Skip to content
1981
Gender Issues: Trajectories of Change in the Italian Mediascape
  • ISSN: 2047-7368
  • E-ISSN: 2047-7376

Abstract

Joining the current scholarly dialogue between biopic studies and gender/feminist/media studies, this work is meant to retrace the evolution of gender politics as expressed in the biographical genre which has played the role of the mainstay of domestic television drama since the origin of Italian broadcasting. Through a historical perspective that aims to track continuity and change over time, this work places a major focus on the 2000s, during which time women’s biographies experienced considerable growth on Italian television and more importantly began to replace traditional figures of saints and with female professionals in positions of leadership (journalists, politicians, entrepreneurs, scientists and artists). Based on the examination of several biopics and the close analysis of the most watched recent biopic about an ‘empowered woman’ ( [2016]), this article seeks to explore whether the new wave of female biopics breaks crystallized generic conventions and foregrounds new representational strategies influenced by feminism or post-feminism.

© 2023 Intellect Ltd
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1386/jicms_00177_1
2023-01-02
2026-04-11

Metrics

Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Anderson, Carolyn, and Lupo, Johnatan. ( 2008;), ‘ Introduction. to the Special Issue’, Journal of Popular Film and Television, Special Issue, 36:2, pp. 50–51.
     [Google Scholar]
  2. Andrews, Hannah. ( 2017;), ‘ Women we loved: Paradoxes of public and private in the biographical television drama. ’, Critical Studies in Television, 12:1, pp. 63–78.
     [Google Scholar]
  3. Andrews, Hannah. ( 2021), Biographical Television Drama, London:: Palgrave MacMillan;.
     [Google Scholar]
  4. Arlanch, Francesco. ( 2008), Vite da film, Milan:: FrancoAngeli;.
     [Google Scholar]
  5. Bingham, Dennis. ( 2010), Whose Lives Are They Anyway?, New Brunswick:: Rutgers University Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  6. Bingham, Dennis. ( 2013;), ‘ The lives and times of the biopic. ’, in R. A. Rosentone, and C. Parvulescu. (eds), A Companion to the Historical Film, Hoboken, NJ:: John Wiley & Sons;, pp. 233–54.
     [Google Scholar]
  7. Bourdieu, Pierre. ( 2002), Masculine Domination, Stanford, CA:: Stanford University Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  8. Bradshaw, Melissa. ( 2008;), ‘ Devouring the diva: Martyrdom as feminist backlash in the Rose. ’, Camera Obscura, 23:1, pp. 68–87.
     [Google Scholar]
  9. Buonanno, Milly. ( 2011;), ‘ Histórias de Vidas Exemplares: As Biografias. ’, MATRIZes, V:1, pp. 63–84.
     [Google Scholar]
  10. Buonanno, Milly. ( 2012), Italian TV Drama and Beyond, Bristol and Chicago, IL:: Intellect;.
     [Google Scholar]
  11. Buonanno, Milly. ( 2016;), ‘ Italian docudrama: From the experimental moment to biography as text of identity. ’, in T. Ebbrecht-Hartmann, and D. Paget. (eds), Docudrama on European Television, London:: Palgrave MacMillan;, pp. 79–108.
     [Google Scholar]
  12. Buonanno, Milly. ( 2017;), ‘ Public history as a hall of fame: The rise of biography in Italian TV drama. ’, SPIEL: Neue Folge, 3:1, pp. 7–25.
     [Google Scholar]
  13. Burgoyne, Robert. ( 2008), The Hollywood Historical Film, Hoboken, NJ:: Wiley and Sons;.
     [Google Scholar]
