrome and if the judge thinks they have been manipulated [the children] go to another family,” Ms Pirrone said.
All over the world, it has been proved it is a constructed syndrome – lots of psychologists say it is not scientific and now it is set to be in law.
It creates this prejudice against the mother and it is clear it will disregard domestic violence because the judges are forced to follow certain procedures and rules as this law is very strict. It means judges can’t do their job properly. They recognise that after 30 years domestic violence is being viewed as a serious issue and they are trying to push it back into the silence with a very threatening law.
This law is not even trying to hide its intent. It is against women. He has a very clear ideology and this is a very ideological law. It is punishing the woman and it is pushing them back into a very dependent situation where they are not able to take autonomous decisions or get away from a bad situation.”
Maya Oppenheim

Mina on YouTube:

::: Parole, Parole: WATCH/LISTEN
::: Io vivrò senza te (1972): WATCH/LISTEN
::: C'è più samba: WATCH/LISTEN
::: Non credere (1969): WATCH/LISTEN
::: Un bacio è troppo poco: WATCH/LISTEN
::: L'ultima occasione: WATCH/LISTEN
::: Conversazione: WATCH/LISTEN
::: Se c'è una cosa che mi fa impazzire: WATCH/LISTEN
::: Sono come tu mi vuoi: WATCH/LISTEN
::: Se telefonando: WATCH/LISTEN
::: Mai così: WATCH/LISTEN
::: Città vuota: WATCH/LISTEN
::: Fly me to the moon: WATCH/LISTEN
::: No: WATCH/LISTEN
::: Mi sei scoppiato dentro al cuore: WATCH/LISTEN
::: Non credere (1970): WATCH/LISTEN
::: L'immensità: WATCH/LISTEN
::: Something: LISTEN
::: Un colpo al cuore (1970): WATCH/LISTEN and (1968): WATCH/LISTEN
::: La banda: WATCH/LISTEN
::: Non illuderti: WATCH/LISTEN

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photographs via and via and via

Raffaella Carrà. A Tribute to One of the Greatest Superstars.

Raffaella Maria Pelloni, known as Raffaella Carrà, is an Italian dancer, singer, actress, and TV presenter. She is very famous in Italy and Spain, and popular in many South American countries (via).




Raffaella Carrà has been regarded as a so-called gay icon for decades. In 1970, she started receiving letters from young men writing her that they were devastated because of their families lacking understanding and tolerance, that they were even considering committing suicide. At that time, Carrà did not yet understand their situation until someone explained it to her. Carrà turned into an outspoken ally and has been one ever since (via). She says that she does not know what exactly turned her into a gay icon (via) but that does not keep her from supporting equality.



More Rafaella Carrà on YouTube:

::: Rumore (smashing version): WATCH/LISTEN, (Chile, 1979): WATCH/LISTEN
::: Ma che sera (1974): WATCH/LISTEN
::: Scordalo ragazzo mio (1974): WATCH/LISTEN
::: Male (1976): WATCH/LISTEN
::: A far l'amore comincia tu: WATCH/LISTEN
::: Chissà chi sei (1971): WATCH/LISTEN
::: Radio City Boogie (1974): WATCH/LISTEN
::: Superman (1974): WATCH/LISTEN
::: Tuca Tuca (1971): WATCH/LISTEN
::: Susy Wong (1974): WATCH/LISTEN
::: Mesmerisingly beautiful choreography with Carrà afterwards (1971): WATCH/LISTEN
::: Felicità: WATCH/LISTEN
::: Punto e basta Show, various songs (1975): WATCH/LISTEN
::: Oggi io sono felice: WATCH/LISTEN
::: Maga Maghella (1971): WATCH/LISTEN

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photographs taken in 1971 via and via

Sergio Leone, Italian Western, and Women

"Even in the greatest Westerns, the woman is imposed on the action, as a star, and is generally destined to be “had” by the male lead. But she does not exist as a woman. If you cut her out of the film, in a version which you can imagine, the film becomes much better. In the desert, the essential problem was to survive. Women were an obstacle to survival! Usually, the woman not only holds up the story, but she has no real character, no reality. She is a symbol. She is there without having any reason to be there, simply because one must have a woman, and because the hero must prove, in some way or another, that he has "sex-appeal.""
Sergio Leone (1929-1989)




"My films are often characterized by the lack of women present in them, except for this last one [Once Upon a Time in America]. Would you like to know why I create the women as I do? Well, because I think women have always been considered objects, especially in the genre of westerns. And especially in gangster films, with the gangster’s moll—she would always be more or less of an object. And I’m not convinced of this theory. Because I think even gangsters’ women have brains. They think and even, as we say, have balls.
Virginia Woolf was one example. She was called the “Lover of 100 Gangsters.” Which is why, in the context of westerns, when I used a woman in my films or wrote a woman into my film, I wanted her to be a central point and a motivating point or a catalyst to function in the film. I didn’t want her just to be a woman standing at the window, waving hello and goodbye to men as they came and went in the world that they were struggling through. I wanted her to have a true function.



