University of Tennessee – Spring 2020 Cinema Studies 422/ /Italian 422 Mafia and Terrorism in Italian Cinema Course Syllabus COURSE SECTION: 23216 – 27223 COURSE CREDIT HOURS: 3

Time and Location: T 11:10-12:25; TH 11:10-1:55 Hodges Lib. 252 Instructor: Flavia Brizio-Skov Phone: (865) 974-2311 Mailbox/Main Office: MFLL - 701 McClung Tower E-mail: [email protected] Office: 614 McClung Tower Office hours: Tuesday 12:30 till 3:30 or by appointment

Prerequisite: none

Required Texts: textbook packet ON CANVAS, PLEASE, PRINT IT. All the films are subtitled in English and streamed.

Course description: This course focuses on the Italian films that portrayed Mafia and Terrorism during the Lead Years (1968-88). We will examine the way in which films, directors and scriptwriters dealt with these events, trying to shed light on one of the most complicated and corrupted periods of the political life of the Italian Republic. Because many of these films derive their style and codes from cinematic models of previous eras, we will also study the development of the national filmic industry.

Course requirements: Consistent and careful preparation of assigned work is especially important in order to participate in class discussion. As general guidelines, students taking courses within the College of Arts and Science are 2 generally expected to spend a minimum of two hours preparing for each hour spent in class. What follows here below is a brief overview of the various components of the course and of the instructor’s expectations with regard to your participation. Students will be asked to employ a range of critical thinking and planning skills in completing assigned reading outside of class, in preparation for class discussions, oral presentations, film viewings. Students will work towards proficiency in articulating a clear and compelling line of reasoning in both written and spoken forms, analyzing filmic texts, constructing arguments, and evaluating the validity of their thesis.

Language Disclaimer: Although the class will be conducted in English, Italian Majors and Minors are required to watch some films in Italian and have the option of choosing to write the final paper in Italian. Some of the material (films) might be considered sexually explicit or too violent by some students, you can discuss this problem with the instructor and you may watch a different film.

Course objectives: At the end of the course, successful students should be able to:

Describe and compare social aspects of your own culture and foreign culture.

Read, understand and discuss critically cinematic texts and scholarly articles.

Attain a deeper understanding and appreciation of a foreign culture through a variety of rich and diverse cultural texts.

Increase your ability to think critically and creatively, reason logically, and express one’s thoughts orally and in writing with clarity and precision through thoughtful analyses of individual texts that display various aesthetic and ideological approaches.

Learn how to write analyses in which you compare two or more texts in terms of structure, characterization, and themes.

Interpret and analyze a variety of historical and social sources, and be able to draw your own interpretation through careful analysis of historical and social changes.

Be capable of integrating knowledge from diverse sources.

Class participation and recommendation for student success: Class participation is understood to include regular attendance, active participation in class discussions, timely completion of all assignments, and thorough preparation for each class session.

Course Outcomes: successful students will:

Demonstrate through oral presentations, and other class assignments a reasonable knowledge of the ways of thinking and the behavioral and cultural practices of Italy.

Identify and analyze cultural traits and concepts relevant to the country and society in question.

Recognize and distinguish different kinds of texts and arguments.

Be able to use writing to reflect on their learning.

Demonstrate the ability to critically evaluate historical discourse, and to develop conclusions about the past and the processes that create change over time.

Engage in critical thinking and analysis regarding various approaches and ideologies.

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Disability Statement: If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a documented disability, please contact the Office of Disability Services at 2227 Dunford Hall (telephone/TTY 865-974- 6087; e-mail [email protected]) by August 25. This will ensure that you are properly registered for services.

Dean of Students Please refer to the Dean of Students’ website http://dos.utk.edu and Student Handbook for any questions concerning your right as a student.

VOLUNTEER CORE COURSE At the end of this course, you will be knowledgeable of cultures other than your own, and you will be able to demonstrate intercultural communication concepts.

