Author: transa
by Sarah Tran
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Challenging the Patriarchy
Women throughout history have been defined by their reproductive system. Furthermore, they are reduced to roles such as housewives, nurturer, and sexual creatures. Due to this, there has long been a stereotype that puts women under men, thus, creating the patriarchy and the stigma that women are incapable. These roles and stereotypes are emphasized everywhere, especially in films. It then becomes hard for women in the film industry to gain recognition even though there has been an increase in women directors. Specifically in the Italian film industry, “however, women filmmakers are increasingly changing the landscape of global cinema, through works that challenge both traditional gender roles and dominant cinematic genre models” (Carlorosi 175). Susanna Nicchiarelli is an example of a woman who is challenging this stereotype. Nicchiarelli in her films she is challenging the standards imposed by society for women by demonstrating the truths in her films. In her films, she uses imperfections to drive the story and to show the truths of women and their lives. It is unlike the other films that typically focus on the male gaze, sexualized women, and roles imposed by the patriarchy.
In Susanna Nicchiarelli’s Cosmonaut (2009) the opening scene shows Luciana and the other children around her age at a church. They are preparing to walk down the aisles to the priest for their first communion. In this opening scene, Luciana and Fiorella are juxtaposed where Luciana is shown frowning and unhappy and Fiorella is shown smiling and even saying “this is the best day of my life!” The close up of their face emphasizes their unhappiness and happiness. It also allows the audience to resonate with either girl’s emotions for the occasion, whether they are uninterested or interested in this typical Catholic tradition. They then begin to walk and Luciana has an epiphany and begins to walk in the opposite direction of the group. Once she reaches the other end of the church she blows out the candle and finally smiles. It is at this moment that Luciana goes against the standards of society and turns away from it. The blown out candle symbolizes the end of Luciana following these imposed society standards, beginning with religion where she will follow her own beliefs. Furthermore, she exits the building and begins to take off her accessories from communion, symbolizing the process of rejection and rebellion.
Once, Luciana is home and taking off the dress in the bathroom she communicates with her mother through closed doors. The camera goes back and forth between the mother who is trying so hard to get her to go back to communion and the daughter who is clearly done with it. Her mother tells her she looks lovely and still has time to go back. However, Luciana objects her mother and tells her “over my dead body,” clearly taking her stance. Her mother than questions why she is doing this and Luciana replies with a confident stance and volume “because I am a communist!” This scene between Luciana and her mother shows the two different types of women in society. The one who follows the standards and the one who defies it. Luciana’s mother tries to coerce Luciana to go back to the communion by commenting on her looks. This trope is typically associated with women and how their looks matter to them and effects what they do. However, Luciana is unlike the typical women who follow society’s standards and is unphased by this comment because she continues to undress and oppose her mother. Later, in the movie, as Luciana continues to follow her beliefs and create her identity she begins to drift away from her mother.
After an eventful night out, Luciana gets home late and is met by her mother. Before her mother can even speak her stepfather looms behind her and interrogates Luciana and point out how late it is. Throughout this whole conversation, her mother is only able to say a few words or none at all before her stepfather steps in. Luciana is informed that her brother was injured and it was her fault for not being there with him and instead always with her “big fat boyfriend.” Luciana then comments back, “at least he’s not a lousy fascist like you.” The stepfather then comes completely into the room and slaps Luciana and Luciana looks at her mother and says “you’re happy now, aren’t you?” This scene is very important because it defines the patriarchy seen in a typical family and the consequences of opposing it. Luciana’s mother is shown timid with her arms crossed or hugging one arm while the stepfather looms over her and takes control of the conversation. As the new stepfather, he is behind the mother trying to impose his authority onto Luciana and at the same time, he manages to impose his authority over his wife and takes control of the situation although he is not completely in frame. Once Luciana crosses the line and insults the stepfather he steps into the room and into the frame and punishes her. When Lucaiana asks her mother if she is happy, Luciana is asking if this is what she wanted from the marriage and if she’s happy following the patriarchy because she has no power and has done nothing to support her daughter or stop the argument.
