Nights of Cabiria premiered in 1957, years after the end of
the reign of Benito Mussolini and the reign of Italian fascism. The war left
Italy in a post-war state. We see this during the movie, especially through the
poor, who have taken a hard hit after the war due to the dictatorship of the
Catholic Church and the corrupt Italian Government. However, there is hope for
Italy now to revive and rebuild. We see this hope through the main character of
the movie, Cabiria. She is the perfect example of Italy and what they are going
through. Both Cabria and Italy have to hope that they can rise through any
troubles that they may have to defeat in order to rise above.
For Cabiria, her struggles came from external sources. She
was once an innocent, genuinely happy girl when she was young. However, since
then, there were many negative influences in her life that jeopardized that. We
are able to see the young, beautiful girl that Cabirira speaks of during the
magic show when she is vulnerable, innocent, and in love while in a trance. During
the scene that Cabiria and Oscar are eating dinner after they have agreed to be
married, Cabiria speaks of the time that she first began to prostitute. Of
course, she never actually tells Oscar what it is exactly that she was doing,
but we (the audience) are aware of what she is referring to. She says that she
was 15 with long dark hair down her back when her mother made her go work
because they were so poor. I think this is the first instance that Cabiria is
taken advantage of, in this case by her mother.
Later in life, we meet Cabiria as a happy, hopeful woman. In
the first scene, however, we witness the first instance of a man taking
advantage her. Her boyfriend catches her completely off guard and pushes her
into water and steals her money and her purse. The next instance we see is when
Cabiria runs into Alberto Lazzari, who is breaking up with his girlfriend.
Afterwards, he tells Cabiria to get into his car. Even though it is clear to me
that he is using her, she is ignorant and falls for his charm and goes with
him. Later that night, at Alberto’s house, his girlfriend comes back and he
instantly shoves Cabiria to hide into the bathroom for the rest of the night,
obviously not caring about her. These examples show us how even though Cabiria
is put down again and again by people she cares about, she is able to somehow
rise above them and their tactics and shows us once again how hopeful she is
through her beautiful smiles.
Italy and their upcoming generation needed the hope of
people like Cabiria to come out of their war-stricken times on top. We see other
people like her throughout the movie like the little boys who fearlessly jump
into the water to save her at the beginning of the film. Through Cabiria, we
see how it is possible to stay positive and hopeful even during times of
trouble. It is that specific idea that will help build Italy back up again
post-war.
---Maggie Schuh
I enjoyed reading your post; especially because of the link you made between Cabiria and post-war Italy. The movie is about the inner strength and will of this woman to carry on despite all the tear downs she faces. To go along with what you are saying, this is much of what we are seeing in the city itself. In the beginning we see Cabiria on the bank of a flowing river before she is, actually quite maliciously, assaulted. The assault sends her into the river and her purse is taken by her boyfriend. After she is saved we see a Cabiria that surprised me even though I did not yet know the character. She comes to and we see a fire build up into this little woman that can’t believe what just happened to her. However, she dusts herself off and burns everything associated with Giorgio and moves on; why she doesn’t sell it all for the money I still don’t understand, but I guess burning the clothes is perhaps more of a metaphor for the relationship. It almost hurt me a little when she let herself get taken away by the charm and mere celebrity of Lazzari but, that’s part of the story of Cabiria; she puts her heart out in harm’s way just hoping that someone will treat it with kindness. I did enjoy however the scene of them too dancing and how she goes off on her own for a second with a giant smile on her face just reveling in the time she is spending with this famous man. My favorite part of the movie is the final shot and the beauty of it. We see a woman suffering possibly the worst tear down of her life walking down a street after just bawling her eyes out with a lone mascara streak down her cheek. As we keep seeing her we witness a sort of wave of hope flush into her face and a smile begins to appear, and then she locks eyes with us and gives us one more smile sort of saying, ‘I’ll be okay’, and I think that message speaks also to the post-war Italy.
ReplyDeleteGroup 2
Maggie’s analysis of the film, Night of Cabiria, was very eye-opening for me. After reading her post, I was able to clearly link Cabiria’s life with similar events during post-war Italy at the time. There were many connections that could be made between the situations that Cabiria was doing through that reflected Italians as a whole. Post-war Italy was left with very little hope or optimism about their future. Even though there were those promising moments, they were short-lived and quickly shattered. In the film, Cabiria endures two similar cases of this short-lived hope. At the beginning of the film, when Cabiria and her boyfriend are standing out by the sea, their happiness seems stable and effortless. However, the situation quickly turns for the worse when Cabiria’s boyfriend steals her possessions and leaves her alone to nearly drown in the ocean. Similarly, at the end of the film, Cabiria and Oscar stand atop a high peak as if to signify their spirits. Cabiria has high hopes about her future, but her happiness is quickly shattered when she realizes Oscar’s true intentions. Oscar strips Cabiria of her money and possessions. Once again, she is left alone and hopeless. Throughout this film, Cabiria goes through many ups and downs as she struggles to find stability and security. I feel like the events in Cabiria’s life can easily be compared to others who lived in post-war Italy at the time. Fellini leaves the viewers with a glimpse into the future as Cabiria is caught smiling at the end of the film. Viewers are encouraged to remain hopeful for those who suffered during this time period.
ReplyDeleteDanielle Krohn