The ‘Work Grammar’ educational documentary film format in the Italian VET context (1958-1978): Some considerations on the evolution of film content and language

Context: This paper is part of my research on the birth and evolution of the „work grammar” VET audiovisual format in the second half of the XX century, aiming at clarifying how historical, cultural, and political circumstances have contributed to shaping a new educational dis-course in the Italian audiovisuals for vocational training. Approach: The research is based on multiple approaches: A) the study of VET audiovisual production and policies (and their relationship to the general VET policy in Italy and the general background of Italian society), since the days when the „work grammars” were first issued in the 1950s. It is also based: B) on the attempt to analyse the cinematic discourse of these films through the study of their content and structure and the interpretation of the cinematic language they use and its evolution. Findings: Crossing these two approaches, some original research themes have emerged. One is being developed in this paper: some important developments in the content and style of the „work grammars” were not only consequences of intentional educational or VET policy. They were rather caused by the evolution of Italian society into a modern free market. Conclusion: The work grammars evolved (in form and content) not only under the pressure of Italian VET policy and of parallel didactic evolutions in other forms (e.g. traditional non-audiovisual courses) of VET, but also under the influence of the laws on cinematographic production and fruition and eventually, thanks to the advent of commercial television and the changes that ensued in the Italian audiovisual scenario.