Pasolini

Pier Paolo Pasolini (5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, novelist, filmmaker, and public intellectual. Born in Bologna and raised in Casarsa della Delizia, he studied at the University of Bologna and published early poetry that established his critical voice on society, language, and religion. His fiction, notably Ragazzi di vita (1955) and Una vita violenta (1959), depicted the urban poor of Rome with stark realism.

Pasolini's cinema fused neorealism with literary and philosophical inquiry. His debut feature Accattone (1961) marked his movement into film; Mamma Roma (1962) follows a market woman in Rome; The Gospel According to Matthew (1964) is a widely studied religiously inspired adaptation; Oedipus Rex (1967) presents a cinematic version of Sophocles; Theorem (1968) explores desire and social isolation; Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975) stands as his most controversial work. He often employed non-professional actors and on-location shooting, blending myth, politics, and social critique to investigate class, sexuality, religion, and power.

His work engaged with Marxist thought and critique of mass culture while remaining skeptical of conventional party politics. He attacked consumerism and the effects of media on society, and he challenged both bourgeois culture and traditional institutions, including religion, in ways that provoked intense responses from critics and audiences.

Pasolini was murdered in Ostia in 1975; the case has generated extensive speculation and debate. He is regarded as a major figure in 20th-century Italian culture, and his diverse body of work—poetry, novels, and cinema—continues to influence discussions of art, society, and ethics.