Abstract

The essay investigates some important connections between Pasolini’s semiotic and aesthetic theory. In particular, it focuses on the «concept of Africa», a notion developed by Pasolini in 1961 and staged in the movie Appunti per un’Orestiade Africana. Starting from Pasolini’s controversial semiotic hypothesis, the essay highlights the director’s reflections on language, on the expression of reality and on the aesthetic meaning of cinema. This intends to demonstrate that Pasolini’s approach, strongly criticized by his contemporaries, has proven over time to be very fruitful and perfectly up-to-date