New Existentialism： The Literary inetto as a Reemerging Prototype in Twenty-First Century Cinema

The new prototype of the inetto, a helpless and impassive character, makes his first appearance near the end of the nineteenth century in Italian literature, continues to gain strength and status throughout the twentieth-century artistic climate （through the existentialist philosophy of Sartre and Camus） and reemerges in contemporary cinema. The present study examines whether there is a gradual exacerbation or overcoming of this psychological disorder across the centuries in the novels and films investigated. Specifically, I offer a comparative analysis of Svevo＇s character Emilio Brentani in Senilitd （1898） and Giuseppe Piceioni＇s Guido in Giulia non esce la sera （Giulia Does Not Date at Night） （2009）. This study will also draw unusual parallels between Schopenhauer, Svevo＇s existentialist philosophy and contemporary cinema.