Cultural Context in I’m Not Scared

Below are some notes that I found useful when teaching ‘I’m Not Scared’ for the Comparative. I hope they are of some use.

I’m Not Scared (Film) directed by Gabriele SALVATORES. 

Setting: 

¢Set in fictional town of Acqua Traverse in Southern Italy.

¢Although it is fictional, it has an historical basis in real national events.

¢In first half of the twentieth century, Italy struggled with debts accrued during the two World Wars.

¢By the end, it had inherited terrible poverty and corruption was endemic. This led to political and social unrest.

¢Traditional conflict between north and south.

¢The north was seen to have the wealth, power and influence whereas the south was seen to be hostile, primitive and jealous of the north.

¢High unemployment among poorer classes.

¢In 1978, kidnappings in Italy reached an all-time peak.

Social Class

¢Filippo Carducci, is a child of the north. He lives in Milan in the northern region of Italy, which is relatively prosperous.

¢The Amitranos, the family of Michele live in the south, poor and apparently unable to improve the quality of their lives, at least by legitimate means.

¢Their houses are poorly furnished with the most basic necessities. A key moment shows people buying second-hand shoes and clothing from a mobile shop.

¢Luisa Carducci appears on television as a well-groomed, beautifully dressed woman, unlike the women of Acqua Traverse. She speaks in an educated, polished manner .

¢Refined, frail Filippo and the hardy, adventurous, dark skinned Michele.

¢Depicts a willingness of poorer people to engage in financial dealings with richer people in order to satisfy greed and envy.

¢Social class boundaries are personally irrelevant to Michele and Filippo. In the innocence of childhood, social class is a meaningless thing.

Family Life

¢Michele’s childhood is typical.

¢When Pino returns home, his children run to him with delight and are warmly embraced by him.

¢He criticises Michele’s strength ‘Christ, are your muscles made of butter?…You’re a sissy!’ But there is no sense of a desire to hurt.

Anna is loving and affectionate. She is clearly the one responsible for her children’s welfare and safety.

¢She clips Michele around the ear when he has stayed too long away from the house. Her love for Michele is beyond any doubt.

¢She begs Michele to promise her that he will leave Acqua Traverse when he grows up.

Marriage

¢Anna and Pino’s marriage seems based on love. It is passionate and expressive.  Their children are deeply cherished and loved.

¢They are struggling to give their children a better life. Their actions lead to the destruction of the family and the whole community.

Role of Women

¢They do not play a dominant role. Anna and the other women of the village are not consulted concerning the tactics of the kidnapping, although they collude in keeping it secret.

¢They don’t intervene when it is suggested that Filippo’s ears should be cut off. Their response to the news bulletin is muted and strangely out of character.

¢They have little option but to go along with whatever the men decide.

Role of Men

¢The portrayal of men is essentially very negative. The men are either brutal, hostile individuals or weak, complicit allies of the sadistic Sergio.

¢Sergio pokes ridicule at the other men, accusing them of incompetence and stupidity. A key moment s the meeting around the kitchen table in Pino’s home. Sergio tells them they have repeatedly messed up the operation.

¢‘He’s the stupidest of all’

¢‘Shut up…You’re the worst here because you think’.

¢Felice is also portrayed as a violent, insensitive thug in his treatment of Filippo, Michele and Anna.

¢Pino is brutal and vicious when he threatens Michele. ‘beat him silly’

¢They are willing to use a defenceless child in such an inhumane way to better their own lives an those of their children.

Religion

¢The inhabitants of Acqua Traverse, like the majority of Southern Italians, are Roman Catholics.

¢This is obvious in the religious statues, pictures and crucifixes which adorn their homes.

¢Contradiction between religious beliefs and immorality.

¢Could not ‘stab him [Filippo] because it is a sin.’

What is Cultural Context ?

Students struggle to write about cultural context and sometimes its because they don’t actually know what cultural context is and they get confused. I want to use this blog post to focus on what students can write about when discussing cultural context.

So what is Culture?

¢Has been defined as the ‘total way of life of a people’. It is collective rather than individual. It is created by groups interacting with each other over a prolonged period of time.

¢When we compare cultural context, we compare how the characters in different texts organise their society, how they behave, how they think and feel and what matters to them.

¢We look at the ordinary lives of men and women in a particular setting created by the author: what is called ‘the world of the text’.

¢What we are seeing is a reflection of the real world, not reality itself.

¢What kind of society or environment is depicted in the text?

Different things we can talk about in Cultural Context

¢Family

¢Love and marriage

¢The position of men, women and children in the family.

¢The community.

¢Economic and social organisation.

¢Political structures.

¢Values and beliefs.

¢What kind of social organisation is depicted?

Other aspects of cultural context to be considered:

¢Is change considered possible or embraced within the cultural context? Or is it seen as something to be feared?

¢Does the text offer a critique of the cultural context it depicts, or does it accept it unconditionally?

¢How do you yourself respond to the world of the text-with admiration, revulsion, puzzlement? Would you like to live in such a society?

You won’t have time to study all of these in detail. Select the areas that will be relevant to all three texts.