Then, Luciana leaves the house and the next scene shows her entering Marisa’s house. Here Luciana feels at home because she is with people who have the same beliefs as her and she looks up to Marisa and says “I want to be like you: No kids and a life dedicated to the party.” Marisa juxtaposes Luciana’s own mother which creates a bigger gap in Luciana’s relationship with her mother. Thus, Luciana and her mother juxtapose the two different systems of society where one confirms and obeys it while the other one continues to oppose it. Furthermore, in Silvia Carlorosi’s “Gy-Neology and Genealogy of a Female Filmmaker: The Case of Susanna Nicchiarelli’s Films” in Italian Motherhood on Screen she talks about how the “traditional representations of women in Italian cinema often rely on the role model of an attentive — and beautiful — mother dedicated to her family, protective of her children, and subjected to a patriarchal order” (Carlorosi 177). Luciana’s mother follows this traditional representation of women in Italian cinema well, however, Luciana challenges this representation by challenging her stepfather’s patriarchal authority. From these scenes in Susanna Nicchiarelli’s Cosmonaut, we are able to see Luciana rebelling against the standards of society and the patriarchy.
In Susanna Nicchiarelli’s next movie, Discovery at Dawn (2012) Caterina’s sense of agency and independence from men opposes the standards of society. After Caterina discovers that the old phone in her old home still rings she calls an old number to discover that her past self picks up. Once Caterina hears her own name on the other side of the phone, the camera closes up on her face, allowing the audience to see her fast-paced breathing, the shock, and the many emotions in her face. The past Caterina then asks if this is an auntie and the present Caterina uses that to her advantage and says yes. She is then able to talk to her mother, however, she is so surprised that she is unable to talk and the scene cuts to the past event where the family goes to the university. This is the beginning of Caterina’s use of the phone to try and solve the disappearance of her father. After she finds out she is able to disguise herself as auntie to obtain information from her past self, Caterina sets off on her own to solve the mystery.
Later, with the help of her past self, Caterina is able to see what was inside the briefcase that her father was so worried about. In the suitcase was a newspaper of the woman he was having an affair with. From this clue, Caterina finds out where this woman is and goes to her. She waits outside and once she sees the woman she confronts her and interrogates her asking what happened to her father. She further pushes and blames her for what happened to her father and lays out an alibi. However, she does not succeed in getting what she wanted, instead, the woman tells her good luck when Caterina says “I’ll find proof” and “you’ll be sentenced for what you did to my father.” This scene shows Caterina’s dedication in trying to find out what happened to her father, where, like a detective, Caterina goes to the woman her father had an affair with and tries to corner her into confessing by proposing an alibi. Caterina does this whole investigation on her own with the help of Marco who is her father’s friend’s son. Caterina does not rely on her boyfriend and even disregards him so she could figure out this case. She does not listen to her sister when she tells her to leave it be. Furthermore, Caterina acts on her own accord.
After finding out her sister Barbara hid the briefcase Caterina discovers the passport and ticket her father hid in the briefcase. At this moment Caterina solves the mystery and confronts her sister Barbara about what she had done. After this scene, Caterina picks up the phone one last time and instructs the past Caterina to tell Barbara to get her father’s suitcase and tell her mother about the double lining that hid his passport and ticket. Caterina also tells past Caterina to tell her mother about the woman they saw her father with. Caterina is only able to tell past Catrina about this because she had revealed who she is. This last scene still shows Caterina in charge, even though her sister is there. Caterina is the one who tells the past Caterina what to do. Also, the scenes of the past show Caterina in charge as well, where Caterina is the one answering the phone and in charge of Barbara. Her agency has always been there. Just like in Cosmonaut they both have a strong stance since the beginning of their age. These films flow so well that the audience gets really encaptured into the story and rather than the cinematic techniques. The technique that helps the story move is the flashbacks of the past and the scenes with the past. It helps to put the plot into motion that the audience is able to see. After Caterina and Barbara solve the mystery about their dad, they head out to the beach and this scene is simultaneous with the past. In Susanna Scarparo’s “A New Dawn on the Past: Rethinking the ‘Years of Lead’ through a Female-Centred Cinematic Narrative” in Modern Italy she explains this scene in comparison to the title where “they literally stand with their mother on the beach, with their back to the holiday house, as they welcome the new day and admire a new dawn” (Scarparo 193). Scarparo points out that they are able to see a new day and new dawn which shows how they have overcome their grief about their father and are now able to move forward. Caterina on her own account was able to bring her mother and sister to equilibrium and freed them from grief. Her agency and independence helped her go against the typical roles that are assumed for women, where they are to be a housewife, timid, and obedient. Instead, in this movie Caterina takes charge and investigates her life, her new role is a detective and she solves the mystery in the end.
