The Italian colonial cinema: agendas and audiences

Abstract

SummaryWhat role has culture played in shaping Italians’ experiences of Italian colonialism before and after the Second World War? How can the tools of cultural analysis be employed to understand the place and space Italian colonialism has had within Italian and European history? This article draws on and discusses the growing body of scholarly work about colonial narratives and representations (exhibitions, travel writings, etc.) but is centred on the Italian colonial cinema. It focuses, in particular, on the issue of the double-edged power of the visual in colonial films with respect to both Italian and African audiences. The article explores spectatorship under colonial conditions but also how the visual elements of colonial films contributed to or complicated the production of ‘colonial experiences’ among the many Italians who never set foot in Africa.