L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2020 www.italoamericano.org 4 BARBARA MINAFRA NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS W h a t d o e s b e i n g — or better, feeling — and iden- tifying as Italians mean, when living outside of Italy? What is Italy, for all those born from migrant parents, people who left il Belpaese and crossed the ocean to find a new life or are their second and third generation chil- dren, and grew up listening to tales of a far away, much loved country, but don't have any other connection with it? Is there anything bringing all these people together, beside a surname, a double passport and an old photo album? In truth, it's difficult to a n s w e r t h i s q u e s t i o n s without risking to get boxed into a more or less generic category, because each one of us experiences personal iden- t i t y v e r y i n d i v i d u a l l y . Speaking about the idea of "belonging" — to a set of values, to memories, to a shared language and culture — would be more correct, especially to avoid the dan- ger of falling into national s t e r e o t y p e s : d e v o t i o n t o family, the art of making-do, gestuality, good food, creati- vity, soccer, aesthetic sense and fashion. These characte- ristics should be considered a f l e x i b l e f r a m e w o r k i n which everyone can find or not a connection, depending on personal or family history a n d o n i n d e p e n d e n t l i f e choices. A d e f i n i t i o n o f " i m m i - grants," expats, of "Italians with an hyphen" can be con- sidered a lowest common d e n o m i n a t o r , e s p e c i a l l y during this Italian Herita- ge Month. Each one of us feels 20, 50 or 100% Ameri- can, but there'll always be a drop of Italian DNA in our blood. Even when ties with Italy are denied, a time of r e c k o n i n g w i t h t h e m i s bound to come: one choses, valorizes and passes them on to his or her children, or not. It's a matter of convenience, a s s i m i l a t i o n , r e f u s a l o r necessity. One hundred years ago, Alberto Sordi was born. And no, we haven't finished s p e a k i n g a b o u t i d e n t i t y : quite the opposite, in fact. Sordi, one of the best inter- preters of Italianità, is a per- fect starting point to ask our- selves some questions about being Italian, about the evo- lution in time of the idea itself of Italianità, and how up-to-date the widespread idea of "Italiano medio," the average Italian, of that natio- nal-popular prototype the great Roman actor personi- fied within and well beyond all of his characters is. To be honest, this is a q u e s t i o n p e o p l e i n I t a l y should ask themselves, too, because if it's true that Sordi did take a vivid snapshot, with his characters, of our "being Italian," it's also true that everyone is free to reco- gnize him or herself in them or not, to consider their con- temporariness and their abi- lity to still represent a natio- nal way of being, but also, on the other hand, their possible belonging to a distant past that no longer represents today's global, virtual and multicultural dimension. Because this is exactly what happens: we're in part children of our Motherland and interpreters of her spirit, in part specific individuali- ties, unique souls. In conclusion: it's an open q u e s t i o n , t h a t s h o u l d b e answered freely. Italian historian Paolo Mieli, creator of the docu- m e n t a r y s e r i e s I t a l i a n i , explains that: "Saying that Sordi was the embodiment of the average Italian, is cliché. Saying that the many 'masks and typologies' he portrayed in over half a century of cine- ma and 150 movies is a trea- tise about Italian history is cliché, too. Because, in the e n d , h e w a s t h e o n e w h o imposed such truism and explained it to us. Sordi —he continues — created a gallery o f c h a r a c t e r s w h o w e r e always different but had the same goal: being ironic about 'modern' Italians and their character, about the way they were attracted by comfort, by wealth and by social affirma- tion, moralists and tricksters at once, fearful, with some bouts of heroism. When he turns 70, in June 1990, he's already become part of our i m a g i n a t i o n : i n t e r v i e w s , events, festivals about the Alberto Sordi 'that was.'" The transformation took place: Sordi is representation of all meanings associated to his characters, well beyond the world of cinema. Sordi is a symbol of Italianità. A cliché, also because he's been more than an average Italian: he's been a man, an Italian and an artist well above standards, as eclectic, In his movies, Alberto Sordi embodied many of the characteristics of the "Italiano Medio" (Photo courtesy of Cineteca Nazionale— Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia di Roma) Continued to page 6 What does being Italian mean today?

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