Classroom behavior expectations Students are expected to assist and maintain a classroom environment that is conducive to learning. Disruptive behavior is prohibited. Examples are: the use of cellular phones and beepers, eating and drinking, excessive tardiness, making offensive remarks, reading newspapers during class, sleeping, overt inattentiveness, and the use of computers when it is not related with class material. For more information, please consult Student Handbook 2012-2013 http://dos.utk.edu/files/Hilltopics%202012.pdf

Plagiarism: Plagiarism is a very serious offense that can result in failure of the class or even dismissal from the university. See http://www.lib.utk.edu/instruction/plagiarism/honor.html for a discussion of the University’s policy on plagiarism and academic honesty. Specific examples of plagiarism are: *copying without proper documentation (quotation marks and a citation) written or spoken words. *summarizing ideas from another source and passing them off as your own. *borrowing facts, statistics, graphs, pictorial representations, or phrases without acknowledging the source. *collaborating on a graded assignment without the instructor’s approval or having someone else write a paper for you.

Course information and requirements

Course Grade: Your final grade will be determined based on the following components.

Course Requirement and Evaluations:

Attendance/Participation 10% Final Paper 30% Group Presentations (2) 30% Exams (2) 30%

GRADING SCALE

A 94-100% B 84-86.9% C 74-76.9% D 64-66.9% A- 90-93.9% B- 80-83.9% C- 70-73.9% D- 60-63.9% B+ 87-89.9% C+ 77-79.9% D+ 67-69.9% F 0-59.9%

Participation: Your active participation in class is imperative. Rather than through lectures, the course will be conducted through discussions, making the input and questions of every student crucial. It is for this reason that attendance and participation account for such a significant portion of your final grade, and it is for this reason that there might be some in-class quizzes to ensure that you keep up with the readings. In order to take an active part in the class discussion, it is essential that you come to class prepared, having read the material and having done the assignments. The instructor will carefully record your participation for each day. You will receive a participation grade of:

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Level of participation and preparation Grade

Excellent participation; very well prepared; shows courtesy toward other students and to A professor; thoroughly engages in course material and interacts with others’ opinions Good participation; well prepared; courteous; engages in course material and interacts B with others’ opinions Average participation; adequate preparation; interjects but does not interact C Little participation; inadequate preparation; interrupts discussion; tangential interaction D Present in class; minimal participation; unprepared F Present in class; no participation; unprepared; shows no respect for others; disrupts 0 points discussion; reads or writes text messages

Class attendance: Attendance is required and mandatory; you are allowed 3 unexcused absences. Beginning with the 4th absence, your final course grade will drop one-half percentage point for each absence. If a regularly scheduled exam is missed due to an authorized university activity, you will be given an opportunity to make up the exam, provided that an official written excuse from a coach or other university official is presented to the instructor within 10 days of the absence.

Make-Up Exams: Missing an exam and asking to take a make-up exam are strongly discouraged and will only be permitted in very limited circumstances. The following policy from the UT Student Handbook will be followed in this class: “The University's policy on class attendance is clear and straightforward: Students are expected to attend classes to take exams on schedule except under extraordinary circumstances.” The “extraordinary circumstances” listed in the Student Handbook which will allow a missed exam to be made up are “serious illness or family emergencies.” “Serious illnesses” are limited to “those involving hospitalization, or catastrophic accidents or illness.” In all other situations, including minor illness, you are expected to be present to take exams on the dates they are given in class. If you are absent from class, you are responsible for making arrangements in order to have your work handed in on the due date, and for informing yourself about the material covered in class during the period of your absence. Make-ups are not permitted without documented excuse. If you are absent for a regularly scheduled exam because of authorized university activities, or serious illness, you will have the opportunity to make up the exam during office hours of the next scheduled class meeting. You are also responsible to contact me promptly. No other make-up will be given for any reason. Test material will cover: in-class discussions, lectures, screenings, and course readings/articles.

POP Quizzes: Quizzes are unannounced and can take place at the beginning of class time. If you arrive late, you will not be allowed to take the quiz, and will receive a zero. Unless absent with official documentation (a doctor’s note, for example) or in order to represent UT (for athletics and other official activities), there are no make- up quizzes for any reason. If you will be absent with official documentation, please let your professor know ahead of time. Quizzes will be typed on a laptop and sent to the teacher’s email as soon as finished.

