 |
 |
*Call for papers for the International Conference:* * “Global Intersections and Artistic Interconnections: Italian Cinema and Media Across Time and Space” Journal of Italian Cinema and Media Studies, The American University in Rome, 14-15 June 2019: *http://www.wellesley.edu /italian/jicms-rome2019 *Title:* *Paolo Sorrentino’s Eclectic Aestheticism* As many critics have pointed out, all of Paolo Sorrentino’s films as well as his television series feature individual shots or whole scenes that may or may not further the narrative but whose sheer beauty arrests the eye. From the baroque depiction of political machinations in *Il Divo* to the idiosyncratic long form narrative of *The Young Pope* to 2013’s spectacular Academy award winner for Best Foreign Language Film *The Great Beauty*, Sorrentino's filmmaking combines a melodramatic approach with an eclectic aestheticism that has been known to alienate when it doesn’t enchant. Accusations of ‘style over substance’ persist, although arguably, in Sorrentino, they are two sides of the same coin. *Youth*, his elegiac 2016 art film/comedy-drama, offers an excess of whimsical storytelling punctuated by outlandish visual gags in nearly every scene. Finally, Sorrentino’s latest, the twin films *Loro 1* and *Loro 2* tempers a satiric biopic of Italian tycoon Silvio Berlusconi with a tragicomic tone. His excessive film style highlights, on the one hand, the director’s desire to be ironic, self-reflexive, and non-transparent (see Marcus’ notion of ‘post-realism’ in *Il Divo,*2010). On the other hand, Sorrentino seems to be invested in his own brand of political *impegno* for a postmodern, post-millennial era (see Antonello and Mussgnug, 2012), complicating any easy interpretation of his often parodic portrayal of political conflicts, gender issues and (masculine) identity crises. Sorrentino’s masterful combination of a captivating visual style with an at times penetrating psychological insight makes him one of the most intriguing auteurs in contemporary Italian cinema. This panel explores the different aspects of Paolo Sorrentino’s eclectic style and visionary aesthetics in his films and television series. Please send a 250 words proposal with a Bio by *September 30th,* *2018* to the co-organizers: Russell Kilbourn, Wilfrid Laurier University at [log in to unmask] andAnnachiara Mariani, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville at [log in to unmask] -------------------------------------------------------- MeCCSA mailing list -------------------------------------------------------- To manage your subscription or unsubscribe from the MECCSA list, please visit: https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?SUBED1=MECCSA&A=1 ------------------------------------------------------- MeCCSA is the subject association for the field of media, communication and cultural studies in UK Higher Education. This mailing list is a free service and is not restricted to members. It is an unmoderated list and content reflect the views of those who post to the list and not of MeCCSA as an organisation. MeCCSA recommends that the list be used only for posting of information (for example about events, publications, conferences, lectures) of interest to members or to promote discussion of current issues of wide general interest in the field. Posts to the MeCCSA mailing list are public, indexed by Google, and can be accessed from the JISCMail website (http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/meccsa.html). Any messages posted to the list are subject to the JISCMail acceptable use policy, which states that users should avoid engaging in unreasonable behaviour, or disrupting the general flow of discussion on a list. For further information, please visit: http://www.meccsa.org.uk/ --------------------------------------------------------