Nights of Cabiria Imagery

Nights of Cabiria Imagery

Into Darkness

Once Maria has returned home after nearly drowning, she finally decides to burn all of Giorgio's belongings in the fire that the children have going outside. Afterwards, she walks off down the road. The image of her walking away is poignant as Fellini shows that the road is completely dark the way she is heading. It's a sign of what lies ahead for the young woman.

All Flash No Class

We are introduced to the prostitutes and their pimps and see them gawking over a new Fiat. It belongs to one of the pimps, paid for by the money earned from the prostitutes. We hear Maria say she would have chosen gray for the color as it has more class. Fellini's image shows us that these people believe that "things" are what give them class. The men wear sunglasses at night and are flashy dressers. But we can feel that they don't know what to do with these nice things, and when one of the women grinds the gears it tells us they have no clue. They want to flash of the car which represents them wanting status in their lives, but they don't know how to drive it which tells us it doesn't fully belong to them. That they don't truly know what it means to have class.

Shut Out

Maria walks by a night club and hears music playing from within. She wanders over to a window where she can see inside. It has bars and wire covering it as she peer in. The composition tells us that she is restricted from these higher class places, and when she walks by the doorman he tells her so. He tells her to keep moving.

White Knight

Alberto Lazzari is a famous actor, and Maria sees him coming out of the night club she can't get in to. He's just had a fight with a woman who leaves him. He's wearing a white jacket and has a big white car. The image shows us that he is the white knight in Maria's fantasy. And when he calls her over and takes her away with him, she feels like she is living the fantasy. We come to find out that he is anything but, as he discards his white jacket and soon after has Maria locked in the bathroom for an entire night while he makes love with his reconciled lover.

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