This talk will explore the way emerging cinematic techniques used to represent visions and prophecies in two early Italian films constituted a self-conscious declaration of cinema’s ability to inspire moral behavior. We’ll use the films, both released in 1911, as case studies in which mother and son protagonists demonstrate self-sacrificing behavior for the collective good after glimpsing the consequences of their potential life trajectories.
Amy Boylan is Associate Professor of Italian at the University of New Hampshire. She obtained her Ph.D. at the University of California. Her research focuses primarily on National Memorials in Italian Literature, Art and Cinema, as well as depictions of motherhood in early 20th century Italian Culture.
This event has been organized by the French and Italian Graduate Student Association with the generous financial support of the Department of French and Italian.
