Perhaps, one of the most controversial characters in Fellini’s movies, Zampano is a very complex one as well. Despite the seeming simplicity of his desire to be constantly at the helm and control the people, who are under his command, his motivations are rather obscure, much like his background.
The audience is never told what Zampano’s wishes and fears are; they never hear him saying, “I like this” or “I feel this.” However, Fellini did drop a few clues about Zampano’s nature here and there in the movie. Exploring Zampano’s social, emotional, political, cultural, and experiential background will reveal the motives behind the character’s actions and his unreasonably violent behavior towards the people that trusted him.
Zampano’s social background may seem very unclear. His behavior indicates that he was brought up in a rather unprivileged family, while his knowledge and intelligence proves the opposite.
This uncertainty in the definition of the character’s social origin can be attributed to the fact that Fellini aimed at attacking Fascism and, therefore, portraying his attitude towards the exploitation of people’s emotions and beliefs, as well as the relationships in which one of the sides represents the tyrannical and egotistic, while the other side embodies the essence of blind faith and compliance.
Thus, Fellini manages to warn the audience of the threats of Fascism through the implementation of the key principles of neorealism in his movie (Marcus 160).
The cultural background of the lead character in question shines through in the famous scene, in which he teaches Gelsomina to announce his performance in the circus (“E arrivato Zampano!” (Fellini 30:48). As soon as Gelsomina learns her cue, Zampano retrieves a horn from the depth of his suitcase and blows it. Thus, one may assume that he has been taught the basic skills of playing music and therefore, that he has a rather decent education.
Likewise, the political background of the character can only be seen when reading between the lines of his interaction with Gelsomina and especially Il Matto (“The Fool”). Speaking of the latter, the relationships between him and Zampano can be defined as the search for an appropriate political relationship between the stronger upper class and a more vulnerable lower one.
Ironically enough, both of them seem to belong to the lower class, the class of the outcasts: “Normal society dares not risk taking him in” (Grunes para. 3). The details indicating Zampagno’s being a member of the “exploited” members of the society can be traced in such scenes as the famous “Alone” sequence (Fellini 1:05:16)
In contrast to the previous elements, the emotional back has been explored rather thoroughly in the movie. Campagnolo is portrayed as a restrained, cold and almost bitter man. His desire to be the leader comes from his attempt at bringing the world that collapses around him in order, yet he finally realizes that his attempts are pointless.
The analysis of Zampano’s background does reveal a range of details that had been passed unnoticed before and can be used to analyze his motivations. Although the movie does not disclose much about Zampano’s origin, family or previous experiences, the clues that Fellini drops in some parts of the narration, as well as the details of Zampano’s interaction with the lead characters, disclose a range of peculiar facts about his past.
A character that seems amazing in his despicability, Zampano used to have a certain flair of mystery around him. After a thorough analysis of the movie elements, the veil dropped, and the source of the brutal force was finally revealed.
Works Cited
Fellini, Federico. La Strada. Italy: Trans Lux Inc. 1954. DVD.
Grunes, Dennis. “La Strada (Frederico Fellini, 1954).”WordPress. 2007.
Marcus, Millicent Joy. Italian Film in the Light of Neorealism. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. 1986. Print.