Felliniesque : the aesthetics of the rhythmic constructed reality

Abstract

This study examines the unique style of Federico Fellini, which is being termed as the Felliniesque. The findings of this research can be applied to the study of Italian cinema or to analyse the films of Federico Fellini in general, helping those interested and critics to have a different approach in relation to the Felliniesque. Federico Fellini‟s cinema has become synonymous with the bizarre, the grotesque and the spectacular life of the circus. These elements converge themselves and create this unique style which was also influenced by the recent societal changes after the Second World War; modernism, postmodernism and art cinema. Through purposeful sampling, five films were chosen to show how the process of fragmentation and defragmentation is being employed through the individual, society and time to create this constructed reality. This study shows that Fellini‟s films can be linked to the postmodern ideologies and Jungian psychoanalysis. These become the ideal tools to analyse the films. Through the findings of this study, it was deemed appropriate to analyze the term decadence differently. Therefore, decadence was broken into de-cadence, a new term showcasing and sustaining the fragmented and defragmented nature of the Felliniesque. This study wants to sustain that even though twenty years have passed since Fellini gave his last breath, he still influences cinema today.