This lecture aims to illustrate the methodologies and possibilities of a cultural-historical methodology for the investigation of the role of women in the Italian cinema industry. In the first part, it analyzes the state of the art of Italian production studies, which lack of a systemic approach which combines empirical research (with both qualitative and quantitative methodologies) with cultural-history and gender studies, as international research already does. This overview includes an historical reading, which specifically focuses on a few investigations carried out in the 1970s in the wake of the reflections of the Italian feminist movement on women’s creativity and labour.
In the second part I will illustrate two case studies I’ve carried out: one based on archival research – the study of the production manager Mara Blasetti’s archive, held at the Cineteca di Bologna; the second based on interviews and the study of professional manuals, which allowed me to study the feminization of the profession of the film editor.
10/04/2019 ore 17 - Aula A, Via dei Volsci 122
This lecture aims to illustrate the methodologies and possibilities of a cultural-historical methodology for the investigation of the role of women in the Italian cinema industry.