La 'condivisione' della Shoah: un confronto tra "Perlasca, un eroe italiano" e "La finestra di fronte"

During the 1980s and 1990s an increasing number of (television) movies treated the Holocaust theme. After 2000 the fictionalization of the Holocaust continued to mark both the big and the small screen. This is not only the case in the United States but also in European countries such as Italy, where films and television productions continue to be dedicated to the Holocaust on a regular basis. Generally, documentaries are considered to be the most appropriate television genre to address the issue. Television series and movies, on the contrary, are often received more critically, especially if they deviate from historical facts or if they do not strive for realism. In 'Conflicts of Memory' (2010) Emiliano Perra states that Italian (television) movies treating the Holocaust address a politically driven agenda intended to steer the Italian collective memory of the Second World War. Additionally, Perra points out that popular media often invite emotional identification, which goes to the detriment of historical reflection. According to E. Ann Kaplan (2005) the emotional identification with the victim precludes the historical comprehension of trauma. The issue of ‘translating’ traumatic events as well as the impact of trauma is, therefore, all the more relevant in the context of popular media. This study presents a comparative analysis of 'Perlasca, un eroe italiano' (2002), a television series directed by Alberto Negrin, and 'La finestra di fronte' (2003), a film by Ferzan Özpetek. In particular we answer the question to what extent these two productions allow the viewer to ‘share’ the historical trauma of the Holocaust and contribute to a less selective memory of the Second World War.status: publishe