Political Terrorism in Italy: The ‘Years of Lead’ and Cinema (1969-today)
March 14, 2022
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Abstract: 1969 marks the beginning of the violent ‘years of lead’ (anni di piombo, ca. 1969-1984). During this period, 14.000 politically motivated terrorist attacks were committed in Italy. What gave rise to this unprecedented wave of internecine violence in Italy? What were its consequences for the Italian democracy? And how did film directors reflect on this violent crisis through their work? To reply to these questions, the talk will first introduce the historical period of the anni di piombo, investigate the differences between right- and left-wing terrorism, and discuss how the Italian state and its citizens reacted to this threat. The talk will then focus on a series of key films that reflected on this period and investigate the evolution of this reflection. It will also explore how the memory of that time continues to inform Italy’s democratic identity today, and what role cinema occupies in this critical confrontation with this past. The talk will be held in English.
Speaker’s Bio: Massimiliano L. Delfino (Ph.D. Columbia University) is Assistant Professor of Instruction at Northwestern University. His research interests are post-World War II Italian political cinema and literature, and language pedagogy. He uses film theory, literary theory and critical theory to shed light on the nexus between the aesthetic and the political. He is currently working on a book manuscript that analyzes representations of terrorism in Italian films and novels of the 1970s and their relationship to the concept of “civility.” A related article on “Children, Catharsis, and the Aesthetics of Random Violence in Italian Crime Films of the 1970s” is forthcoming in an edited book project (2022). Other publications include “A Cinematic Anti-Monument against Mafia Violence: P. Diliberto’s La mafia uccide solo d’estate” published in Annali d’italianistica (2017) and “Reaffirming the Author: Gesualdo Bufalino’s Calende greche and Autofiction between Sadism and Masochism,” published in Italica (2021).
Date posted
Feb 3, 2022
Date updated
Feb 3, 2022