News from Italian
Online workshop with the University of Bristol
On Tuesday 21st January Year 12 students of Italian were given an insight into one of the hottest Italian TV series of the moment during an interactive workshop with the University of Bristol. Professor Catherine O’Rawe, who has recently been writing a book about Italian youth television, told us all about Mare Fuori, a gritty teen drama set in a fictional juvenile prison in Naples.
During the session we considered different representations of the city, looking at the inviting clichés portrayed in two Dolce & Gabbana adverts and contrasting them with the dark and dangerous criminal underworld seen in the Mare Fuori trailer. Then Professor O’Rawe told us about Neapolitan melodrama and we saw examples of this while analysing the emotion and physicality in a very raw scene from the series. We then discussed music from the series and analysed the lyrics of a song. Professor O’Rawe was very impressed with the engagement of our students and the session provided a taste of what it’s like to study Italian at undergraduate level. In fact, Nyah and Polly, two of our former students, are currently in their third year studying Italian in Professor O’Rawe’s department! Mrs Evenden
What did the students say?
I enjoyed it because it was a nice wider application of our understanding. It helped consolidate and introduce knowledge on Italian culture. I also enjoyed having discussions with our class and listening to the professor’s insight. Sai
I enjoyed learning about Italian culture and the media industry. I was surprised that Naples is so heavily romanticised and the dangers of the place that is hidden from the public. Sophia
It was very interesting to learn about different media in Italy and I loved learning more about Naples. Lara
I found the themes very interesting. I liked how the adverts and the trailer presented Naples in very different lights. I was surprised by the fact that some of the actors in the show were not professional. Elizabeth
I was already aware that different cities in Italy had different dialects. However, hearing the Neapolitan dialect was shocking! Madelina I thought it was interesting to compare the representation of Naples in adverts compared to in Mare Fuori. I enjoyed analysing the lyrics and thinking about the use of different tenses. Jess