A Humorous Geographic Expression

North versus South in Italian Film

Bibliographic Data

ID23412709
AuthorsDelia Chiaro (0000-0002-2587-1959, English Literature and Translation, University of Bologna, corresponding author)
Year2025
Pages88-112
Publication date2025-08-21
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeCHAPTER
VenueThe Oxford Handbook of Screen Comedy (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197675502.013.0020
OpenAlexW4413418460
ISBN9780197675502
LanguageEN
References cited9

This chapter conducts a detailed analysis of two film comedies produced with a sixty-year gap and aims to explore the persistent perpetuation of stereotypes about southern Italians. Using ethnic jokes as a framework, the argument centers on the portrayal of southerners as embodying characteristics like stupidity and dirtiness. In the 1956 classic Totò, Peppino e la ... malafemmina, humor arises as two southern country bumpkins on a trip to Milan playfully make fun of themselves. In contrast, the 2010 comedy Benvenuti al sud embodies a more critical tone as characters from the north harshly ridicule southerners. Despite the contemporary emphasis on political correctness and the need for more thoughtful representations of diverse ethnicities, this analysis suggests that films and audiovisual products in general, both within and outside Italy, persist in mocking Italians in a clichéd manner. Features that in Italy are seen as stereotypically pertaining to southerners, outside Italy are pinned onto all Italians in general, so that the so-called meridione becomes a sort of comic synecdoche that represents the whole of Italy.

Expression (computer science) · Geography · Programming language · Computer Science · Culinary Culture and Tourism · Folklore, Mythology, and Literature Studies · Philippine History and Culture

Tools

Open DOI