The analysis that this thesis undertakes focuses on a film genre that was always considered as second level: the B movies. This genre was born at the beginning of the 30s - even though it saw its major diffusion between the 50s and the 60s - as a means for the industry of counteracting the decrease in the number of people going to the movies. It was immediately characterized as a low-cost and low-quality film genre, defined in the collective imagination by its paradoxical themes and the rough production means. The analysis of this kind of movies, though, reveals interesting social problematics that characterized the USA during the cold war years. Scratching their surface, it becomes apparent how B movies were a means of reflecting about the status of the American citizen in their time, thanks to an expert mix of reality and fantasy. By exploiting fears and phobias, nightmares and paranoia, these movies fixed the social net of the nation in films that, in some occasions, became cult and inspired entire new genres. We will see how, through the language of B movies, imagination and history melt with each other: wars, atomic phobias and political tensions are translated into movies that, analyzed from a communication point of view, perfectly describe their era. This thesis aims at being a sociological and historical analysis of the American society, which is read through the themes and the techniques that are typical of this genre. Communication will be the thread of this analysis: by investigating their communicative methods, their language and their narrative models, it will be possible to decipher these films that, despite their seeming simplicity, reveal themselves as a mirror of the social and historical problems of their years.
L’indagine che questa tesi si propone di perseguire ruota attorno ad un genere cinematografico da sempre considerato di secondo livello: i B movie. Questo genere nacque alla fine degli anni Trenta - sebben si diffuse principalmente tra gli anni Cinquanta e Sessanta - allo scopo di contrastare la bassa affluenza di spettatori nelle sale cinematografiche. Si contraddistinse quindi sin da subito come un genere di film a basso costo e di dubbia qualità, definito nell'immaginario collettivo dai propri temi paradossali e dagli approssimativi mezzi utilizzati. L’ analisi di questo tipo di cinema rivela però interessanti problematiche di tipo sociologico che attraversarono l’America negli anni della guerra fredda. Scavando la superficie, ci si rende conto che i B movie cercarono principalmente di riflettere sullo status del cittadino americano del proprio tempo attraverso un sapiente miscuglio di realtà e fantasia. Toccando paure e fobie, incubi e paranoie, questi film cristallizzarono perfettamente il tessuto sociale della nazione in pellicole che, in alcuni casi, diventarono cult ed ispirazione per interi nuovi generi. Vedremo quindi come, attraverso il linguaggio dei B movie, cinema e storia arrivino a fondersi e a confondersi: guerre, paure atomiche, tensioni politiche si traducono in pellicole che, analizzate dal punto di vista della comunicazione, descrivono perfettamente la propria epoca. Questa tesi vuole essere quindi un’analisi sociologica, storica e culturale della società americana letta attraverso i temi e le tecniche che caratterizzano questo genere. La comunicazione sarà il filo conduttore di questa analisi: attraverso l’indagine dei modi comunicativi, dei linguaggi e dei modelli narrativi, si arriverà a decifrare queste pellicole che, nonostante una apparente semplicità, si rivelano specchio delle problematiche storiche e sociali dei propri anni.
Mostri, alieni, pin-up : i nostri antenati. Un nuovo modo di vedere la realtà, attraverso il cinema di serie B
PUCCI, MARTA
2011/2012
Abstract
The analysis that this thesis undertakes focuses on a film genre that was always considered as second level: the B movies. This genre was born at the beginning of the 30s - even though it saw its major diffusion between the 50s and the 60s - as a means for the industry of counteracting the decrease in the number of people going to the movies. It was immediately characterized as a low-cost and low-quality film genre, defined in the collective imagination by its paradoxical themes and the rough production means. The analysis of this kind of movies, though, reveals interesting social problematics that characterized the USA during the cold war years. Scratching their surface, it becomes apparent how B movies were a means of reflecting about the status of the American citizen in their time, thanks to an expert mix of reality and fantasy. By exploiting fears and phobias, nightmares and paranoia, these movies fixed the social net of the nation in films that, in some occasions, became cult and inspired entire new genres. We will see how, through the language of B movies, imagination and history melt with each other: wars, atomic phobias and political tensions are translated into movies that, analyzed from a communication point of view, perfectly describe their era. This thesis aims at being a sociological and historical analysis of the American society, which is read through the themes and the techniques that are typical of this genre. Communication will be the thread of this analysis: by investigating their communicative methods, their language and their narrative models, it will be possible to decipher these films that, despite their seeming simplicity, reveal themselves as a mirror of the social and historical problems of their years.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/61641