Finally, in Susanna Nicchiarelli’s newest movie, Nico 1988 (2017), Nico has agency and complete autonomy over her life. This movie of Nico a real-life pop star shows the truth about a pop star’s life. In the first radio interview, we see with Nico, the host describes her as a “femme fatale” and Nico immediately shuts the description down and tells him she doesn’t like it. They then continue the talk and Nico answers truthfully and honestly where she says Manchester reminds her of the ruins of Berlin after the war. Furthermore, she talks about taking a lot of LSD on live radio, which truly indicates how much she does not care. This scene is just of Nico and a microphone in a booth, which emphasizes the radio interview. Furthermore, the scene is shot from head to waist which allows us to see Nico’s fidgeting and uneasiness which indicates a withdrawal from drugs or her uncomfortableness. This scene shows the true thoughts and actions of a pop star from the very start. It immediately opposes the standards of society for a pop star. The film shows Nico’s unattractive side and becomes vulnerable which allows the audience to resonate and empathize with Nico.
Later on, Nico is at a hotel preparing for her performance when she asks Richard “am I ugly?” and he responds “yeah, really.” In response to Richard Nico says, “good. I wasn’t happy when I was beautiful.” This scene is very powerful because it shows how beauty, the standard for women, is not what makes Nico happy. She is against the standard for women and instead hopes the opposite will make her happy. The lifestyle of a beautiful pop star who was at her highest was not Nico’s best part in life. Furthermore, in this scene, Nico finishes up preparing by shooting up in her ankle while Richard is there, and she doesn’t care that he is. This shows how much autonomy she has without a worry about the public’s judgment. It leaves Nico vulnerable yet, powerful. She further asserts this in a final interview when she talks about her selectiveness where she says “I don’t need everybody to like me, I don’t care.” This scene shows the true Nico who is unlike the typical pop star who has to worry about whether or not their audience likes them. Instead, Nico is content with being who she is now and can care less about what people have to say about her and is living her life how she wants to. In the end, Nico finds happiness in being clean of drugs and reunited with her son. Unlike the other two films, there is no patriarchy in this film because Nico is always in control of herself and does whatever she likes with no worries about the consequences.
Susanna Nicchiarelli’s focus on imperfections and the reality of the women’s lives help break the stereotype that women are dependent on men. Although each film is different, they all show women in three different age groups that overcome the systematic oppression caused by men. Susanna is among few women filmmakers who innovatively have “strong figures of women who counteract the established patriarchal and male-dominated social relationships” (Carlorosi 176). These strong female figures challenge what society has imposed on women and bring to light the true strengths of women. In Danielle Hipkins “Why Italian Film Studies Needs A Second Take on Gender” in Italian Studies, she mentions how it is important to open dialogue about Italian feminism and that we “need to reconsider Italy’s cinematic past, to revisit the ways in which women played a role in its formation, beyond the tired question of their beautiful curves, to consider the representation of both men and women in the light of a rich body of theory” (Hipkins 234). Once we are able to break this stigma placed on women we will be able to fully appreciate what women are capable of.
Works Cited
Carlorosi, Silvia. “Gy-Neology and Genealogy of a Female Filmmaker: The Case of Susanna Nicchiarelli’s Films.” Italian Motherhood on Screen, edited by Giovanna Faleschini Lerner and Maria Elena D’Amelio, Palgrave McMillan, 2017, pp. 175–194.
Cosmonaut. Directed by Susanna Nicchiarelli, Filmswelike, 2009.
Discovery at Dawn. Directed by Susanna Nicchiarelli, Fandango 2012.
Hipkins, Danielle. “Why Italian Film Studies Needs A Second Take on Gender.” Italian Studies, vol. 63, no. 2, Oct. 2008, pp. 213–234.
Nico, 1988. Directed by Susanna Nicchiarelli, Magnolia Pictures, 2017.
Scarparo, Susanna. “A New Dawn on the Past: Rethinking the ‘Years of Lead’ through a Female-Centred Cinematic Narrative.” Modern Italy, vol. 22, no. 2, May 2017, pp. 183–196.
Tran, Sarah et al. Personal Interview with Susanna Nicchiarelli. 3 April 2019.