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Nicole Rocha

997661089

Professor Lucia Re

ITA1535H

Thursday, November 28 2013

Man’s Best Friend: Discovering the Human-Animal Relationship, Anthropomorphism

and Animalization Presented in Vittorio De Sica’s Umberto D.

Following the Second World War, the structure and genre of Italian cinema began

to transform. During Benito Mussolini’s fascist reign, Italian cinema primarily produced

a genre of light comedies centering on bourgeois Italian characters, known as the Telefoni

Bianchi (Latz 682-685). The fascist regime also marked the creation of Cinecittà; located

in a town southeast of Rome, Cinecittà was realized by Mussolini, his son Vittorio and

Luigi Freddi, who was the director of the Direzione Generale per le Cinematografia and

responsible for the production of Mussolini’s propagandist short films (Bondanella 21).

Cinecittà had its own studios and was home to the Centro Sperimentale di

Cinematografia, which was one of the most prestigious film schools in Europe at the time

(Bondanella 22). After the fall of fascism and the end of World War II, these comedies

were replaced with a more serious genre of film, which symbolized the emergence of

Italian Neorealism. This cinematic movement spanned between 1944 and 1952 and was

presented as quasi-reportage; the films were typically shot on location, used non-

professional actors and depicted quotidian life for Italians facing post-World War II

conditions and challenges (Bondanella 61-62). One important director and contributor to

Italian Neorealism was Vittorio de Sica.

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De Sica produced a series of neorealist films during the post-World War II period

and had a long withstanding collaboration with Cesare Zavattini, which included his

infamous ‘Trilogy of Solitude’ (Bondanella 82); this trilogy included Sciuscià (1947),

Ladri di Biciclette (1948) and what is noted to be one of the final films of Italian

Neorealism entitled Umberto D. The film tells the story of Umberto Domenico Ferrari, an

elderly pensioner living in Rome, who is incapable of financially sustaining himself on

his meager pension wages. The film explores the dreary conditions to which Umberto and

his pet dog Flike are subjected, which includes his alienation from society. This paper

seeks to investigate the human-animal relationship, with specific focus on the connection

between mankind and the canine species, illustrated by Umberto and Flike. Moreover, it

will analyze Flike’s anthropomorphism during the film and the animalization of both

Umberto and the lower-class Italian citizens within post-war Italian society. Furthermore,

this paper will look to connect academic works regarding animalization,

anthropomorphism and the canine-human relationship to De Sica’s film. As Luca

Barattoni notes, neorealist films and their filmmakers choose to explore the “man-nature

relationship rather than the man-society one” (Barattoni 54).

The correlation between animals and humans is persistently depicted within the

plot of the film. The animalization of humans and in specific, lower class Italian society

is made evident in the opening sequence of Umberto D. In the first scene, Umberto and

other pensioners have rallied together in order to protest for an increase in their

insufficient pensions (De Sica, Umberto D.). While they walk down the street towards

city hall, the police arrive on scene, which forces the pensioners to disperse in order to

avoid arrest, as they do not have a permit to protest (Marcus 97). This opening sequence
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resonates with a scene that shortly follows that includes Maria, the housemaid of the

landlady under which Umberto boards. Maria is seen in the kitchen and attempts to

eliminate the infestation of ants that continue to swarm the walls and countertops with

burning newspaper sheets (De Sica, Umberto D.). Similar to Maria’s attempts to

eliminate the ants from the kitchen, the police treat the pensioners with the same

demeanour in the streets of the previous scene. De Sica achieves this connection between

man and animal by animalizing and marginalizing the Italian elderly and lower class

citizens; the elderly are viewed as insignificant to Italian society, much like an ant would

be to a human. The way by which the scene is filmed accentuates the pensioners’

vulnerability by using a sweeping camera motion. Bondanella further affirms this

connection between the dispersion of the pensioners and ants by explaining, “De Sica

shows them to us as if they were insects being brushed aside, a visual hint that is

reinforced later when the maid scatters a swarm of ants” (Bondanella 90). The

pensioners, similar to the insects, are portrayed as dispensable and unimportant and are

left unobserved and uncared for by others; De Sica is able to illustrate the suffering of the

post-war Italian elderly by demonstrating an accompanying image of animal suffrage.