In exams and quizzes point reductions will be made for answers that fail to identify certain important terms, concepts, etc. and/or fail to discuss them in such a manner that it is clear to me that you do not understand their meaning or significance. The severity of the point deduction will be based on the number of missing terms, concepts, etc. and the degree to which your answer fails to show a clear understanding of the material.

Exams: You will be docked 5-10 points for insufficient length. DO NOT SUMMARIZE; these are exercises in critical analysis, not plot summary. Without an extension arranged with the professor beforehand, a hard copy of all written work will be turned in on the day it is due.

Late Exams: ATTENTION! No late Finals will be accepted past the deadline. 5

Exam: in class essay questions based on the material read and the films viewed/discusses, written on a blue book. Final Exam: paper, Times New Roman 12, minimum 7 pages, double spaced, due on April 30, Thursday by noon in 701 McClung (NO LATER). Presentations: You will give two group presentations. You must prepare a power-point presentation with clips, still images etc. Students will have to talk about the film text, and the related ARTICLE that is posted on Canvas, they also need to present questions to the class and involve the class as a whole in a debate. Questions from fellow students and the instructor will be a fundamental part of the experience. The class will be divided in groups and each group will be assigned a film presentation/comment/analysis on a rotation basis. The topic for the oral presentations will be discussed in class the week before. Your group presentation will explore the social, political, technological, industrial, aesthetic and cultural elements that relate to the film (including production and reception). You can engage with popular and scholarly sources, books and periodicals, DVDs and web sites, trailers and advertisements, statistics and movie reviews and any historical document that informs us about the period. You can select a few clips from the film to illustrate your arguments, especially if dealing with types of camera shots. After presenting your analysis, ask questions to your classmates, they may have observed something about the film that you hadn’t noticed. (See the group presentation guideline on Canvas) Use your notes taken in class during the film viewing to recall information and thoughts! Presentations will be helped greatly by the packet articles. Students will have to find extra critical sources on the film in question on their own, via library, internet, or film journals. Students will have to watch the film assigned many times on their own, one screening in class will not be sufficient for analyzing a filmic text. Cell Phone Policy: Cellular phones and other electronic devices (including but not limited to PDAs, iPods, Blackberry) are not to be used in class. All such devices must be turned off before the beginning of the class period and placed out of sight (for example, in a backpack or purse) until the class has concluded. Failure to comply with this policy may result in your being asked to leave class, with that class counted as a course absence.

Any electronic announcements will be posted on Canvas. You are responsible for monitoring the course on Canvas periodically. Any minor revisions to the syllabus will be announced in class and posted on Canvas.

If you are a student of Italian, check out the Italian Club at [email protected] for extracurricular activities such as:

*Italian Language Table *Travel Abroad – Bologna Summer Program *Tutoring – Full Immersion Weekend

Suggested Reading: Film Art (8th edition), by David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson, McGraw-Hill, 2002 Film History (2nd edition), by David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson, McGraw-Hill, 2002 Watching Films, by Rick Lyman, Henry Holt, 2002 The Film Experience, by Timothy Corrigan and Patricia White, St. Martin’s, 2012, 3rd edition.

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Weeks Reading material

January Course Introduction Introduction to the course- Get the packet for the 9 Th Discussion on the guideline class with the reading for presentations on power point ( also material on Canvas posted on Canvas). and print it. Film: 2 documentaries on Mafia: The Sicilian Mafia (44’) and A very Sicilian Justice (50’)

14 T Lecture: What is Mafia? History of Mafia Italy’s Scourge: The Four Mafias (DiMaria) 16 Th Lecture: Film: Mafioso, 1962, Alberto Lattuada, 95’ Brief History of Italian Cinema, from the silent era to the 60s

21 T Leading Group 1 on Discussion: Italian cinema of the 60s and TCM article + Mafioso Mafioso Modernity Mafia Style: Alberto Lecture: Lattuada’s Il mafioso The golden age of genre (Nelson Moe) cinema 23 Th Lecture: Mafia history Destabilizing Comedy Italian Style Film: Salvatore Giuliano, 1962, Francesco Paradise: Men, Rosi, 125’ Women and Mafiosi: Sicilian Stereotypes (Elizabeth Hart)

