Swept Away—Sex, Love and Politics

Name Instructor Course Date Swept Away—Sex, Love and Politics The Italian film Swept Away (1974) is a satirical look at gender relations and political ideology, focusing Raffaella played by Mariangela Melato as a rich socialite on an island who later gets close to Gennarino played by Giancarlo Giannini who is a yacht crewman and communist, and they drift away during a storm to a desert isle. Gennarino takes charge, but when Raffaella is rescued she chooses to go back to a pampered life rather than live with a poor man. Lina Wertmuller the film’s director touches on class antagonisms as politics is at the forefront where there is a tug of war between the capitalist and socialist, the boss and the worker. Raffaella insulted the man and Gennarino did not have much to stay because of his social disadvantage, until they were ship worked and she became more like a sex-slave to him, as the tables are turned when he is at an advantage. Sexual antagonism is closely intertwined with class hatred, while gender relations and the oppression of women are explored in the film, and Raffaella is more assertive when she relies on her social position, while Gennarino relies on physical strength and his hands. Gennarino to take has communist ties and he is from the impoverished Sicily in southern Italy region compared to Raffaella who is condescending. Despite the differences between the two when Raffaella requests Gennarino to take her to the sea the ill fated journey results in them being lost at sea. The issue of class warfare is addressed through the words and viewpoints of the two characters, by Wertmuller also looks into how alienation affects how people relate to each other. The main story starters when the man and woman started in the isolated island, and while the two have sexual relations while there, Wertmuller suggests that having decent gender relations among is more difficult in an and capitalist society. Class hatred between Raffaella and Gennarino influences their relations and each tries to prove that they are better than the other at one point in time. Much of the film focuses on the man and woman, in the idyllic island where there are scenes of erotic fantasist, but by focusing on opposing ideologies she looks into the social problem affecting the working poor. While Wertmuller does not provide solutions to the problems she highlights, she is successful in showing how the working class perceives ideologies and the elite (Porter and Thomas50). Both capitalism and communism do not provide all the solution as the working class is disenfranchised. Nonetheless the film appears to critique materialism and greed, which was associated with the elites such as Raffaella, and instead favors focusing on the common good to improve the welfare of all. Wertmüller addressed the theme of sexist-capitalist institutions in other films to critique the Italian society, gender elations and disregard for the working class (Le Sueur159). Raffaella’s husband mainly appears in the yacht, but he and his friends are secondary in the film, where they represent wealth and materialism, especially among North Italians. In their vacation, they indulge in activities that Gennarino considers excessive and decadent. Raffaella riles against the communists and ...