Il pupo emigrato: dal teatro allo schermo (original) (raw)

In providing an explanation for the cultural-aesthetic functions of the Italian puppet in the Italian-American cinematographic context, this essay weaves together historical notions on the role of the puppet (and Sicilian pupi in particular) in the Italian-American community, on the collaboration between puppeteers and filmmaker, and on the emotional and ritualistic power of the puppet. Analyzing films such as Francis Ford Coppola's Godfather Part II, the experimental film Tarantella by Helen De Michiel, and John Turturro's autobiographic documentary Rehearsal for a Sicilian Tragedy, this essay focuses on the cultural and cinematographic function played by the puppet in preserving and reinterpreting the Italian-American identity. The discussion also includes an American production such as I Am Suzanne!, where the Italian-American puppet channels negative stereotypes and anxieties towards the Italian immigrant.