Italy & Greece (a fast pop culture visit)

Let's go practice. Start class in the Ensemble theater. Then go back to room 238 to discuss Italy/Greece.

Italy:
10 Things Italy Does Better than Anyone (2 min.)
Visit Italy: 10 Things to Shock Americans (10 min.)
Racism in Italy (14 min.)
Learn Italian Hand Gestures (4 min.); or Top 20 Italian Hand Gestures (4 min.)
How to Be Italian (20 rules) (8 min.)
How to Date an Italian (8 min.)

Umberto Eco (writing exercise): How to Essay. This morning please read the short essay "How to Travel with a Salmon" by Umberto Eco in class together. In pace requiescat.

As writing exercises, try your own hand at writing a short "How To" essay. This should be short 1-2 page in length (400-600 words, for example) and deal with "How to" do something. Some ideas are: How to Pass a _____ Class, How to Cheat on your Boyfriend/Girlfriend, How to Buy a Dress for Prom, How to Survive Senioritis, How to Eat Unhealthily, How to Train a Dog, How to ... you get the idea (How to Get an Idea...)

Another one of my favorite Italian writers: Italo Calvino
An interview with Italo Calvino from the Paris Review about The Art of Fiction
Black Sheep (short story)
The Distance of the Moon (short story) and an animation of the story...
Try your own hand at writing a short fable like "Black Sheep" or "The Distance of the Moon."

Italian Cinema:
Victorio De Sico
The Bicycle Thief
Umberto D.

Michelangelo Antonioni (1912- 2007)
• Blow Up (trailer)
 L'Eclipse
• L’Avventura
• Bergman speaks about Antonioni

Pier Paolo Pasolini (1922 – 1975)
• Pasolini the Filmmaker (part one; you can view the other two parts to this documentary on the sidebar)
• Oedipus Rex
• Salo
Tribute to Pier Paolo Pasolini

Federico Fellini
8 1/2
Amarcord
Satyricon

Pietro Germi (1914 – 1974)
• Divorce, Italian Style

Italian Horror Directors (you may pick any sample/trailers from these directors) CAUTION (graphic violence; type in these names and watch trailers on Youtube.com):
Dario Argento (1940 - present)
Mario Bava (1914 – 1980)
Lucio Fulci (1927 – 1996)

Animation:
Bruno Bozzetto (1938 – present)
• Allegro Non Tropo: Valse Triste

Spaghetti Westerns:
In the mid-1960s Sergio Leone and other Italian filmmakers copying his style, made a series of Westerns. The films were originally released in Italian, but the films featured multilingual casts and sound was post-synched. Typical themes and story lines involved the Mexican Revolution (Spanish- American War) and took place on the American border (see: it all connects).
Contemporary Italian Film:
Greece:
Greece is best known around the world for their ancient theater and epics. In the classical period of history they were incredibly influential in the formation of the West. Here's a site or two devoted to that information. Ancient Greece: History, Myth, Art, Culture, etc.

Greek National Anthem
Greek Food
Greek Alphabet Song
Greece (response to immigrants...might sound familiar...)
Dogtooth, film
Greece: Economic Collapse (Whiteboard Animation) 
Understanding the Financial Crisis in Greece (John Green)

HOMEWORK: Using the resources here, set a story or poem in Italy or Greece and see what happens. Work on your portfolio and all the work you've been skipping this weekend or during senior skip day. See you at the Coffeehouse.

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