Italian Pulp Fiction


Book Description

The contributors extol changes in fiction, extricating the new elements in the hybrid and anticlassicist writing proposed by the Giovani Cannibali."--BOOK JACKET.




Murder Made in Italy


Book Description

A study of three high-profile Italian murder cases, how they were covered by the media, and what it all says about Italian culture. Looking at media coverage of three very prominent murder cases, Murder Made in Italy explores the cultural issues raised by the murders and how they reflect developments in Italian civil society over the past twenty years. Providing detailed descriptions of each murder, investigation, and court case, Ellen Nerenberg addresses the perception of lawlessness in Italy, the country’s geography of crime, and the generalized fear for public safety among the Italian population. Nerenberg examines the fictional and nonfictional representations of these crimes through the lenses of moral panic, media spectacle, true crime writing, and the abject body. The worldwide publicity given the recent case of Amanda Knox, the American student tried for murder in a Perugia court, once more drew attention to crime and punishment in Italy and is the subject of the epilogue. “A fantastic array of literary, cinematic, and oral narratives.” —Stefania Lucamante, Catholic University of America “Original, engaging, and thought-provoking . . . quite unlike any other existing book in Italian cultural and media studies.” —Ruth Glynn, University of Bristol




The Colombian Mule


Book Description

A thrilling crime novel set deep in the criminal underworld - a murky tale of drugs, human trafficking and Mafia families. When Colombian Arias Cuevas is caught trying to smuggle drugs through Venice airport, his fear isn't fueled by the idea of prison. He's much more frightened of his aunt - it was her coke he took off with. The cops set up a sting to find out who was to be the recipient of the drugs, and art smuggler Nazzareno Corradi falls straight into the trap - but he's been set up. His lawyer hires our hero, the Alligator, and his fixer, Max, to find out what's going on. Soon we see why Cuevas was so afraid - the aunt, La Tia, has left a bloody trail in her wake, now looking to do some business in Italy, and she's not about to let anybody get in her way. The case brings the Alligator into contact with a whole host of devious, double-bluffing characters, and pushes him into a position where he may have to cross one moral line too far.




The Negro Motorist Green Book


Book Description

The Negro Motorist Green Book was a groundbreaking guide that provided African American travelers with crucial information on safe places to stay, eat, and visit during the era of segregation in the United States. This essential resource, originally published from 1936 to 1966, offered a lifeline to black motorists navigating a deeply divided nation, helping them avoid the dangers and indignities of racism on the road. More than just a travel guide, The Negro Motorist Green Book stands as a powerful symbol of resilience and resistance in the face of oppression, offering a poignant glimpse into the challenges and triumphs of the African American experience in the 20th century.




The Ballad of Mila


Book Description

Pray the cops find you first… Imagine Elmore Leonard behind the wheel of a car in Grand Theft Autoas one Italian woman sets out to cut the mafia down to size – one limb at a time… Two perfectly matched gangs are fighting for control of the north-east Italian region of Venetia. But a formidable young woman with vengeance on her mind has plans to upset the balance. Abandoned by her mother and violated by a gang of criminals just after they slaughtered her father, Mila Zago is a cold-blooded killer, a deadly assassin. Brought up by her grandfather on the Sette Comuni plateau under a rigid martial code, she returns home to seek her revenge, conspiring to create a spectacular showdown reminiscent A Fistful of Dollars. The Ballad of Mila is the first novel in an ongoing series focused on the formidable female Italian bounty hunter Mila Zago, a.k.a. Red Dread. As well as being shortlisted for the Premio Scerbanenco / La Stampa prize, it won the Premio Speciale Valpolicella 2011, and in its graphic novel format was awarded the the Premio Leone di Narnia as “Best Italian comic book series of the year”.




Migration Italy


Book Description

In terms of migration, Italy is often thought of as a source country - a place from which people came rather than one to which people go. However, in the past few decades, Italy has indeed become a destination for many people from poor or war-torn countries seeking a better life in a stable environment. Graziella Parati's Migration Italy examines immigration to Italy in the past twenty years, and explores the processes of cultural hybridization that have occurred. Working from a cultural studies viewpoint, Parati constructs a theoretical framework for discussing Italy as a country of immigration. She gives special attention to immigrant literature, positing that it functions as an act of resistance, a means to talk back to the laws that regulate the lives of migrants. Parati also examines Italian cinema, demonstrating how native and non-native filmmakers alike create parallels between old and new migrations, complicating the definitions of sameness and difference. These definitions and the complexities inherent in the different cultural, legal, and political positions of Italy's people are at the heart of Migration Italy, a unique work of immense importance for understanding society in both modern-day Italy and, indeed, the entire European continent.




