Una volta c’era una dottoressa…
On of my most striking experiences while living in Italy as a student (during the first Berlusconi reign – I relate with no pleasure that we have since advanced to the third) was the complete invisibility of lesbians. Mind you, I was living in Bologna (aka the Italian Berkeley) where a quarter of the population consisted of students, and still there were days where I felt like the only lesbian on the planet, even when I went out in full “visibility mode”.
So imagine my delighted surprise when I saw that public Italian TV Channel Rai Due had commissioned an Italian version of “Hospital Central” (the Spanish version of “ER”, which in turn has sparked a very active lesbian fandom community, possibly the most numerous and most active in Spanish at large) -
…a show that owes much of its international popularity to a lesbian couple that consists of Maca (a commanding, upper-class pediatrician with immediate sensual appeal, played by Patricia Vico) and Esther (the head nurse, with both feet firmly planted on the ground and a smile that could melt granite, played by Fatima Baeza).
The Italian version, despite the vastly differing legal stance on gay marriage and civil unions in Italy (there is no such thing, as opposed to Spain that has complete marriage equality), is supposed to also include versions of these two characters in Marina (the classy & distinguished pediatrician with an aristocratic background, played by Alessia Barela) and Esther (everyone’s favorite nurse, with a catastrophic track record in men, played by Elisabetta Rocchetti).
The show opened on August 29th to mixed reviews, but after suffering through eons of scantily clad, surgically altered and dyed-blond women serving as nothing but decorative elements on every Italian game show, my expectations in regards to Italian TV have settled at a very modest level.
I shall be content with just one or two women who have not been to “Yoga Camp” and came back bereft of their mimic capabilities, as long as they talk in a language I love and cherish and with a storyline that reminds me of two Spanish TV characters whom I used to enjoy tremendously (before Barbie Torture commenced, but that is a long and convoluted story).
The show, called Terapia d’urgenza, is set in Milan and while I wouldn’t want to live in Italy under the current circumstances, the chance to look in through the window, so to speak, for an hour a week and, low and behold, see a lesbian character on public primetime TV, is something that brings back happy memories and that I just may have to make time for. And since my Italian is showing first signs of oxidation and at the point of getting buried under lots of Spanish like one of the seven Troys, I do have the excuse of needing the language praxis. – And any female Italian TV character who is allowed to be dark-haired, surgically unaltered and queer on primetime deserves unconditional support.
If you, as well, think that your Italian has gotten a bit rusty, I recommend the Marina/Esther clips that circulate on YouTube, most kindly provided by salohe20 and kissesbyitaly. If you’re not really into Italian, but want to watch along either way, there is also a subtitled English version of the clips in progress (which kind of ruins my little plan of doing English translations on my own and archiving them here, but then, my dissertation calls it a “2×4 of destiny” – I might end up doing Saturday morning sneak previews, though). — Never underestimate the classic lesbian grassroots approach…
For those interested, you can follow the storyline (so far, 3 episodes) here, here and here (salohe), or, in a somewhat more extended version, in five parts here: 1, 2_1, 2_2, 3_1, 3_2 (kissesbyitaly)
Clips with English subtitles (based on the edition by kissesbyitaly and provided by unikyou) can be found here: clip 1, 2_1 and 2_2
A Spanish edition, courtesy of Samantha and gabqmxena is in progress over at Samantha’s blog.
Alessia Barela, I must admit, is not my [beloved] Patricia Vico, but, as “old unlobotomized Maca” would say… “she´s got a little point”. I like her melancholic, stubborn Maca… to a certain extent. I guess Maca was a PV´s creation, the same for Esther [FB´s creation], not the writers´ creation. And I enjoy “undusting” my limited and “cocoliche like” italian.
By the way, have you watched spoilers videos from upcoming Episode 6? Esther´s got a girlfriend. OMG! LOL. I´ve posted the vid in TERTULIA DE HC.
@Samantha: I don’t think I could compare Maca and Marina, really, since the character(s) is/are acted so differently already – Maca all sensual swagger with en edge (like we established in that good old androgyny debate), and Marina all edges with just a hint of sensuality shimmering through.
