Film, Music, and Migrant Identities: Representing Musical Otherness in Visconti’s Neorealist Drama “Rocco and His Brothers”

Abstract

Migration informs the ideological and political dynamics of the geographical space crucial to the processes of cross-cultural "othering." In the neorealist drama Rocco and His Brothers (Rocco e i suoi fratelli, 1960), the composite film score manages to capture the accumulated emotions and knowledge of the environment and diasporic identities at different narrative levels, while coexisting between historical and fictional narratives that follow the migratory journey of the Parondi family. This paper discusses the concept of musical Otherness, with a particular focus on musical knowledge, the aural manifestation of rurality, the circulation of hidden mechanisms of power, and the contribution of music to the storytelling. Special attention is given to the representation of femininity and marginalized female identities, as well as to determining their place in the predominantly male cinematic environment.

Keywords

• feminine sound
• luchino visconti
• migratory identities
• musical otherness
• rocco and his brothers