This mirroring of suffering between man and animal echoes the works of Jeremy

Bentham, who argued that an animal’s ability to suffer gave them a resemblance to

mankind (Re). Just as the ants suffer a dreadful fate in the kitchen at Maria’s hands,

Umberto and the lower class Italian citizens are faced with the bleak conditions of post-

war Italy society.

The animalization of Umberto, Maria and the Italian lower class is also evident in

the way Antonia, Umberto’s landlady, treats Umberto and Maria. In order to gain a
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further profit, Antonia rents out Umberto’s room to couples for their sexual activities

while he is not in the house (De Sica, Umberto D.). Moreover, she does many things to

have Umberto leave the house, from forcing him to pay his outstanding rent in full rather

than instalments and transforming his room into a large living area in order to impress her

affluent fiancée and their friends (De Sica, Umberto D.). Antonia’s cruelty towards the

two boarders is further depicted in a conversation between Umberto and Maria; upon

discovering that Maria, a young unmarried woman, is pregnant and is unsure who the

father of her child is, Umberto warns her to conceal it from Antonia for as long as

possible, as she will be thrown out of the house once Antonia is aware of the situation

(De Sica, Umberto D.). Antonia’s treatment of Maria and Umberto resembles the way in

which an owner would treat its pet if had misbehaved; her ability to expel her boarders

demonstrates her insensitivity of their suffering. Antonia symbolizes the bourgeois

society and its values throughout the film, while her boarders, Maria and Umberto,

represent “the disenfranchised social classes, the old and the sub-proletariat” of Italian

society (Marcus 99). Umberto and Maria are reduced to have little or no insignificance

for Antonia and as a result are animalized by her; Umberto’s dignity is stripped away by

Antonia. Umberto is treated the same way as an abandoned dog, as he too becomes a

stray to his previous dwelling and in a larger context to post-war Italian society.

Another important aspect of the human-animal relationship to examine is the

anthropomorphism towards Umberto’s dog Flike. Fredrik Karlsson explains

anthropomorphism as a habit in which humans attribute certain character traits, which

they believe to be unique to mankind, to non-human entities, such as animals and

machinery (709). This can be seen most notably towards the end of Umberto D., when
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Umberto takes Flike for a walk on the streets of Rome. Umberto stops by the steps of the

Pantheon and attempts to beg for money by reaching out his hand. However, when a man

approaches him to hand Umberto some money, he is filled with shame and as a result,

turns his hand over (De Sica, Umberto D.). Understanding the financial plight he and his

dog now face, Umberto places his hat into Flike’s mouth and has the dog stand on its

hind legs; meanwhile, Umberto proceeds to hide behind one of the pillars while Flike

begs. This scene demonstrates to its audience multiple examples of anthropomorphism;

first, the way in which Flike poses can be regarded as attributing him with human

physical characteristics. While he begs, Flike stands on his hind legs rather than standing

on all fours; by standing on his hind legs, Flike adopts into a human stance. Since humans

only have two legs, the position in which Flike begs makes him appear to be more

human. As a result, Flike’s adaptation of using two legs rather than four depicts an

example of anthropomorphism, as his change in posture and stance resembles that of a

human and therefore lends itself to human physical attributes. Second, the scene proves

to present an ironic twist, since the roles of the provider and dependent are reversed

between Umberto and Flike. Flike’s role as the pet is to be provided for and nurtured by

its human owner, however, he now becomes the sole provider for Umberto and himself;

he is able to successfully attract the attention of many passer-byers, which includes the

commendatore. In Roberto Marchesini’s article entitled “La sacrosanta attaglia ontro

l'umanizzazione degli animali”, he states that anthropomorphism diminishes the role of

