Narrating History

Abstract: In 1972, Italian director Franco Zeffirelli released Brother Sun, Sister Moon, a film about the early years of St. Francis. While it was not the first film to be made about his life, this image of the saint was undoubtedly unique; Zeffirelli’s Francis, in his speech, mannerisms, appearance, and teachings, closely resembled the “hippie.” Such a representation does seem to align with aspects of the historical life of Francis but becomes worth examining when considering the political life of the director, a lifelong Christian Democrat who held a seat in the Senate as a member of the right-wing party Forza Italia in the 1990s. How does a religious and conservative Zeffirelli make a film that equates a saint to the “hippies” around him? This paper seeks to explore these tensions by considering the personal history of the director, the production history of the film, and the political history of Western Europe during the time of production. This paper will argue that Brother Sun, Sister Moon is not a celebration of the student-led counterculture movement but rather an appeal on behalf of the director to seek alternative and more peaceful means of political expression that the establishment can more easily control.

Author Bio: Michael Poling is a junior at NYU majoring in Philosophy and minoring in Italian and Psychoanalysis & the Humanities. His academic interests include Early Modern Philosophy, Continental Philosophy, Aesthetics, Film & Media Theory, and Psychoanalysis. He studied abroad at the NYU campus in Florence, Italy, and is particularly interested in the Italian cinematic tradition. After graduation, he hopes to attend graduate school to study philosophy further.

Abstract: This research project concentrates on the impact and the significance of oral history in Italy, particularly highlighting fascist Italy. Oral history is passed on by the act of storytelling. This can be through family members transferring their stories onto generations or friends or acquaintances sharing their view of events that eventually reach other listeners. The ritual of storytelling is unique due to the fact that each individual narrating the story has their own perspective of the events they witnessed or experienced and it may differ from others who experienced the same historical events. Oral story telling allows a person the opportunity to speak their truth. This is especially significant to those individuals who could not express their frustration or disagreement of the treatment they endured in fascist Italy. The works of Alessandro Portelli and Luisa Passerini have been utilized to understand and compare and contrast some testimonies of the same events. Psychological trauma, time, strong personal views, and the influence of others can alter a person’s memory, either erasing particular events or forming false memories.

Author Bio: Leena Haider is currently a junior studying International Relations at CAS. She is studying Italian language and culture as part of her language and regional specification requirement for her major. She has a strong interest in political and social research, some of which she have done and presented at other colleges like University of California Berkeley (2020), Stanford University (2022), and John Hopkins University (2022).

Abstract: When Ermanno Olmi’s The Tree of Wooden Clogs won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 1978, many in Italy’s Leftist intellectual circles voiced their displeasure. They criticized Olmi’s epic, largely plotless depiction of Italy at the end of the 19th century for glorifying the existing system of production—quasi-feudal exploitation. In this project, I argue that this over-rehearsed, unspecific critique badly misunderstands the political nature of Olmi’s film. I first do this by pointing out where and how their imprecise critiques misread the specifics of his film. Then I propose that a more fruitful analysis should reconceive Wooden Clogs not as an ideological film but as a subversive work of translation. The text? History—with a big “H”. By focusing on the ultra-specific, Olmi seeks to translate History into history. He takes large, smoothed-over historical narratives (e.g. the Renaissance, the Risorgimento, socialist resistance, etc.) which promise a specific movement from past through present and into future and he stills them. This translation renders History unrecognizable, unassimilable, and spectacularly real. Finally, I argue that it is in this form—raw, unmarked, fecund—that history has the potential to be most subversive.

Author Bio: Mitchell Bedows (BA ’22) is a senior at Gallatin where he is studying chaos through math, history, and philosophy. He is interested in learning about the limits of our knowledge—how we try to build systems of understanding out of chaos and when they break down back into chaos. After he graduates, he will be pursuing an advanced degree in history and political philosophy.