Università Roma Tre

From the origins, cinema has been inspired by historical contents and events for its productions. The public has always shown keen curiosity and interest in historical events narrated on the screen. The course aims to show how cinema can be: a source for historical knowledge, an instrument to tell the past and an agent of history. Cinema is a source for the historical knowledge of the present in which the film has been shot and processed: it provides us with information on ideas and values of the producing society.

On the other hand, when we talk about cinema as an instrument to narrate the past, we refer to the public use of history, a field in which historians have to compete with other professional figures.
Finally, cinema can be considered an agent of history when studying its capability to influence and construct behaviours, trends, passions and identities.
Understanding the various languages and representations can be an essential tool for historians working in the field of cultural and social history interested in the transmission of values, ideas and representations of the historical past of different eras.

The course focuses on representation on cinema and television and in particular on the following topic: “Times of crisis. War, violence and society ".
War and violence are phenomena that goes along with human societies throughout their own development, therefore the course questions the specific aspects of representations and imagery linked to different eras. A conspicuous number of films will be examined and each student will be able to identify their own path by selecting from those indicated, ten films of their own interest.
To this end, the following films and products for television will be analysed; students will have to see and analyse 10 of the following films.
The teaching is organised in seminars, the students will work in teams by deepening topics, readings and ideas related to the films indicated and to a bibliography agreed with the teacher.

Antiquity
• R. Scott, Gladiator (2000)
• W. Petersen, Troy (2004)
• M. Rovere, The First King (2019)

Middle Age
• M. Gibson, Braveheart (1995)
• R. Scott, Kingdom of Heaven (2005)
• L. Bresson, The Trial of Joan of Arc (1962)
• M. Bellocchio, Enrico IV (1984)


Early modern period
• W. Herzog, Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972)
• S. Kubrick, Barry Lyndon (1975)
• R. Joffé, The Mission (1986)
• R. Emmerich, The Patriot (2000)
• P. Weir, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2004)
• S. McQueen, 12 Years a Slave (2013)
• M. Scorsese, Silence (2016)

Late modern period and Contemporary history
• L. Comencini, Everybody Go Home (1960)
• N. Loy, The Four Days of Naples (1962)
• F. Ford Coppola, Apocalypse now (1979)
• C. Nolan, Dunkirk (2017)
• J. Wright, Darkest Hour (2018)
• S. Mendes, 1917 (2019)

Readings for the exam:

A) Both the books:

• Cortini L. (a cura di), Le fonti audiovisive per la storia e la didattica, Effigi, Arcidosso, 2014, pp. 39-60; 97-118
• A. Scurati, Guerra. Narrazioni e culture nella tradizione occidentale, Donzelli, Roma 2003.

B) One book of your choice between:

• Iaccio P., Cinema e storia. Percorsi, immagini, testimonianze, Liguori, Napoli 2000
• Miro Gori G. (a cura di), La storia al cinema. Ricostruzione del passato e interpretazione del presente, Bulzoni, Roma, 1994
• Ortoleva P., Cinema e storia. Scene dal passato, Loescher, Torino, 1991
• Sorlin P., I figli di Nadar, Einaudi, Torino, 2000
• Munslow A., Narrative and History, Palgrave Macmillan, Houndmills, 2007

For historical contextualization, it is recommended reading one of the following texts (available at public libraries), to which can be added other texts chosen by the student:

• Cicognetti L., Servetti L. (a cura di), Sorlin P. (a cura di), La guerra in televisione. I conflitti moderni tra cronaca e storia, Bologna-Venezia, Istituto storico Parri per l’Emilia Romagna-Marsilio 2003.
• Feci S., Schettini L. (a cura di), La violenza contro le donne nella storia: contesti, linguaggi, politiche del diritto (secoli 15.-21.), Roma, Viella, 2017
• Gozzini G., P. Masciullo (a cura di), La guerra delle immagini nel 21. secolo: cinema, televisione e web, Soveria Mannelli : Rubettino, 2020 (Fa parte di: Cinema e storia : rivista di studi interdisciplinari)
• Gruzinski S., La guerra delle immagini. Da Cristoforo Colombo a Blade Runner, SugarCo, 1991
• Lavenia V., Il catechismo dei soldati: guerra e cura d'anime in età moderna, Bologna, EDB, 2014
• Livi Bacci M., Conquista. La distruzione degli indios americani, Bologna, Società editrice il Mulino, 2005
• Pach C., "The War on Television: TV News, the Johnson Administration, and Vietnam," in A Companion to the Vietnam War, Blackwell Publishers, 2002
• Pellizzari P. (a cura di), Le armi e i cavalieri: la guerra e i suoi simboli dal Medioevo all'età moderna: atti della Giornata di studi, Torino, 12 febbraio 2018, Alessandria, Edizioni dell'Orso, 2018
• Todorov T., La conquista dell'America: il problema dell'altro, Torino, Einaudi, 2014
• Vaccaro L. (a cura di), L' Europa e l'evangelizzazione delle Indie Orientali, Milano, Centro ambrosiano, 2005.


Non-attending students must agree a program with the teacher by sending an email to: didattica.merluzzi@gmail.com