the animal twofold. Anthropomorphizing animals leaves them at a disadvantage because

they cannot assess the characteristics and needs in a particular species, but can sense what

is missing within the human; by adapting such qualities, they becomes quasi-human and
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in turn, make the human worth measurable by units (Marchesini “La sacrosanta attaglia

ontro l'umanizzazione degli animali”). Flike’s ability to earn money by begging

demonstrates Umberto’s lack of ability to provide, as well as diminishes his purpose as a

human and provider to keep both him and the dog financially secure. Moreover, by

attributing human characteristics onto Flike, he is taken advantage of, as he assumes the

responsibility of monetarily providing for the two of them. Marchesini elaborates by

stating, “in realtà si tratta più prosaicamente di un maltrattare l'animale, che chiede e

merita di essere trattato secondo le sue coordinate etologiche” (Marchesini “La

sacrosanta attaglia ontro l'umanizzazione degli animali”). De Sica’s use of

anthropomorphism further demonstrates the fragile human state following the Second

World War and the burdens faced by the expended lower class citizens.

One of the most fundamental motifs of Umberto D. is the human-animal

relationship, in specific reference to humans and dogs. The canine-human relationship

between Umberto and Flike is profound and intimate, however, the characters’

relationships and their ability to relate to one another is an absent element in the movie.

The lack of communication is prevalent throughout the entire course of the film; first,

Umberto does not have any intimate relationships with any of the other characters in the

film. He walks around the streets of Rome on his own, with the exception of having

Flike’s company. His closest human relationship is with Maria, however, their

discussions are short and banal. At the end of the film, Umberto is evicted from

Antonia’s house and as he leaves, he tells Maria to take care of herself. This scene

illustrates the disconnect between humans in the film, as Marcus notes:

When everything is at a dead end, when there is no more hope of getting help
from anybody, it is just then that Umberto could have found a way out […]
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Human beings have this primitive, perennial, ancient fault of not

understanding one another, of not communicating with each other. (Marcus
100)

The themes of solitude and loneliness are made present in this scene, as Umberto

could have asked for Maria to come along with him to have a fresh beginning. Despite

the opportunity Umberto could take, his inability to communicate with others results in

the absence of solidarity amongst mankind. This lack of human communication is also

seen when Umberto bumps into the commendatore in the scene where Flike begs.

Umberto asks his former employer to have a coffee with him, however the commendatore

continually gives Umberto the excuse that he must leave. Knowing that Umberto may ask

for help, the commendatore is reserved and keeps their conversation short (De Sica,

Umberto D.). The film demonstrates how each person is self-interested and that by

keeping to oneself, the true social and economic issues of post-war Italy cannot be

changed. Human solitude is a quintessential theme in Italian neorealism cinema and is

exemplified in De Sica’s film.

The absence of human companionship in Umberto D. is superseded with a close

human-canine relationship between Umberto and Flike. Flike is Umberto’s sole friend

and companion in life and Bert Cardullo states that the dog “in reality is the only steady

companion the pensioner can find” (188). The relationship between Umberto and Flike

illustrates Michel de Montaigne’s philosophical notion that mankind should not see

themselves as superior to animals (Re). Umberto cherishes Flike and their camaraderie,

as made evident tin numerous scenes in the film. At the beginning of the movie, Umberto

is eating at a soup kitchen and manages to swindle another man’s food in order to feed

Flike (De Sica, Umberto D.). After Umberto’s release from the hospital, he returns to
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Antonia’s house and Maria informs him that Flike had run away. Prior to informing

Umberto of Flike’s disappearance, Maria has just informed one of the two soldiers with

whom she had sexual relations of her pregnancy. Rather than consoling Maria and the

pain she felt, Umberto scolds her for being irresponsible and leaves to search for Flike.

Bondanella elaborates on this particular scene, noting, “Umberto remains completely

insensitive to Maria’s pain, while he expects other to recognize his own problems” (93).

