At the start of the term, I began my new classes, and, like I’m sure many of us were, I was a bit overwhelmed. Due to all of the sudden changes that were happening due to the COVID-19 outbreak, getting psyched up for studying cinema in ITAL152 was not one of my main priorities. Due to this, I didn’t start the course with many expectations of how it would go throughout the term. Instead, time flew by and I just jumped in! After a few weeks have passed I think that just getting into the course work was the best thing to do, I was able to come out of weeks one and two pleasantly surprised with having enjoyed my time getting to learn about Italian cinema.
Up until this point, I have rarely taken an analytical perspective when watching different films. I have always seen the act of watching movies as an activity of leisure, while I have still taken the enjoyment out of watching the films assigned for the class, there is more to it. I have discovered that there are so many things that I can get out of Italian cinema, and cinema in general, when I view them with a desire to learn and uncover the messages that the filmmakers were trying to get across.
Watching Cinema Paradiso was a great opportunity to get a better understanding of how films were portrayed historically. Studying the basics of film terminology was another way that I was able to dissect the film and take a closer look at the meaning behind the choices made in the creation of the film. As I was viewing the film, looking at the type of shots, lighting used, and how the scenes are portrayed I began thinking about what the filmmaker would want me to focus on and why what is in the background, or out of focus could be less important.
Not only was I able to learn skills to use when watching even new films, but I was also drawn in by getting to have a more encompassing view of history. Through reading ‘Wagstaff Italian cinema’ I was surprised by the amount of work that it takes to even have the privilege to watch many early Italian films. The hard work of many historians going through archives has led to us now being able to study such early works of cinema. Along with this, I can see parts of history that otherwise I probably wouldn’t have put much thought into. Being of Italian-American descent learning about the history of Italy and its people is a great motivator to dive further into the study of early cinematic works.
Due to the domination of Hollywood films in earlier years, it was common for films by Italian filmmakers to want to portray Italians with an authentic point of view. Getting to see from different perspectives through watching the assigned films has been eye-opening and I continue to look forward to expanding my view through further studying Italian cinema.
The experience of changing how we think about movies.
