Women, Feminism and Italian Cinema: Archives from a Film Culture

by Dalila Missero

Italian cinema experienced its peak of domestic and international popularity in the years between the ‘economic miracle’ of the late 1950s and the social and political turmoil of the 1970s. But how did the growing development of the feminist movement in this period impact on Italian film culture? And what role did that film culture play in women’s lives? This book explores the multiple intersections between feminism and Italian cinema from the perspective of women’s everyday relationship with the medium. Drawing from a feminist approach to Gramscian cultural theory, the book builds an archival counter-history of Italian cinema in which women took part as movie-goers, activists and practitioners, by means of a collective-historical agency that challenged cinema’s patriarchal structures and strategies of invisibilisation.

200 pages, Paperback

Published November 15, 2023

Reviews

[Briana]

For 2026, I want to make an effort to learn more about the academic studies part of film and cinema because I realize that history, criticism, and theory are major interests of mine. Italian cinema has always been an interest of mine, and I love learning about feminism and women in film, so it was nice to read a book that focused solely on Italy. I always say that to love international film is to love a culture, and this book perfectly articulates that. Women, Feminism and Italian Cinema by Dalila Missero dives into a cultural history in relation to cinema. If you study feminist art theory, then theren't a lot of groundbreaking information here, aside from specific names and movements. What was interesting to me though, were the chapters on Catholicism, porn, and women's virtue in Italy. A lot of times, film geographies can get reduced to being the same across the board, but it was interesting reading about the specifics of Italian culture.

This book is suitable for individuals with an interest in Italian cultural history, as well as a valuable resource for film scholars interested in a specific time period in cinema.

Please note: I only rate books like this if they're extremely dated with incorrect information.