28 T Leading Group 2 on Discussion: Salvatore Giuliano Salvatore Giuliano Reading: The visible, unexposed: Francesco Rosi’s Lecture: Salvatore Giuliano The remnant of Neorealism: Francesco Rosi and political filming 30 Th Lecture: Film: The Boss (Il boss), 1973, Fernando The merging of cinema Di Leo, 90’/Il dolce e l’amaro (The Sweet engagè and action film and the Bitter), 2007, Andrea Porporati, 98’ (Hollywood influence) in the 70s

February Leading Group 3 on The Discussion: The Boss and Il dolce e An exceptional 4 T boss and The sweet and l’amaro Vintage: Fernando Di the bitter Leo

Lecture: The influence of Watch on your own: Placido Rizzotto Hollywood Gangster /Noir/Detective/Action 7

films on commercial products of the 70s/”Dirty Harry Italian Style” 6 Th Lecture: Film: Song’e Napule (The song of Napoli), The war against Comedy, a “low” genre Manetti brothers, 2013, 114’ and The Mafia corruption and that deals with serious Kills Only in Summer (La mafia uccide solo organized crime social issues: Chaplin, d’estate), 2013, Pierfrancesco Diliberto or (DiMaria) Benigni, Wertmuller, Pif), 90’ Radu Mihaileanu….

11 T Leading Group 4 on The Discussion: Song’e Napule and A cinematic anti- song of Napoli continuation of viewing The Mafia only monument against kills in Summer. Mafia Violence: P. Lecture: Diliberto’s La mafia National examples of uccide solo d’estate new Italian comedies on (Massimiliano mafias Delfino)

13 Th Lecture: Film: Fort Apache Napoli (Fortapàsc), “ Hybridization between 2009. Marco Risi, 108’ detective journalism and action movie in the new politically engaged films Watch on your own: The Hundred Steps (Hollywood models) after 2000

18 T Leading Group 5 on Fort Discussion: Fort Apache Napoli Apache Napoli 20 Th Lecture: Film: Love and Bullets (Ammore e Venice Film Review Baby Driver (Edgar malavita), 2017, Manetti Bros, 133’ Love and Bullets Wright) and Love and Article for students of Bullets, two Italian only: Ammore musicals/action movies/ e Malavita – Un Romance/ thrillers: dramma impazzito what’s happening to the genres today?

25 T Quiz 1 27 Th Lecture: Film: The Best of Youth (La meglio Introduction: Italian Giordana recounts gioventù), part 1, 2003. Marco Tullio Terrorism /Italian Italian history from the Giordana, 180’ (watch on your own part 2) film end of the 60s to the end (Alan O’Leary) of the 80s in a family epic saga-remodeling Bertolucci’s Novecento?

March Leading Group 6 on Discussion: Love and Bullets 3T Love and Bullets 5 Th Lecture: Film: The Bankers of God: The Calvi Affair The terrorist and the How to portray (I banchieri di Dio: il caso Calvi), Giuseppe olive tree (O’Leary) Corruption: Films that Ferrara, 2002, 125’ cannot explain the events, because nobody 8

will ever know the truth Indagine su un cittadino al di sopra di (examples from ogni sospetto, Petri, 1970, 110’ Germany, France and (Investigation of a citizen above Italy) suspicion) is only in Italian therefore only students of Italian will watch it on their own , and before the end of the semester they will write a comment of one page on the film)

10 T Leading Group 1 on The Discussion: The Bankers of God Italian cinema and bankers of God the ‘anni di piombo’(lead years) (O’Leary) 12 Th Lecture: Film: Good Morning, Night (Buongiorno, Moro Behind the Films in which the notte), 2003. Marco Bellocchio, 106’ scenes (O’Leary) director gives a totally personal and unrealistic rendition of the Watch on your own: Suburra terroristic events: surrealism in political films

