De Sica demonstrates how these individuals, cogs in a failing bureaucracy, hinder Antonio’s chances of finding his bicycle and, more universally, suppress and neglect the adversities of the poor. Inadequate government functionaries cast a looming presence throughout Bicycle Thieves. By linking the bicycle with Bruno, each an object of neglect, De Sica suggests that Antonio’s carelessness can result in an outcome much more devastating and indelible than the theft of a cherished possession: the death of his own son. Bruno is not the boy in danger, but he could have been. Antonio finally upholds some parental concern when he suspects that Bruno is the drowning boy in the river in Part 4. Antonio doesn’t notice Bruno fall in the rain, nor does he notice 2 cars nearly run over him. He constantly outpaces Bruno and leaves him behind throughout their journey around a labyrinthine Rome. Antonio treats his precious son in a similar inattentive manner. He sacrifices his sheets to retrieve his bicycle and secure his job however, despite all the adversities he endures, Antonio fails to keep a keen eye on his bicycle on his first day of work, which results in its theft, and ultimately his unemployment. NeglectĪntonio continually neglects what he values most in life, namely his bicycle and Bruno. Thus, De Sica depicts the church as a dubious and indifferent institution-just like the police, employment services, and Communist party. The proletariat characters turn to religion, but only because it is the only institution that will provide them basic necessities. By forcing impoverished populations to embrace and conform to their religious practices to receive basic aid, the church reveals its true intentions, which is to control the poor and take advantage of their abject poverty.
The bicycle thief free#
The church depicted in the film charitably provides free haircuts and lunch for poor guests, but with a crucial caveat: they must attend a mandatory sermon. Like the inadequate, apathetic institutions in Italy, religion fails to offer a sanctuary for poor individuals in Bicycle Thieves. The losses Antonio suffers when he is outnumbered in a group reflects De Sica’s ideological message of the film-a man cannot combat the larger forces of society, who will either turn him into a thief or starve him. And yet, they are apathetic to Antonio’s problems, whose individuality becomes diluted and subservient to these powerful groups in society. Many of these groups (the police, the Communist party) are commonly perceived as allies to the trials and tribulations of the working class. The malicious neighbors of the thief torment Antonio and force him to leave, and it is a crowd that captures Antonio when he himself becomes a bicycle thief. Members of the Communist party ironically hush Antonio, a distressed working class man, out of their meeting. The copious flea markets sell hundreds of bicycles, which renders Antonio’s task of finding his personal bicycle impossible. A roomful of police deem the theft of his bicycle frivolous. Because Antonio faces these authority figures-an employment officer, his boss, and a pawnbroker-one-on-one and is not outnumbered, he is finally treated like a human being.īy contrast, Antonio’s defeats occur when he is alone and outnumbered by a collective. Antonio receives the job offer when he is signaled out by the employment officer, he gets his official job assignment when he personally meets his boss, and he and Maria collect extra money for their sheets once the pawn shop employee empathizes with their suffering. All of his triumphs occur when he personally confronts authority figures, who actually value his perspective and view him as an individual with legitimate hardships. We often see Antonio as an individual in crisis against a collective. Buy Study Guide The individual and the crowd
0 kommentar(er)
