neorealism
Italian cinema movement
Neorealism names two distinct movements.
In film, Italian neorealism emerged after World War II, using non-professional actors, real locations, and stories of working-class struggle: Bicycle Thieves is a neorealist masterpiece.
In international relations theory, neorealism (or structural realism) explains state behavior through the anarchic structure of the international system rather than human nature.
Both share a commitment to depicting or analyzing harsh realities stripped of idealization.
Filming at real places
- non-actorsThose without theatrical training
- documentary styleRealistic, unscripted filmmaking method
- Italian cinemaFilm from Rome's studios
- 1940sFourth decade, twentieth century
working class · everyday life · humanist · anti-fascist · on-location · natural lighting · open endings
Coarse or courageous
- rawIn original state
- unvarnishedWithout embellishment or coating
- starkSevere and unadorned
- unflinchingRefusing to show fear
authentic · verisimilitude · naturalism · lifelike · believable · unembellished · social conditions · poverty
Equal distribution of influence
- anarchyDisorder from absent authority
- statecraftArt of government
- sovereigntySupreme independent authority
- realpolitikPolitics prioritizing practicality over ethics
power politics · national interest · geopolitics · deterrence · multipolarity · bipolarity · hegemony · self-help
Regional language variety
- peasant lifeAgricultural laborer's daily reality
- naturalistStudent of nature
- southern ItalyLower Italian peninsula
- agrarianRelating to land cultivation
location shooting
Filming at real places
- non-actorsThose without theatrical training
- documentary styleRealistic, unscripted filmmaking method
- Italian cinemaFilm from Rome's studios
1940s · working class · everyday life · humanist · anti-fascist · on-location · natural lighting · open endings
gritty
Coarse or courageous
- rawIn original state
- unvarnishedWithout embellishment or coating
- starkSevere and unadorned
unflinching · authentic · verisimilitude · naturalism · lifelike · believable · unembellished · social conditions · poverty · hardship
balance of power
Equal distribution of influence
- anarchyDisorder from absent authority
- statecraftArt of government
- sovereigntySupreme independent authority
realpolitik · power politics · national interest · geopolitics · deterrence · multipolarity · bipolarity · hegemony · self-help · great powers
dialect
Regional language variety
- peasant lifeAgricultural laborer's daily reality
- naturalistStudent of nature
- southern ItalyLower Italian peninsula
agrarian · class struggle · fatalism · determinism · local color
- film genreshorror, comedy, drama, action, romance
- foreign policydiplomacy, diplomatic negotiations, sanctions, containment, deterrence
- Italian CinemaFederico Fellini, Sergio Leone, La Dolce Vita, spaghetti western, Sophia Loren
- Italian LiteratureDante, Petrarch, Boccaccio, Machiavelli, Dante Alighieri
- Spanish LiteratureDon Quixote, Don Quijote, Cervantes, Miguel de Cervantes, El Cid
- 20th Century ItalyMussolini, fascism, economic miracle, Christian Democrats, Marshall Plan
neorealismHollywood glamour
Film world's captivating elegance
escapism · expressionism · film noir · melodrama · star vehicle
neorealismdrawing room drama
Refined domestic stage piece
escapism · fantasy · costume drama · romantic comedy · screwball comedy
neorealismconstructivism
Active knowledge-building theory
liberalism · idealism · cosmopolitanism · functionalism · neoliberalism