Scusa ma decido io! Raoul Bova and the Personification of the Latin Lover
Are you already subscribed?
Login to check
whether this content is already included on your personal or institutional subscription.
Abstract
Raoul Bova has all the physical features of the "latin lover" - dark hair, golden skin, a slender figure, an intense gaze - yet he moves consistently from heartbreaker to object of pleasure and destiny in all his films. Based on the theory of David Gilmore (1990) that masculinity is linked to honor, procreation, and protection of women, and hence to independence from women, and to their defense at the same time, this essay analyses how Bova impersonates this kind of Italian machismo confirming that women are indeed the ones to decide.
Keywords
- Raoul Bova
- Latin Lover
- Masculinity
- Mediterranean Culture
- Women
