1. Though Federico Fellini films can hardly be called conventional, there are several elements that can be found in many of the director’s works.  Fellini’s films would be hardly recognizable without Nino Rota’s classic music providing the soundtrack for the many seemingly random carnivals that break out.  A Fellini favorite, the prostitute, is often just as prevalent, and respected (at least to some) as the Madonna and Christianity as a whole.  Furthermore, Fellini loves to blur the line between fantasy and reality - keeping the audience on their toes - and keeping in line with his other works.  But, rather than trying to tackle all of these conventions and uncover their meanings, we’ll take on just one in this paper.  Specifically, Fellini’s obsession with large (read: fat) over-sexualized women.  Watching any of Fellini’s films, you’re sure to find at least one woman who fits into this mold.  Their superiority over thin - and by our standards, more attractive women - seems obvious to the director, but the reasons for the author’s preference is deeper than just sexual promiscuity.  These women are maternal figures, teaching, caring for, and sometimes scolding male characters.

 

2. Federico Fellini was an interesting auteur filmmaker, who used extremely unique and fascinating tools in developing and repeating his style.  Anyone who has seen multiple Fellini films could spot the obvious aspects being used and re-used: the love of processions, the appearance of carnivals and circus-like scenes, the scaffolding and temporary structures, the cartoon appearances of certain characters’ expressions, and the big woman.  The list goes on.

 

But what about sexuality?  Sex is obviously ever-present, but in varying and sometimes completely different ways from one film to another.  Fellini’s fascination with his characters’ sexuality is one of the most important pieces in understanding his style.  There is a definite progression of Fellini’s concept of sex and sexuality throughout his films…

 

3. Reality is an interesting and sometimes confusing aspect of human existence.  It can keep you grounded and remind you of things that are really important in your life, but the less positive effects of a person’s day to day reality can also weigh them down.  As reality’s negative effects continue to become more prominent fantasy becomes an important escape from a weary reality.  Everyone has the ability to use their imaginative powers to create a mental fantasy that can serve as an escape from reality, and some people take this even further by taking a fantasy and changing their reality to encompass it.  Federico Fellini uses the theme of fantasy and reality prominently in many of his films, and makes use of characters that wish to escape their own reality.  He presents and dissects different causes and effects of our own fantasies and discovers that, once achieved, fantasies become as unsatisfying and harsh as the realities they sprung from.