  14. Caine, Barbara. ( 1994;), ‘ Feminist biography and feminist history. ’, Women’s History Review, 3:2, pp. 247–61.
     [Google Scholar]
  15. Caine, Barbara. ( 2010), Biography and History, New York:: Palgrave MacMillan;.
     [Google Scholar]
  16. Cardullo, Bert, and Bazin, André. ( 2002;), ‘ Cinema and theology: The case of Heaven over the Marshes. ’, Journal of Religion & Film, 6:2, pp. 1–11.
     [Google Scholar]
  17. Cartmell, Deborah, and Polasek, Ashley. (eds) ( 2020), A Companion to the Biopic, Hoboken, NJ:: Wiley Blackwell;.
     [Google Scholar]
  18. Craveri, Benedetta. ( 2021), La contessa: Virginia Verasis di Castiglione, Milan:: Adelphi;.
     [Google Scholar]
  19. Custen, George F.. ( 1992), Bio/Pics: How Hollywood Constructed Public History, New Brunswick:: Rutgers University Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  20. De Ceglia, Francesco Paolo, and Lusito, Fabio. ( 2021;), ‘ In the footsteps of Galileo. ’, NUNCIUS, 36:3, pp. 1–34.
     [Google Scholar]
  21. Doane, Mary A.. ( 1991), Femmes Fatales: Feminism, Film Theory, Psychoanalysis, London and New York:: Routledge;.
     [Google Scholar]
  22. Dolan, Josie,, Gordon, Suzy, and Tincknell, Estella. ( 2009;), ‘ The post-feminist biopic: Re-telling the past in Iris, The Hours and Sylvia. ’, in R. Carroll. (ed.), Adaptation in Contemporary Culture, New York:: Continuum;, pp. 174–85.
     [Google Scholar]
  23. Esteven Pereira, Margarida. ( 2016;), ‘ Austenmania, or the female biopic as literary heritage. ’, in M. Minier, and M. Pennacchia. (eds), Adaptation, Intermediality and the British Celebrity Biopic, London and New York:: Routledge;, pp. 115–28.
     [Google Scholar]
  24. Farrimond, Katherine. ( 2018), The Contemporary Femme Fatale, London and New York:: Routledge;.
     [Google Scholar]
  25. Fisher, Lucy. ( 2016;), ‘ La Vie en Noir: Woman, melodrama and the biopic. ’, Quarterly Review of Film and Video, 33:3, pp. 187–216.
     [Google Scholar]
  26. Genina, Augusto. ( 1949), Cielo sulla palude, Italy:: Film Bassoli;.
     [Google Scholar]
  27. Geraghty, Christine. ( 2016;), ‘ Taking on Margaret Thatcher: Biography, feminism and the Iron Lady. ’, Journal of British Cinema and Television, 13:4, pp. 610–27.
     [Google Scholar]
  28. Gill, Rosalind. ( 2014;), ‘ Powerful women, vulnerable men and postfeminist masculinity. ’, Gender and Language, 8:2, pp. 184–207.
     [Google Scholar]
  29. Grace, Pamela. ( 2009), The Religious Film, Malden, MA:: Wiley-Blackwell;.
     [Google Scholar]
  30. Grossman, Julie. ( 2020), The Femme Fatale, New Brunswick:: Rutgers University Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  31. Hanson, Helen, and O’Rawe, Catherine. (eds) ( 2010), The Femme Fatale: Images, Histories, Contexts, London:: Palgrave Macmillan;.
     [Google Scholar]
  32. Hollinger, Karen. ( 2020), Biopics of Women, London and New York:: Routledge;.
     [Google Scholar]
  33. Io sono Mia ( 2019, Italy:: RAI;).
     [Google Scholar]
  34. La bella Otero ( 1984, Italy:: RAI;).
     [Google Scholar]
  35. La Castiglione ( 1975, Italy:: RAI;).
     [Google Scholar]
  36. Lipkin, Steven N.. ( 2002), Real Emotional Logic: Film and Television Docudrama as Persuasive Practice, Carbondale, IL and Edwardsville, IL:: Southern Illinois University Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  37. Lowenthal, Leo. ( 1944;), ‘ The triumph of mass idols. ’, in L. Lowenthal. (ed.), Literature, Popular Culture and Society, Englewood Cliff, NJ:: Prentice-Hall;, pp. 109–40.
