The Film «Scuola Elementare» (1954): an Ambivalent Representation of Educational Culture on the Brink of the Italian Economic Boom

The 1954 film “Scuola elementare” [Primary School], directed by Alberto Lattuada and co-produced by Titanus and the Societé Générale de Cinématographie, was first released in Italian cinemas in February 1955. It tells the story of a teacher who leaves a small town in Central Italy to take up a primary school teaching post in Milan, a large city on the brink of an economic boom. This essay examines the film, both as a period document and as a reflection of the Italian collective imaginary surrounding school, an imaginary that was primarily informed by the narrative tradition begun with Edmondo De Amicis’ novel “Cuore” (1886). Its analytical focus is on the movie’s representation of teachers, educational practices and the relations between school and broader society, but also on its representation of material objects and spaces, both within and outside the world of school. This analysis ultimately serves to point up the ambivalence of the film’s portrayal of educational culture.