Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Table of Contents
- Acknowledgements
- List of Illustrations
- Notes on Contributors
- Introduction
- PART I AFRICA
- PART II ASIA
- PART III EUROPE
- 5 Invaders, Launchpads, and Hybrids: The Importance of Transmediality in British Science Fiction Film in the 1950s
- 6 Gender and Apocalypse in Eastern European Cinema
- 7 Casting for a Socialist Earth: Multicultural Whiteness in the East German/Polish Science Fiction Film Silent Star
- 8 Looking for French Science Fiction Cinema
- 9 Aliens Dancing at the Crossroads: Science Fiction Interventions in Irish Cinema
- 10 The Uncomfortable Relationship Between Science Fiction and Italy: Film, Humor, and Gender
- PART IV NORTH AMERICA
- PART V SOUTH AMERICA
- PART VI DIGITAL CINEMA
- Recommended Viewing
- Index
10 - The Uncomfortable Relationship Between Science Fiction and Italy: Film, Humor, and Gender
from PART III - EUROPE
- Frontmatter
- Table of Contents
- Acknowledgements
- List of Illustrations
- Notes on Contributors
- Introduction
- PART I AFRICA
- PART II ASIA
- PART III EUROPE
- 5 Invaders, Launchpads, and Hybrids: The Importance of Transmediality in British Science Fiction Film in the 1950s
- 6 Gender and Apocalypse in Eastern European Cinema
- 7 Casting for a Socialist Earth: Multicultural Whiteness in the East German/Polish Science Fiction Film Silent Star
- 8 Looking for French Science Fiction Cinema
- 9 Aliens Dancing at the Crossroads: Science Fiction Interventions in Irish Cinema
- 10 The Uncomfortable Relationship Between Science Fiction and Italy: Film, Humor, and Gender
- PART IV NORTH AMERICA
- PART V SOUTH AMERICA
- PART VI DIGITAL CINEMA
- Recommended Viewing
- Index
Summary
‘Science fiction is a film genre that, probably, is not congenial to the Italian mentality; it has never been so’
(Margheriti cit. in Cozzi 2007, 436)Traditionally considered an Anglo-American invention, science fiction literature also has successful branches across Europe as well as in South America. The same, however, cannot be said for science fiction cinema. The economic power and strength of Hollywood has created a certain model of science fiction productions, whose impressive special effects seem to be beyond other countries’ capability (Del Santo 2010). In Italy, science fiction is not considered an appropriate, native genre, especially with regard to cinema. Even though Anglo-American and Russian science fiction literature and cinema have been widely translated and dubbed, it would be hard to claim that there is a flourishing native Italian market. By and large, Italian science fiction cinema, with its more limited budgets, has mostly imitated American films and trends. It has traditionally had such a limited appeal that, in order to be more credible, directors often changed their own names into better-sounding, yet improbable American ones. Thus, directors like Antonio Margheriti signed his films as Anthony Daisies or Anthony Dawson and Alfonso Brescia as Al Bradley (Cozzi 2007, 383).
One way to identify Italian science fiction cinema is by its public. The movies can be divided into two groups. One consists of those made for the domestic market, which are often comedies, farces, and satires. The presence of humor is no doubt derived from the commedia all'italiana genre. The second group comprises those made also for the foreign market, which are more serious, adventurous dramas. The one feature that all films share, however, is that of being low-budget projects.
The two major films that stand out in recent Italian science fiction production are Nirvana (1997) by Academy Award winning director Gabriele Salvatores and Fascisti su Marte (Fascists on Mars, 2006) by comedian Paolo Guzzanti and director Igor Skofic. Set in a typical cyberpunk future city called ‘Northern Agglomeration,’ ruled by corporations and populated by multicultural hybrid subjects, Salvatores's Nirvana centers on the double quest of Jimi Dini, a videogame programmer.
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- The Liverpool Companion to World Science Fiction Film , pp. 172 - 188Publisher: Liverpool University PressPrint publication year: 2014