La Dolce Vita (resubmission)

With themes of religious cynicism, unorthodox sexuality, globalization, and materialism, La Dolce Vita can be interpreted as a large scale satire film meant to expose a society of people who have become disillusioned and corrupt in the postwar period. While the Italian people came to lose their faith in Christianity in the postwar period, they searched elsewhere for meaning. La Dolce Vita, while an exaggeration of this search, shows how Italians turned to other things such as sex and materialism, as replacements for Christianity in 1960s Italy. Marcello’s hedonism and futile pursuit of purpose manifests itself in his sexual conquests. The provocative final scenes of the film take place at the orgy -- complete with a striptease performed by the hostess. Marcello -- wearing a white suit like some sort of priest, he preaches his critiques and ideas to the people around him, urging the guests into exhibitionism, simply for his own sake. He is unable to maintain an objective viewpoint while recording the lives of the rich and famous and gets swept up by the luxurious quality of the nightlife in Rome.