Investigative Cinema : Politics and Modernization in Italian, French, and American Film

Cilento, Fabrizio

ISBN 10: 3319926802 / ISBN 13: 9783319926803

Published by Palgrave Macmillan, 2018

About this Item

Seller Inventory # 32771134-n

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Investigative Cinema : Politics and Modernization in Italian, French, and American Film
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Publication Date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 3319926802
• ISBN 13: 9783319926803
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

This book traces the development of investigative cinema, whose main characteristic lies in reconstructing actual events, political crises, and conspiracies. These documentary-like films refrain from a simplistic reconstruction of historical events and are mainly concerned with what does not immediately appear on the surface of events. Consequently, they raise questions about the nature of the “truth” promoted by institutions, newspapers, and media reports. By highlighting unanswered questions, they leave us with a lack of clarity, and the questioning of documentation becomes the actual narrative. Investigative cinema is examined in relation to the historical conjunctures of the “economic miracle” in Italy, the simultaneous decolonization and reordering of culture in France, the waves of globalization and neoliberalism in post-dictatorial Latin America, and the post-Watergate, post-9/11 climate in US society. Investigative cinema is exemplified by the films Salvatore Giuliano, The Battle of Algiers, The Parallax View, Gomorrah, Zero Dark Thirty, and Citizenfour.

About the Author

Fabrizio Cilento is Associate Professor of Film and Digital Media at Messiah College, USA. His essays have appeared in numerous journals and edited collections, and explore the intersection between politics, recent history, and the aesthetics of moving images.