«Banditto-gangsteritto»: Stereotypes about Italians in the Children’s Discourse of the Late Soviet Era

Abstract

The article analyzes the stereotypical image of the Italians in the late Soviet films and cartoon animation. The main focus of the investigation is the examination of the comic effects in depiction of Italian characters. It is mainly expressed through the parody of the linguistic and paralinguistic features in Italian language: lexis, phrase intonation, and body language. The use of an intentionally erroneous monophonic translation becomes an additional parody element.

Italian characters in children's discourse of the late Soviet era that is examined in the article have a certain range of stereotypical features (such as strong attachment to music, adventurism). These stereotypes are not unique to Russian view on Italians, as they can be found in the mass culture of other countries as well. Nevertheless, the image of the Italian mafia in Soviet cinema and animation differs from foreign interpretations of this topic. This specificity is the result the Soviet-Italian relations in the field of film production.

Key words: Giovanni Mosca, Edmondo De Amicis, film magazine “Eralash”, Italy, USSR, Soviet cinema, Soviet children cinema, parody, stereotypes, language game.