Oh, and I just saw the famous vid – well, good for Esther! Maca needs to hit rock bottom first and realize that taking a leave with a Barbie doll can cost dearly. And this really seems to make her jealous.
i just realized that you are referencing carolina cerezuela (vero) as the “barbie doll” on hc…oh, that’s so sad! i think she’s fabulous. i have a hard time thinking of her in terms of the villain in the show, and she sure isn’t portrayed as empty headed. i like esther, but she is so undone by maca, which makes her seem pathetic and nudgy at times. it’s pretty obvious that some who have commented have a problem with vero’s beauty, but she isn’t perfect, and what about her adorable personality? anyhoo, i was drawn here by the italian marina/esther, and i thank you for the translations and such…..k
Dear Karyn,
since I don’t want my blog to turn into (another) arguing space on the tiring issue of Vero vs. Esther, let’s just leave it at you having one point of view and me having another.
As you will have seen from the outlay of this blog, it’s pretty feminist, with a fair bit of gender theory and interest in scholarly approach to topics, geared towards an older audience and all in all probably more reflecting women like myself who find themselves represented in Marina, or in Maca, or Esther, and not in a character like Vero.
For me, the Vero storyline has nothing to do with individual actresses (or models), but with society’s gender notions at large and the image being presented to viewers, and those do indeed worry me. That female characters are presented as “not too smart” again troubles me deeply, and the success of this, especially with young women, even more so. It worries me that people are beginning to perceive “depth” as a disturbance since it indicates a general loss of interpersonal empathy, which in turn will fill the actual psychiatrists’ offices. But this would be a long debate on cultural mechanics that has no place here.
Right here, let’s get back to Marina and Esther. Glad to hear you enjoy the translations!
dear anik,
although your response was clearly intended to cut off all intelligent conversation on the point of view that i hold, i do thank you for taking the time to respond, however patronizing, condescending and elitist your position seems to be.
you are correct: obviously this is your blog; on the other hand, do not people blog for exactly what I provided—response? another point of view? a fresh perspective?
as a 48-year old psychiatric nurse (former fashion model) who spent her youth in San Francisco, cut her eye teeth of feminism on Kate Millett, etc, and who now lives, geographically in Los Angeles, but internationally, if you will, globally, via the internet, i do think that the issue of calling another woman “a barbie doll” is fundamentally efficacious with all discussion of feminism, gender theory, and, may I add, gender reality, as well as absolutely any attempt to discuss such topics in anything even remotely resembling a scholarly and/or academic frame of reference and pursuit.
forgive my obvious intellectual density, but you said the following, and quite frankly, it makes absolutely no logical sense to me:
“That female characters are
presented as “not too smart” again troubles me deeply, and the success of this,
especially with young women, even more so. It worries me that people are
beginning to perceive “depth” as a disturbance since it indicates a general loss
of interpersonal empathy, which in turn will fill the actual psychiatrists’
offices. But this would be a long debate on cultural mechanics that has no place
here.”
if you are in any way suggesting that vero, or someone like her, has been presented as “not too smart,” then perhaps your next symposium on gender theory might benefit from a different kind of topic. how’s about: “what do you call gay women who call physically gorgeous, highly intelligent and charmingly engaging gay women “barbie dolls”?” additionally, if by any remote chance (tell me it’s not so!) you really think the women on this and other forums and blogs about these shows, and these “characters” are so abysmally stupid as to accuse esther of being a “disturbance” purely because she has ”depth,” then you have underestimated not only me but many others.
i don’t appreciate being told what I can say; as that must be your intention, however ineloquently that intention was voiced, i’ll save you from yet another vacuous and mindless infodump from just another “barbie doll”: i’ll leave you to your scholarly pursuits. enjoy!
Dear Karyn,
you are free to say whatever you want to, also in my “virtual living room”. I apologize if my remarks have seemed insulting to you. I have enjoyed yours.
You’ve made some very interesting points – particularly, the issue of conventional beauty in relation to perceived intelligence is intriguing me, although I’m not sure it can be generalized. It brings me to the question whether a mainstream, idealized concept of “beauty” can in any way be interpreted subversively without a rebound.
The example of Vero is a tough choice here since, in my opinion, the notions of “physically gorgeous” and “highly intelligent” need to be viewed separately in regard to the writing and the acting of this character.
I would love to continue this discussion, but such a subject (that we both seem to feel very passionate about) is, in my opinion, misplaced in a set of comments. I invite you to continue it by email, if you like – I just sent you a message to the account listed.