Umberto’s neglect and lack of compassion for another human is juxtaposed by his close

friendship with the dog. Umberto searches throughout Rome for Flike until he arrives at

the dog pound and saves Flike from euthanasia; prior to finding Flike, Umberto is forced

to purchase a tumbler in order to break a bill to pay the taxi for its fare to the dog pound

(De Sica, Umberto D.). Umberto’s panic-stricken reaction and distress during this

sequence demonstrates importance of Flike in his life, as Cardullo describes it as an

“agonizing interruption, and the filmmakers were right to emphasize or dramatize it, for

in trying to find his dog, Umberto is doing something on which his whole life appears to

depend” (Cardullo 189).

Flike is Umberto’s companion, but also serves a “selfobject function” (Brown

176). As Sue-Ellen Brown elaborates, animals can become crucial selfobjects when

separated from their human owners. She explains that humans may feel “a sense of

emptiness, depression or disintegration until reunited with the animal” (Brown 176). This

is evident while Umberto spends his time in the hospital; when Maria visits, he asks

where Flike is and how he is doing. Once he leaves the hospital, his happiness comes

from the thought of being reunited with Flike; however, once he discovers Flike’s

disappearance, Umberto enters into a frenzy to relocate him. Moreover, Brown explains
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that the animal is able to sense the human’s distress and providing its distressed owner

with support and calmness (Brown 176). After finding Flike, Umberto has a sense of

relief and happiness once again that stems from his friendship and love for Flike. Brown

explains that the animal itself does not actually make the human kind, but embodies or

triggers that form of calmness for the person (Brown 176). This is also seen in the final

sequence, following Umberto’s attempt to commit suicide by walking into a moving

train. Umberto is unable to kill himself due to the fact that Flike escapes his grip and his

attention moves away from the train onto finding Flike. Umberto calls for Flike and at

first the dog hesitates, but eventually comes back to Umberto, ending the film with the

two of them playing together and walking down the street (De Sica, Umberto D.). In this

scene, Flike once again is able to soothe Umberto; unsure of what will happen to Flike

and himself, Umberto thinks that suicide is the best way to escape his dire conditions.

After his near-suicide attempt, Flike serves to reinvigorate Umberto’s will and desire to

live. Flike provides Umberto the love and support that he needs in order to face the

melancholic situation Umberto now faces.

In his article entitled “Lineamenti di zooantropologia”, Roberto Marchesini

argues that animals can serve as a substitution for human interaction (Marchesini

“Lineamenti di zooantropologia”). Flike replaces Umberto’s lack of communication with

other human beings by having a friendship between man and dog, which in turn,

substitutes his need for human interaction. Moreover, Marchesini notes that this human-

dog relationship “legami di dipendenza e di interdipendenza” (Marchesini “Lineamenti di

zooantropologia”). Both Flike and Umberto rely on one another for different needs; Flike

relies on Umberto to feed him and house him, while Umberto seeks upon an emotional
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connection and camaraderie. Their friendship is based on the fulfillment of such needs

and can remain a happy relationship when both Flike and Umberto are able to receive

what they need from the other. Moreover, the film portrays the relationship between

Umberto and Flike to be more of a friendship rather than an owner-pet relationship. Since

Flike is able to provide the emotional support Umberto needs, the relationship is

interdependent and not one of a pet solely relying on its owner. Flike’s role in Umberto

changes the dynamic in their relationship, as Alessandro Arrigoni describes that

“l'animale è uno dei soggetti attivi della relazione di partnership e non soltano un mero

strumento di ownership” (Arrigoni “Uno Nova Frontiera Disciplinare: Introduzione alla

