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Elaine Vogel March 27, 2005 Class minutes from 3/23/05 FORL 3160 At the beginning of class on Wednesday, March 23, Dr. Reimer discussed the status of our final papers. He wanted to make sure that we are nearing completion and he urges us to make another draft. Also mentioned by Dr. Reimer was an extra credit assignment taking place on April 7 at 6 p.m. in our normal classroom. The director and film are German. This assignment will be worth double the credit if completed. Dr. Reimer then turned the class over to Will Davis to run the discussion of Respiro. Ø Question #1 § To start off, machismo is defined as a strong or exaggerated sense of masculinity stressing attributes such as physical courage, domination of women and aggressiveness. Will points out that there was interesting symbolism in the film and the characters each have metaphorical parts. § The younger males get machismo from the older males as they seem to imitate them. There is a structure of power throughout the film and the females recede into the background. § Will makes a point that Grazia’s shots were injected when injustices in the movie were done. Grazia’s outbursts were a result of unfairness and inequality in society. § Throughout the film, many of the male characters - even the young boys - seem very masculine and tough. However, Grazia’s daughter Marinella may be attracted to the policeman simply because he is more feminine. He is new in town and may not have fallen into the rigid structure of their society yet. § There is an undeniable male dominance over the females in the film. Living in a fishing village, the women are always preparing the fish after the men catch it. This is a stereotype of how we always think women are supposed to be preparing the meal and men are supposed to bring it home to their families. § The fish can even be considered a feminine object, as well as the water that the fish live in. For example, Grazia once places the fishing net over her head; this symbolizes her as a fish as she is constricted in the net, just like she is in her society. Therefore, the men can symbolize birds and the land. § Grazia carries around her radio playing the sad Italian song; this becomes the soundtrack not only for the film but for her role and lifestyle in society because she basically feels mistreated, as the lyrics in the song interpret also. § Another example of machismo is when Grazia’s daughter Marinella attempts to walk on the rocky island with her high heels on. The policeman she is fond of walks behind her without a problem, but she stumbles down the cliff. This suggests that women are unprepared fit for such a manly world or are willing to act in a way that makes them ill prepared. § Will plays the two clips of Marinella struggling to make it down the cliff, followed by the nets over Grazia’s head symbolizing her entrapment, as fish are trapped in a net Ø Question #2 § The class had some different views on whether or not Grazia deserved to be sent to Milano after she set the dogs free. However, everyone seemed to agree that it’s difficult for Grazia to be her own person in the society she lives in. She is fighting for her ability to live how she wants to live. § Will makes a point that Grazia’s dog never liked her husband Pietro. An example of this is when the dog is lying in bed with Grazia - right in Pietro’s spot. It won’t move, and it actually growls at Pietro for bothering them. It’s quite possible that this led him to kill the dog because he feels his status in the family has been threatened. § Another point brought up by a classmate was that the dog kennel could symbolize Milano. This is because the sick dogs are kept in the kennel on the island and Grazia was being forced to move to Milano because society believed her to be sick and in need of medical attention. § For those who said that Grazia would deserve to be sent to Milano, it was pointed out that the villagers may have simply been looking out for their families. They wanted to send Grazia off because their lives seem to be endangered if she is free to do what she wants and certainly the satatus quo of society is endangered by her free spirit.. Ø Question #3 § The festival being held during the film is Saint Bartholomew’s Feast. During this celebration, people burn old things in order to symbolize the birth of something new. There is competition between the piles of junk between the young boys. § This feast can act as a farewell to Grazia because it’s on the shoreline. It’s the balance between where males and females come together (land and water). Ø Question #4 § The final scene shows Pietro finding Grazia in the water. The water can symbolize the womb because it can be considered the rebirth of Grazia; Pietro grabs her by the head to bring her above water, just like a baby being born. § The very last shot is filmed below the characters and shows everyone treading water surrounding Grazia. This symbolizes sexual ( or gender) neutrality because you can’t distinguish the sex of the person by his or her legs. There is essentially a sexual balance because of this and there is a final feeling of resolution at the end of the movie. Ø Question #5 § Translated in English, Respiro means “I breathe” in Italian. The significance of this title can mean that birds and fish (men and women) each breathe differently. Birds need to be on land to survive and fish need to be underwater. This symbolizes the difference of male and female roles in this society. § Also, Respiro can mean that you need to breathe some things in and exhale some things out. There needs to be a balance between men and women.
At the end of class, we viewed the film’s trailer. We noticed that there were hardly any words, but Grazia’s melody played as the soundtrack. This is significant because it leaves some mystery for the film and tempts the viewer of the trailer to see the movie. It doesn’t give away the ending and keeps us interested. Therefore, Will gave the trailer two thumbs up, and class came to an end.
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