Spaghetti and Politics
Abstract
Giżycki reviews Christopher Frayling’s book on spaghetti westerns and the specific genre vs. its American original, starting from main plot patterns and types of heroes to political accents. The ideological significance of spaghetti westerns was determined by the political climate of the Italy of the 1960s, echoed in film dramas of the period. The films portrayed reality as a field of class struggle. But of greater importance is the other aspect, namely the tendency to dismantle American myths and abandonment of the image of an impeccable main hero and explicit messages. The films are characterized by some mannerism and operetta-like qualities both in the way of acting and filming, rooted in the culture of the Mediterranean and the dictate of „machismo”. And a cultural aspect seems to be of particular interest to scholars. To sum up, Eurowesterns helped renew and revise all the aspects of the genre.
Keywords:
Christopher Frayling, spaghetti western, eurowesternReferences
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Authors
Marcin Giżyckikwartalnik.filmowy@ispan.pl
Rhode Island School of Design United States
Krytyk i historyk sztuki. autor książek z dziedziny historii filmu i zjawisk kultury artystycznej. Wykładowca w Rhode Island School of Design w USA. Opublikował m in. Nie tylko Disney - rzecz, o kinie animowanym (2000), Koniec i co dalej ? (2001), Słownik kierunków, ruchów i kluczowych pojęć sztuki drugiej połowy XX wieku (2002).
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Copyright (c) 2005 Marcin Giżycki
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