Zoonantropologia”). The connection between Umberto and Flike is not bias to the needs

of one or the other, but rather they are a team who seek to survive the gloomy conditions

of post-war Italy. Arrigoni also presents the idea that dogs perhaps are able to sense the

thoughts and emotions of mankind as well, stating “i cani questi agganci possono essere

rappresentati da suoni (parole o meno), gesti, persino dai movimenti ocular dei

conduttori” (Arrigoni “Uno Nova Frontiera Disciplinare: Introduzione alla

Zoonantropologia”). The idea that a dog has the ability to sense the thoughts and danger

of its owner can be realized in the final sequence of Umberto D. While Umberto awaits

the train’s arrival, the audience sees Umberto tightly holding onto Flike. Flike, who is

barking, seems to sense Umberto’s sadness and plan and attempts to pry himself out of

Umberto’s hands. Perhaps Flike was able to understand what Umberto was about to do

and in turn, tried to save not only himself, but Umberto as well. Arrigoni’s article also

looks at the profoundness of the canine-human relationship and notes that he was able to

feel the deep connection rooted between the dog and its owner. He writes, “ho potuto
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toccare con mano quanto certi cani si interfaccino totalmente con i loro conduttori umani

fino a creare una vera e propria simbiosi licantropica fondata sul gioco, sulla cimplicità e

sul contatto fisico[…]” (Arrigoni “Uno Nova Frontiera Disciplinare: Introduzione alla

Zoonantropologia”). The friendship and love shared between Umberto and Flike is felt by

the audience, who feel sorrowful for Umberto’s loss of Flike, the attempted suicide of

both himself and the dog and the fact that both characters do not have anyone else in their

lives but one another.

Vittorio De Sica’s Umberto D. addresses the social and economic conditions post-

war Italy that its lower class citizens and elderly generation faced. The themes of

solidarity, poverty and misfortune are subject matters that De Sica addresses from an

ostensible context. When further observing the significance of the film, the lack of human

relationships also depicts the profound bond between of human and animal and

demonstrates the effect of such relationships. De Sica’s Umberto D. uses animals to

illustrate the mistreatment of the Italian elderly in post-war society and their

marginalization. The film also humanizes animals in order to further demonstrate the loss

of dignity and independence of the lower class citizens of Italian society. The

anthropomorphism, animalization and canine-human relationship all aid Vittorio de Sica

in evoking the message of human solidarity. Although it not an apparent subject matter

throughout the film, the relationship between dogs and mankind is exemplified as

important and cherished and in turn, demonstrates the value and worth of both humans

and canines.&
 Works Cited

Arrigoni, Alessandro. “Una Nouva Frontiera Discplinare: Introduzione all

Zooantropologia.” L’uomo e gli altri esseri viventi. Sala Multimediale Regione

Piemonte. Corso Regina Margherita 174, Torino. 4, 11, 18 March 2008. Conference

Presentation.

Barattoni, Luca. Italian Post-Neorealist Cinema. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press,

2012. Print.

Bondanella, Peter. A History of Italian Cinema. New York: The Continuum International

Publishing Group Inc, 2009. Print.

Brown, Sue-Ellen. "Self Psychology and the Human–Animal Bond: An Overview." The

Psychology of the Human-Animal Bond. Springer New York, 2011. 137-149.

Karlsson, Fredrik. "Critical Anthropomorphism and Animal Ethics." Journal of

Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 25.5 (2012): 707-20. ProQuest. Web. 1 Oct.

2013.

Katz, Ephraim. “Italy.” The Film Encyclopedia. 7th ed. New York: HarperCollins, 2012.

682-685. Print.

Marchesini, Roberto. Lineamenti di zooantropologia. Calderini Edagricole, 2000.

---. “La sacrosanta battaglia contro l'umanizzazione degli animali.” Scuola di Interazione

Uomo-Animale. SIUA, 17 Apr. 2013. Web. 15 Sept. 2013.

Marcus, Millicent. Italian Film in the Light of Neorealism. Princeton: Princeton

University Press, 1986. Print.

Re, Lucia. “Lecture 2.” Animal and Human in Contemporary Narrative and Philosophy

(Calvino, Ortese e Levi). Teefy Hall, Room 103, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON.

11 Sep. 2013. Lecture.

Umberto D. Dir. Vittorio De Sica. The Criterion Collection, 2003. DVD.