The Horror Film


Book Description

The Horror Film is an in-depth exploration of one of the most consistently popular, but also most disreputable, of all the mainstream film genres. Since the early 1930s there has never been a time when horror films were not being produced in substantial numbers somewhere in the world and never a time when they were not being criticised, censored or banned. The Horror Film engages with the key issues raised by this most contentious of genres. It considers the reasons for horror's disreputability and seeks to explain why despite this horror has been so successful. Where precisely does the appeal of horror lie? An extended introductory chapter identifies what it is about horror that makes the genre so difficult to define. The chapter then maps out the historical development of the horror genre, paying particular attention to the international breadth and variety of horror production, with reference to films made in the United States, Britain, Italy, Spain and elsewhere. Subsequent chapters explore: The role of monsters, focusing on the vampire and the serial killer. The usefulness (and limitations) of psychological approaches to horror. The horror audience: what kind of people like horror (and what do other people think of them)? Gender, race and class in horror: how do horror films such as Bride of Frankenstein, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Blade relate to the social and political realities within which they are produced? Sound and horror: in what ways has sound contributed to the development of horror? Performance in horror: how have performers conveyed fear and terror throughout horror's history? 1970s horror: was this the golden age of horror production? Slashers and post-slashers: from Halloween to Scream and beyond. The Horror Film throws new light on some well-known horror films but also introduces the reader to examples of noteworthy but more obscure horror work. A final section provides a guide to further reading and an extensive bibliography. Accessibly written, The Horror Film is a lively and informative account of the genre that will appeal to students of cinema, film teachers and researchers, and horror lovers everywhere.




Italian Crime Filmography, 1968-1980


Book Description

In 1970s Italy, after the decline of the Spaghetti Western, crime films became the most popular, profitable and controversial genre. In a country plagued with violence, political tensions and armed struggle, these films managed to capture the anxiety and anger of the times in their tales of tough cops, ruthless criminals and urban paranoia. Recent years have seen renewed critical interest in the genre, thanks in part to such illustrious fans as Quentin Tarantino. This book examines all of the 220+ crime films produced in Italy between 1968 and 1980, the period when the genre first appeared and grew to its peak. Entries include a complete cast and crew list, home video releases, a plot summary and the author's own analysis. Excerpts from a variety of sources are included: academic texts, contemporary reviews, and interviews with filmmakers, scriptwriters and actors. There are many onset stills and film posters.




Deconstructing the Model in 20th and 21st-Century Italian Experimental Writings


Book Description

Through a series of original analyses of experimental works that exist well outside of the established territory inhabited by the Italian literary canon, or which purposely position themselves at its margins, this volume proposes a new way to understand the goals of literary experimentation as a means to break the canon and give literature the same freedom that is easily granted to other arts. This serves to allow literature itself to intersect with those other art forms, while enhancing the powerful and positive outcomes of literary experimentation. Specifically, the volume explores a series of 20th- and 21st-century Italian works that are characterized by a non-normative approach to language or the act of writing itself. The contributors, while addressing diverse writers, and often even adopting different theoretical interpretations of experimentalism itself, all analyze the intersection between experimental literatures and other art forms, as well as cross-disciplinary and non-traditional approaches to the theme of experimentation.




Italian Tales


Book Description

This anthology serves as a literary map to guide readers through the varied geography of contemporary Italian fiction. Massimo Riva has gathered English-language translations of short stories and excerpts from novels that were originally published in Italian between 1975 and 2001. As an expression of a communal contemporary condition, these narratives suggest a new sensibility and a new way of seeing, exploring, and inhabiting the world, in writing. Riva provides a comprehensive introduction to Italian literary trends of the past twenty years. Each selection is preceded by a short introduction and biography of the writer. For English-language readers who are familiar with the work of Italo Calvino and Umberto Eco, this collection presents an opportunity to acquaint themselves with the work of other important contemporary Italian writers of fiction.