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Volume Number

38

Issue Number

1

Abstract

During the summer of 2007, Emanuele Crialese's film "The Golden Door" played in American theatres to much acclaim from critics. This provocative film on Italian immigration defies many of the clichéd and romantic notions many Americans have towards their immigrant origins. Crialese instead tells an almost fantastic story of poverty, ignorance, brutality, and promise through visual imagery that unsettles yet inspires the viewer. "The Golden Door" lets us in to a world which many critics have likened to a "Fellini "portal of unforgettable characters and themes. As apolitical theorist, however, I cannot help but see this film as a portal into Machiavelli's mind and, in particular, his understanding of human nature and fortune. In this article, I examine how each of the main characters succeeds or fails to handle the challenges of the "new world" in accordance to Machiavelli's understanding of how well man adapts his nature to changing circumstances. In the end, the goal is to show the lasting significance of Machiavelli's teachings to the modern world, especially his wisdom regarding human nature.

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