Thank you professors for taking time out of your day to go through my writing. I enjoyed taking part in creating my first blog. I hope you take care of yourself through these times and I thank you again for making a helpful environment for this remote learning transition.

This episode showed a relationship between an American MP and an orphan boy. Their companionship ended quickly as Joe found out that the Pasquale’s parents were killed by the bombs.

This heartbreaking scene shows courageous Pina. Her character is based on Teresa Gullace, a woman murdered by the Nazis.

Moving onto our third week into this course, I was getting a hang of what to expect. The film from this week was Rome Open City. I found this film very interesting because I’ve never watched one like it before. At first I was a bit confused about the setting and what was happening at the time of the film. As the film continued, my understanding grew. I learned a lot from watching Rome Open City. The historical tie which was reflected in this movie, allowed me to empathize with the characters. By watching the lectures, this helped me to understand the film’s relation to history. The purpose of neorealism was to bring awareness of ordinary Italians’ lives at the end of WW2. What I found interesting about this particular film is that it involved a natural setting which gave a more realistic sense. Through the assigned readings from this week I discovered aspects of the film I wouldn’t have known if it wasn’t for the given material. From reading “Forgacs Rome Open City”, I found out that the character Pina was based on a woman murdered by Nazis. After the readings, I definitely appreciated this film more because of its historical context and display of Italian’s real lives. This film gained popularity internationally as it ran at the World Theater in New York for 21 months. The scene that I found most important was when Giorgio refused to speak to the German officers. Despite Don Pietro and Giorgio’s different beliefs, they fought together and carried faith with them which I admired. 

This week’s material which included readings and lectures, helped me understand the film’s content. The readings gave me extended background to the film which I didn’t know about while the lectures provided historical information, relating to Rome Open City. Submitting summaries for the week’s material helped me engage with what I learned. I found it interesting learning about camera movement from the lecture especially, because these different techniques have a certain function. 

Following onto the fourth week of this course, the film we focused on was Paisan. This particular film was different from the others we’ve watched since it was separated into six different episodes. Each of the episodes didn’t have a direct connection to one another but they were set up chronologically. Therefore, they formed in unity to create one whole story. Each episode contained a voiceover to continue onto the next which I appreciated because it gave me insight. This film itself was a little more difficult to follow considering they were separated into episodes but the lectures and readings filled me in with what I needed to know. Once it was time to take the quiz on the film, I felt confident because of the extra engagement from lectures and readings, as well as forming summaries. The format of this course is very adequate and I hope it continues this way. I enjoy all of the films from the course and material given to further understand the content.

The ending of this film took an emotional toll on me. Alfredo played a significant role in Toto’s life. He gave Toto a reason to become the man he was.

The relationship between Alfredo and Toto was one that I admired in this film. This is where young Toto grew his love and passion for cinema.

Within the first week of this course I engaged in my first Italian cinema content. This included watching the film Cinema Paradiso. This film in particular interested me because it displayed an admiring relationship between a young boy and a man who he looked up to as a father. All of the elements in this film were enlightening and relatable. What I enjoyed most about this film was how it displayed the main character, Toto’s growth from a child to an adult. In the beginning it showed Toto as a successful adult who still didn’t feel completely fulfilled. From here, it drew back to his childhood where he fell in love with the art and elements of cinema. In the midst of his development, he fell in love with something else other than cinema. The love story in this film was beautiful as it shared the same experience as Toto’s, being short and sweet. There was a contrast in the film where in the beginning, Alfredo cut certain scenes out of films which Toto wanted for himself as a young boy and in the end when Alfredo passed away, Toto was left with those scenes compiled together. The way the movie ended, left me feeling emotional. This was a unique and realistic ending which struck me. 

Other than the film from these first two weeks, we also had a reading which was “Wagstaff Italian Cinema”. This reading gave me clear insight on the history of Italian cinema. While reading this source, I took notes of the important details. This helped me form a summary from this reading. “Wagstaff Italian Cinema” informed me of how Italian cinematographers made extra efforts in order to film which included constructing their own equipment and filming in various areas. This made me appreciate Italian cinema more, as I realized all the hard work and dedication that is put into these films. It was interesting to see how cinema was born with relation to Italy as well. The readings have also introduced me to the film’s historical significance especially with WW2. Before this course I was not aware of how cinema and certain events were connected. Following WW2, the catholic church built thousands of cinemas across the country. Italy’s filmmaking and their rivalry with Hollywood films was something I also didn’t know about. 

Altogether readings, lectures, and quizzes expanded my knowledge within these first two weeks of this course. With the transition of remote learning, the layout of this course’s material was easy for me to follow. The weekly tasks told me what I needed to do as well as when it was due. I appreciate the chosen readings and lectures because they also covered aspects of the film which I may have not understood. Before the course I was a bit curious of how discussions would go since they were necessary for students to connect and speak about the films but I like how personal they are because we are able to talk about what we took from films. These first two weeks encouraged me to look forward to the rest of the term.