When I used Claudia [Cardinale] for example, in Once Upon a Time in the West, she represented the birth of American matriarchy. Because women had enormous weight in America. And they still have. Because they are truly the padrone [owners, masters] of America. Therefore, when they are put into a film, I think they have to be put in for a distinct purpose and have a reason to exist. Not as some superficial or gratuitous presence. You see in Once Upon a Time in the West the whole film moves around her [Cardinale]. If you take her out, there’s no more film. She’s the central motor of the entire happening. It’s the same for Deborah [Elizabeth McGovern] and for Carol [Tuesday Weld] [in Once Upon a Time in America]."
Sergio Leone



photographs via and via and via and via and via and via and via

Federico Fellini, Projections, and City of Women

"Man has always been unsure of women. A woman for a man is the part that he doesn’t know about himself, so he’s always afraid of her. He feels weak and vulnerable with her, because she may cause him to lose his identity. Just by projecting the part of himself that he doesn’t know on a woman, he loses a lot of himself. (...)



And then, for centuries, man took advantage of women to avenge himself for what he had suffered for thousands of years. Now women want to be considered as persons, not as mere projections, and their attempt to escape the image to which man has confined them frightens man. But finally he understands that he won’t be free until women are free as well. I tried to show all that in City of Women."
Federico Fellini, 1986

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photograph of Federico Fellini, Marcello Mastroianni and Jean Shrimpton taken for Vogue by David Bailey in 1963 via

The League of Ordinary Non-Gentlemen

Today, Italians go to the polls. Immigration has become the key issue which automatically means that the radical right has a party programme: Italians first. The party Lega Nord per l'Indipendenza della Padania (The Northern League) was founded by Umberto Bossi who in 2017 was sentenced to two years and three months' imprisonment for using hundreds of thousands of euros in public funds to pay personal expenses. Former Northern League treasurer Francesco Belsito was sentenced to two years and six months. Umberto Bossi's son Renzo, by the way, was also convicted and given a sentence of one year and six months (via and via and via).



The founder of this party is the man who married in 1975, aged 35, and promised his wife to finish his university studies soon. After all, he was not really working and his mother was paying for his studies, so he had to hurry. In 1979, he told everyone that he had finally received his doctorate degree and would soon start to work as a doctor at the hospital Del Ponte in Varese. His proud wife bought him a beautiful brown briefcase which he left with every morning when he went to work, at the hospital, as a doctor. One day in 1981, in the meantime he had obtained his second degree, his wife went to university where - surprise, surprise - she learned that her wonderful husband had never finished his studies and never worked as a doctor (via and via). His son Renzo, of course, is completely different. Okay, he was charged with embezzlement too but at least he really got a degree. In fact, it was a bachelor's degree in Economics and Management at Kristal University in Albania. In 2013, Renzo Bossi was charged with corruption in Albania because "he earned a degree in social sciences without spending a single day in university. He has never been in Albania and he doesn't know the language" (via and via).
Now, the party's leader is Matteo Salvini. He studied at the University of Milan, never graduated but at least never pretended to have. Salvini was also involved in Bossi's fraud (via), he is a strong supporter of the football team A.C. Milan (which - what a coincidence - was owned by Berlusconi until last year), he supports Trump, opposes the embargo against Russia and same-sex marriage ... because, you know, traditional family values. He is the man who is going to rescue Italy by suggesting the introduction of segregation in public transport with reserved seats for "real" citizens of Milan but also for women to protect them from savage immigrants who he is going to deport as he is about to start a "controlled ethnic cleansing" (via and via).
This is not about the right, the left, or the centre. This is a party that offers no solution to any problem. Instead, it rides on the current wave of populist nationalism telling people how unfairly they are treated, that they themselves are not part of the so-called system but concerned about "the people" who they are fighting for making sure Italians get what they deserve. It is only about gaining votes with a rhetoric the world has not yet got tired of. This is also about a lack of style, class, and diplomacy in politics.



images via

The Italian Womaniser

Media (particularly non-Italian media) often presented Italian actor Marcello Mastroianni (1924-1996) as a "Latin Lover", a label Mastroianni found highly unpleasant. He pointed out that he had played an impotent man, a pregnant man, a homosexual man ... and nevertheless journalists continued to describe him as a Latin Lover. Mastroianni did not get rid of this label although most of his roles on screen did not conform to this image. The very reason why has probably little to do with Mastroianni himself and more to do with the international image of Italian masculinity - a product of popular culture and the imagined embodiment of the rather uncivilised Latino whose exotic passion contrasts with the audience's more civilised society (Reich, 2004).



Stereotypes are pictures in our head that can simplify, distort, and do injury to meaning. They are also useful devices for visual communicators as they are easily understood (Dente Ross & Lester, 2011). And a fascinating effect of stereotypes is that once we have the stereotypical background knowledge we see them even when they are not portrayed.

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- Dente Ross, S. & Lester, P. M. (2011) Images that injure: Pictorial stereotypes in the media. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO
- Reich, J. (2004) Beyond the Latin Lover: Marcello Mastroianni, Masculinity, and Italian Cinema. Bloomington: Indiana University Press

- photograph via