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July 9, 2001 At
1:15pm Monday, Dr. Reimer began class by having the students get into
groups of four to discuss La Vita e bella based on the assignment
questions. After the groups discussed the answers, each group gave their
answers to the questions. The answers are as follows: 1.
Benigni derives some of his humor by alluding to historical figures,
situations,
and events. Identify as many of these as you can and in a a.
Mother Mary- the humor occurs when Guido looks up into the sky and asks
Mother Mary for the key and asks how long before he and Dora can have
ice cream. This is Guido's way of flirting and humoring Dora. b.
Adolph and Benito- this is humorous because these are the names that the
tailor yelled out to his kids when they were slapping and hitting each
other. These names, in particular, were used because Hitler and Benito
hated fought each other as well. c.
Nazi Salute- the humor comes in as the car was out of control. Guido and
friend almost ran over the man who gave them a Nazi salute. d.
Robin Hood- horses name; unknown humor e.
Jewish concentration camp-Guido humors his son the whole time they are
at the camp as a way of keeping his son non-frightened. f.
Prince and Princess fable and white horse- during the first half of the
movie, the plot was as lovely as a fairytale. Guido uses constant
flirtatious humor to coax his princess. g.
"Garibaldi Slept Here"- Geribaldi fought for the Italian
independence. h.
Charles Chaplin- Guido uses a cane behind his back to raise his hat.
This is humorous because Guido tries to make you think he is actually
doing a magic trick. i.
Ethiopian Cake- Italy defeated Ethiopia and the humor evolved when the
cake was made up of an ostrich and the ostrich egg once again falls on
Dora's fiancée. 2.
Benigni uses whimsy, slapstick, situations, irony and language to make
us laugh. Identify one example of each, describe, and analyze why we
laugh. a.
Whimsical situations include the painted green horse, which is
recognized as sort of magical. Next, the steering wheel and red pillow
that is created into an umbrella and the red carpet that is unrolled is
also whimsical. This fanciful gesture of keeping Dora from getting wet
and walking her down the red carpet shows that Guido is pretending he is
escorting the princess. b.
Slapstick occurs when Guido is shocked to see that Dora is getting
married and falls over the table behind him and breaks the dishes. Also,
slapstick is used when Dora falls out of the window and lands in a
haystack. A bee stings her and Guido says she will die if he doesn't get
the poison out, so he tries to suck on her leg. Finally, slapstick
occurs when "Adolph and Benito" slap and hit each other and
the linens fall to the floor. c.
Why do we laugh at this? We (the audience) are in on the joke but the
characters are not. Superiority is part of the humor. For example, Guido
says, "I wish I had a dry hat and a man walks by so Guido steals
the hat. We have superior distance by which we can laugh at. 3. What differences are there between the first and second hour
of movie? a.
Love story in first half vs. Father/son survival story in the second
hour b.
Colors in the first half are red, green and white colors (Italian flag
colors) vs. dark and washed out German colors such as in the Jewish
concentration camp. c.
Guido's humor in first half vs. Guido's breaking point in the second
hour. d.
Lighting- Last color we see is Dora's red dress during the scene where
she is walking off the train. After
discussing La Vita e bella, Dr. Riemer showed movie clips that were
compared to Benigni's style: a.
Open City, directed by realist, Roberto Rossellini in 1945, was the
first movie of the Italian Neo-Realism. (The Danish movement presently
in vogue, Dogma '95, is bringing back some of the same ideas). The movie
deals with the Catholics and the Communists in fighting the German Nazi
party in Rome. Rossellini divides Fascist's from Nazi's and Italians vs.
Germans. The camera documented reality into fiction because of
Rossellini's theory of realism. In the scene watched in class, the
torturous screams and the wounds on the communist partisan seemed very
realistic. b.
The Garden of the Finzi-Continis, directed by realist, Vittoria De Sica
in 1972. De Sica didn't feel as though Mosollini defended the Jews and
this is what brought about this film. In the scene watched in class,
deals with the exportation of Italian Jews to Nazi Germany. c.
Seven Beauties ,directed by feminist, Lina Wertmuller in 1976 show how
the Italians were reluctant to accept what happened to the Jews. Prison
costumes, body heaped over body and the barbed wire fence were all
symbolic representations of the Jewish prisoners.
The scenery looked like hell and was similar to Dante's Inferno.
Understanding the cultural message through out this film was necessary
to interpret the film. d.
Night of Shooting Stars, directed by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani in 1982
took place away from the Holocaust and back in Italy.
This film is about a small Italian group who fights against the
Fascist requiem.
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