16 - 20 Spring Break MARCH Spring Break

24 T Leading Group 2 on Discussion: Good Morning, Night Moro Behind the Good morning, night scenes (O’Leary) 26 Th Lecture: Film: Five Moons Plaza (Piazza delle “ Films that go back in Cinque Lune), 2003. Renzo Martinelli, 90’ time and try to reconstruct tragic events (like the Moro’s Watch on your own: Three Brothers assassination) via a genre (thriller)

31 T Leading Group 3 on Discussion: Five Moons Plaza Moro behind the Five Moons Plaza scenes (O’Leary) 2 APRIL Lecture: Film: My Brother is an Only Child (Mio My brother, my rival Th Films that use comedy fratello è figlio unico), 2007. Daniele (New York Times) as a way to explain the Luchetti, 108’ rebellion of the 60s and Terrorism

7 T Quiz 2

9 Th HOLIDAY

14 T Leading Group 4 on My Discussion: My brother is an only Child The rise and fall of brother is an only child Italian Terrorism: Watch on your own: Black Terrorism, the Lecture: Piazza Fontana: The Italian Conspiracy neo-fascists 1969- Films that go back in (Romanzo di una strage), 2012, dir. Marco 1984 time and try to Tullio Giordana, 129’ reconstruct tragic events, 9

(like the bombing of Milan and Bologna) using a docufiction style 16 Th Leading Group 5 on Discussion on Piazza Fontana The left-wing armed Piazza Fontana struggle in Italy Film: The Front Line (La Prima Linea), (Giorgio Del Lecture: Films that use 2009, Renato De Maria, 90’ Vecchio) the terrorists’ point of view to narrate the events

21 T Leading Group 6 on The Discussion on The Front Line Ending Terrorism in Front Line Italy: from violent action to story-telling 23 Th Last day of class Film: Blow to the Heart (Colpire al cuore), 105’, dir. Gianni Amelio, 1982 Lecture: Interiorization of Discussion on final papers. terrorism: terrorism as an oedipal complex

All graduate students at the 400 or 510 level must talk to me in order to plan for the final exam. They will write a longer paper, for 400 level class: 6-8 academic sources, 10-15 pages; for 510 level class: 8-10 academic sources, 15-20 pages.

Final reminder: This course has three components:

1) the packet/textbook.

2) my power point lectures on Mafia and Terrorism.

3) the class presentations and discussions.

Students enrolled in this class BUT MAJORING OR MINORING IN ITALAIN will have to read some cinema articles in Italian and watch some films in Italian; they need to discuss the matter with the instructor at the beginning of the course.

Other recommended films on Mafia:

At war with love (In guerra per amore), Pif, 2016, 99’ PN1995.9 F67 I4963 2017

Song’e Napule, 2013. Manetti Bros, 114’ PN1995.9 F67 S6548 2015

The Hundred Steps, 2000. Marco Tullio Giordana 114’ (I cento passi) PN 1995.9 F67 C395 2000

Placido Rizzotto, 2000. Pasquale Scimeca 110’ PN1995.9 F 67 P524 2001

The Sicilian Girl, 2008. Marco Amenta, 115’ (La siciliana ribelle) PN 1995.9 F67 S5529 2010

The Consequences of Love, 2004, Paolo Sorentino (Le conseguenze dell’amore) PN1995.9 F67 I83 2004

Crime Novel (Romanzo criminale), dir. Michele Placido, 2005, 152’ PN1995.9 F67 R6554 2007 10

Other recommended films on terrorism and corruption:

Three Brothers (Tre Fratelli), 1981. Francesco Rosi, 113’ PN 1995.9 F67 T742 2001

The Bodyguards (La scorta), 1993. Ricky Tognazzi, 96’ PN 1995. 9 F67 S36 2006

Gomorrah (Gomorra), 2008. Matteo Garrone, 137’ PN 1995.9 F67 G659 2008

Il Divo, 2008. Paolo Sorrentino, 110’ PN 1995.9 F67 D5843 2009

Suburra, 2015. Stefano Sollima, 130’ PN 1995.9 F67 S824 2015