A Sting from the Past: Assimilation and Healing Rituals in Helen de Michiel’s Tarantella (1995)

The chapter discusses the movie Tarantella by Helen De Michiel as a reflection on the persistence of Italian culture in second- and third-generation Italian Americans, in particular Italian American women. Diana, the protagonist of the movie, is a strong, independent woman who chose to distance herself from her Italian heritage and, in particular, from a traditional concept of womanhood that denies women individuality and freedom of expression. It is only after the death of her mother that Diana starts—thanks to the help of a family friend that represents a substitute for the mother figure—a painful but necessary process of reconciliation of her internal conflicts. Only after she has acknowledged the strength and the resilience of her mother and grandmother Diana is able to reconnect with her origins. From this point of view, the movie Tarantella represents a deep and heartfelt analysis of the discomfort of fully assimilated Italian Americans who desire to reconnect with their ethnicity, maintaining that part of their tradition that is still alive and useful for them.