The Page and the Screen: Cinematic Images in the Private Diary of a Young Woman in the Fifties

In the context of studies on “cinephemera”, this contribution aims to investigate the intersections between cinema and private female writing, analyzing some sources usually neglected by historiography. In the context of the contemporary debate on the “writing culture of ordinary people”, I will foc...

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Main Author: Laura Busetta
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Bologna 2024-12-01
Series:Cinergie
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Online Access:https://cinergie.unibo.it/article/view/19759
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author Laura Busetta
author_facet Laura Busetta
author_sort Laura Busetta
collection DOAJ
description In the context of studies on “cinephemera”, this contribution aims to investigate the intersections between cinema and private female writing, analyzing some sources usually neglected by historiography. In the context of the contemporary debate on the “writing culture of ordinary people”, I will focus in particular on the private diary. A device that, traditionally, is not intended as a tool for recording cinematic consumption, but is chosen by the writer as a surface of spontaneous self-representation, in which to record daily experiences and personal urgencies. The analysis of an unpublished diary written by a young woman during the years that led to the Italian economic miracle (and preserved at the Archivio Diaristico Nazionale in Pieve Santo Stefano), shows us how female personal writing can also become a means to reflect on family and social roles, on hegemonic values, on behavioral norms,  and on social and consumer practices. The first-person diary becomes a place of interaction with cinematic imagery and star models while, in broader terms, it allows for a reflection on the social experience of cinema, in a historical moment in which it is at the center of the media and consumption system. On the border between public and private issues, the analysis of diary writing favors an “intimate history” of cultural phenomena, which enhances individual “agency” in the analysis and interpretation of broader historical processes.
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spelling doaj-art-9dfc6d5756ec4e23a1433e3ecbc861172025-01-15T15:08:47ZengUniversity of BolognaCinergie2280-94812024-12-0126495910.6092/issn.2280-9481/1975918126The Page and the Screen: Cinematic Images in the Private Diary of a Young Woman in the FiftiesLaura Busetta0Università degli Studi di MessinaIn the context of studies on “cinephemera”, this contribution aims to investigate the intersections between cinema and private female writing, analyzing some sources usually neglected by historiography. In the context of the contemporary debate on the “writing culture of ordinary people”, I will focus in particular on the private diary. A device that, traditionally, is not intended as a tool for recording cinematic consumption, but is chosen by the writer as a surface of spontaneous self-representation, in which to record daily experiences and personal urgencies. The analysis of an unpublished diary written by a young woman during the years that led to the Italian economic miracle (and preserved at the Archivio Diaristico Nazionale in Pieve Santo Stefano), shows us how female personal writing can also become a means to reflect on family and social roles, on hegemonic values, on behavioral norms,  and on social and consumer practices. The first-person diary becomes a place of interaction with cinematic imagery and star models while, in broader terms, it allows for a reflection on the social experience of cinema, in a historical moment in which it is at the center of the media and consumption system. On the border between public and private issues, the analysis of diary writing favors an “intimate history” of cultural phenomena, which enhances individual “agency” in the analysis and interpretation of broader historical processes.https://cinergie.unibo.it/article/view/19759diarylife writingarchivefilm consumptiongender
spellingShingle Laura Busetta
The Page and the Screen: Cinematic Images in the Private Diary of a Young Woman in the Fifties
Cinergie
diary
life writing
archive
film consumption
gender
title The Page and the Screen: Cinematic Images in the Private Diary of a Young Woman in the Fifties
title_full The Page and the Screen: Cinematic Images in the Private Diary of a Young Woman in the Fifties
title_fullStr The Page and the Screen: Cinematic Images in the Private Diary of a Young Woman in the Fifties
title_full_unstemmed The Page and the Screen: Cinematic Images in the Private Diary of a Young Woman in the Fifties
title_short The Page and the Screen: Cinematic Images in the Private Diary of a Young Woman in the Fifties
title_sort page and the screen cinematic images in the private diary of a young woman in the fifties
topic diary
life writing
archive
film consumption
gender
url https://cinergie.unibo.it/article/view/19759
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