     [Google Scholar]
  38. Luciano, Bernadette, and Scarparo, Susanna. ( 2013), Reframing Italy: New Trends in Italian Women’s Filmmaking, West Lafayette, IN:: Purdue University Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  39. Luisa Sanfelice ( 1966, Italy:: RAI;).
     [Google Scholar]
  40. Luisa Spagnoli ( 2016, Italy:: RAI;).
     [Google Scholar]
  41. Marcus, Millicent. ( 2015;), ‘ Anti-mafia martyr genre in Italian film. ’, YouTube, 24 November, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=649yW3Au240. Accessed 10 May 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  42. Maria Goretti ( 2002, Italy:: RAI;).
     [Google Scholar]
  43. Marshall, Lee, and Kongsgaard, Isabelle. ( 2012;), ‘ Representing popular music stardom on screen: The popular music biopic. ’, Celebrity Studies, 3:3, pp. 346–61.
     [Google Scholar]
  44. Menardi, Leo. ( 1942), Luisa Sanfelice, Italy:: Alleanza Cinematografica Italiana;.
     [Google Scholar]
  45. Minier, Marta, and Pennacchia, Maddalena. (eds) ( 2016), Adaptation, Intermediality and the British Celebrity Biopic, London and New York:: Routledge;.
     [Google Scholar]
  46. Neale, Steve. ( 2000), Genre and Hollywood, London:: Routledge;.
     [Google Scholar]
  47. Norlock, Kathryn. ( 2018), Forgiveness from a Feminist Perspective, Lanham, MD:: Rowman & Littlefield;.
     [Google Scholar]
  48. Pensa, Carlo Maria. ( 1975;), ‘ Nicchia, la divina contessa. ’, Radiocorriere TV, 53, pp. 77–78.
     [Google Scholar]
  49. Picciaia, Francesca. ( 2017;), ‘ In spite of everything? Female entrepreneurship from a historical perspective: The Italian businesswoman Luisa Spagnoli (1877-1935). ’, Journal of Management History, 23:4, pp. 436–51.
     [Google Scholar]
  50. Polaschek, Bronwyn. ( 2013), The Postfeminist Biopic, London:: Palgrave Macmillan;.
     [Google Scholar]
  51. Tagliani, Giacomo. ( 2019), Biografie della nazione: Vita, storia, politica, nel biopic italiano, Soveria Mannella:: Rubbettino;.
     [Google Scholar]
  52. Vidal, Belen. ( 2014;), ‘ Introduction. ’, in T. Brown, and B. Vidal. (eds), The Biopic in Contemporary Film Culture, London:: Routledge;, pp. 1–32.
     [Google Scholar]
  53. Vidal, Belen. ( 2021;), ‘ New women’s biopics: Performance and the queering of herstor/ies. ’, European Journal of Lives Writings, X, pp. 17–40.
     [Google Scholar]
  54. Vincendeau, Ginette. ( 2014;), ‘ Chanel on screen: Female biopics in the age of global branding. ’, in T. Brown, and B. Vidal. (eds), The Biopic in Contemporary Film Culture, London:: Routledge;, pp. 176–94.
     [Google Scholar]
  55. Buonanno, Milly. ( 2023;), ‘ Femmes fatales, saints, empowered women: Female biopics in Italian public television. ’, Journal of Italian Cinema & Media Studies, 11:2, pp. 239–54, https://doi.org/10.1386/jicms_00177_1
     [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1386/jicms_00177_1
Loading
  • Article Type: Article
Keyword(s): biographical TV drama; biopic studies; businesswomen biographies; female biographies; femmes fatales; gender and media; music biopic; religious biopic

Most Cited Most Cited RSS feed

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a success
Invalid data
An error occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error
Please enter a valid_number test