Column | Giallo filmmaking, Hollywood and women – The Pitt News
Opinions
Column | Giallo filmmaking, Hollywood and women
Remember in the 90s and 2000s when chick flicks wereat their peak? Films like “The Devil Wears Prada,” “Legally Blonde,” “Confessions of a Shopaholic” and more brought some fresh fun to the silver screen. This evolved in the 2010s with female-led movies such as “The Hunger Games” and “Little Women,”and TV shows like “Glow” and “Fleabag.” Reasonably, one would expect this progression in feminist media to follow into the 2020s — right? Sadly, I don’t know if Hollywood is ready for the trend to continue.
2020s Hollywood, especially in the last two years, has had a big problem — women in recent films have not been given the three-dimensionality they deserve. Examples that come to mind include the leads from “Barbie,” “The Devil Wears Prada 2” and “The Social Reckoning.” Why is this the case? I believe thecurrent administrationand therise of conservatismhave finally seeped into the entertainment industry and it is high time that film studios take a page out of one of my favorite cinematic movements in the last century — Italy’s midcentury giallo craze — and elevate the stories they tell for women.
The Italian horror-thriller genre, giallo — modelled after the book genre of the same name that rose to prominence in the 1960s — is Italy’s first true film movement that brought women’s stories to the forefront. Historically, Italian filmmaking is no stranger to reducing female characters to love interests, mothers and grandmothers. While taking an Italian cinema class last semester, I watched films from the 20th century through the present, and all the movies before “Deep Red” — the giallo film we watched — insisted on some degree of helpless suffering from its female characters. In older examples of films, prominent female characters like neorealism’s Pina from “Rome Open City” would command the screen — only to be killed scenes later and eventually become inconsequential to the larger story. It was almost routine to disregard or cause tragedy to any woman who tried to make a mark onscreen.
It wasn’t until the giallo movement that women in these films got complex and truly sympathetic roles in Italian film. This transition was empowering not only for the characters themselves, but also for the women viewing them. Imagine going decades of only seeing yourself represented onscreen as a mother, wife or sexual prize — or sexual punishment — to an intricately written murderer who runs her own fashion house and ultimately gets the audience rooting for her in the end. How cool is that?
There was also less meaningless sexualization in the giallo movement, and when women were sexualized, it was always to bring into question larger societal issues. This sexualization confronted the previously held beliefs about women being disposable in Italian cinema, and replaced it with the reality — women are just as, if not more, valuable to society and to progress.
Giallo-style films boast unique plots and utilize their stories to create stunning imagery and symbolism. Mannequins are used in “Blood and Black Lace” as a way to showcase how the killer objectifies his victims. In “Deep Red,” the killer reveal is intertwined with comically lighthearted flashbacks of a trauma that heavily affected two suspects. While recent popular female-led films in America are still important examples of female representation, it means so much more to have strong female figures in mature films that a wide audience can appreciate than in rom-coms or coming of age films that are solely meant “for women.” Giallo films frequently spotlight darker themes and complex mysteries. Hollywood isn’t willing to take the time to cultivate beautiful stories that reflect on other aspects of the female experience, like rage and trauma, even though filmmakers were doing all this over 60 years ago.
Maybe I’m biased because I love mystery and thriller films — especially Italian ones — but I would love to see more mainstream American movies include these elements right now. Hollywood is a huge artistic force, and producing even two more of these types of movies yearly will combat a lot of recent biases. Uplifting smaller-budget films with strong female leads will also send a message to bigger studios. Now is not the time to bow down, but instead the time to share the important stories — on-screen, and with some comically fake-looking blood included too.
Isabel Hoch is a junior English Writing major who obsesses over very specific things for months at a time. If she writes an article about something, it means her friends haven’t heard her shut up about it for weeks. To get in a heated debate over something dumb (or tell her a fun secret), you can email her atirh30@pitt.edu.
Share
Published by
Tags:hollywoodItalywomen
10 hours ago
Recent Posts
- News
Pitt town hall discusses climate action plan, ways for students to get involved
On Oct. 21, a Pitt Climate Action Town Hall provided an opportunity for students to…
- Top Stories
Review | Nathan Fielder’s new film is out.
SPOILERS AHEAD Filmmaker and comedian Nathan Fielder’s highly anticipated documentary about Elizabeth Holmes entitled “You…
- News
University town hall discusses early retirement program and research funding cuts
The Chancellor’s Office held a University-wide town hall on Oct. 21 to discuss current changes…
- News
Police blotter: Oct. 15 – Oct. 21
Pitt police reported vandalisms, underage drinking and more in this week’s crime log.
- Sports
Women’s soccer check-in | Losses stack up as season nears end
Pitt women’s soccer (7-7-2) continues to have a discouraging season, having lost its last two…
- Sports
Take Five | Sports Desk makes World Series predictions
As the World Series kicks off this Friday, the Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays…
