History and Representation of Italian Immigrants in Britain -- Italianness in 1940s British Cinema -- Italianness and Masculinity in 1950s British Cinema -- The New Italian Glamour: Italian Film Stars in British Cinema from the Early 1950s to the Mid-1960s -- Italianness, British Cinema, and Thatcherism
Summary
Recent years have seen an increased interest in issues of national identity and representation, and cinema is a major medium where strands and layers of representational systems come together in cross-cultural dialogues. Beauty and the Beast provides an account of the specific development of depictions of Italy and the Italians in British cinema. Girelli draws upon cultural and social history to assess the ongoing function of "Italianness" in British film, and its crucial role in defining and challenging British national identity. Drawing on British literary and filmic tradition to analyse the
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references and filmography
