1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910464218303321

Autore

Alfano Barbara

Titolo

The mirage of America in contemporary Italian literature and film / / Barbara Alfano

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Toronto, [Ontario] ; ; Buffalo, [New York] ; ; London, [England] : , : University of Toronto Press, , 2013

©2013

ISBN

1-4426-9911-6

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (199 p.)

Collana

Toronto Italian Studies

Disciplina

853.009/3273

Soggetti

Italian fiction - 20th century - History and criticism

Italian fiction - 21st century - History and criticism

Italian literature - American influences

Motion pictures - Italy - History and criticism

Motion pictures, Italian - History and criticism

Electronic books.

United States In literature

United States In motion pictures

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1. Wandering Subjects -- 2. America Ubiqua -- 3. On a Trip to America: The "I" Travels -- 4. American Arcadia -- 5. Historicizing the Dream: A Documented Eye on America -- Conclusion -- Notes -- Works Cited -- Index of Names and Titles

Sommario/riassunto

The Mirage of America in Contemporary Italian Literature and Film explores the use of images associated with the United States in Italian novels and films released between the 1980s and the 2000s. In this study, Barbara Alfano looks at the ways in which the individuals portrayed in these works - and the intellectuals who created them - confront the cultural construct of the American myth. As Alfano demonstrates, this myth is an integral part of Italians' discourse to define themselves culturally - in essence, Italian intellectuals talk about America often for the purpose of talking about Italy.The book draws



attention to the importance of Italian literature and film as explorations of an individual's ethics, and to how these productions allow for functioning across cultures. It thus differentiates itself from other studies on the subject that aim at establishing the relevance and influence of American culture on Italian twentieth-century artistic representations.