Abstract

This study aims to explore the depiction of human bodies and their symbolic values in migration cinema, particularly "Nuovomondo" ("The Golden Door", E. Crialese, 2006), "Terraferma" (E. Crialese, 2011) and "Fuocoammare" ("Fire at Sea", G. Rosi, 2016). As a locus of political and social contention but also the foremost existential character of life, the human body epitomizes the profound ambiguity between "Leib" and "Körper", self-expressivity and objectification. This analysis adopts a twofold approach to screened bodies: on the one hand, it examines biopolitical features; on the other, it employs Merleau-Ponty's phenomenology in order to investigate the perceptual modes of interaction put forth by cinema.