Peculiar Life Hacks Observed in Italy and Represented in Movies
The author of this article, who adores Italian art and culture, is 6% Italian, the descendent of some Italian immigrants who emigrated to the British Isles and who later emigrated to the United States. Having spent much garden hacks that work time in Italy, she knows that Italians like to reflect on the positive and negative aspects of living in Italy. Italians are often the first people to be critical of themselves. They’re always pointing out what’s not working in the Italian government and other aspects of Italy. Perhaps everyone could learn from their ability to be self-critical.
Seven provocative life-hack manoeuvres are regularly utilised by Italians, though not all, who wish to attain the upper hand. These strategies make some observers chuckle because ordinary people repeat them time and time again with positive outcomes as well as occasional failure. These activities aren’t solely Italian; however, they’re commonplace on the Italian peninsula. For instance, one can watch movies like ‘Fantozzi‘, an Italian satirical cult film, to better understand the points in this article. Such creative life hacks enable many citizens to succeed while perfecting the art of ‘arrangiarsi‘, also known in English as ‘getting by’.
- Live for Today
Living for today is common practice, appreciating the present rather than focusing too much on the future. Of course, many Italians don’t adhere to the philosophy of living in the moment, but others take living for today to extremes to experience the ‘dolce vita‘. The ‘dolce vita‘ involves spending a good deal of time focusing on social rituals like preparing a substantial lunch, enjoying espresso with friends, walking about town in the evening (la passeggiata), and thinking about the aperitif soon afterwards. Structuring their lives around delicious local food becomes the focal point of people who live day by day, in many cases meaning they’re also excellent cooks, but not in all cases, as some don’t even know how to cook and are willing to admit it. Conversing with friends around the table amounts to living for today, this being one reason why Italy tops the charts for foreigners in early retirement.
- Learn the ‘Art of Arrangiarsi‘
Making do with what one already has remains a positive endeavour. The term ‘arrangiarsi‘ is used to describe this practice. Everyone around the world would benefit from developing such a frugal skill at home and even at work as a means to guarantee success. The art of ‘making do‘ enabled Italians to survive many crises, including World War II and the recent Coronavirus Crisis. Knowing how to make do helped them to endure long periods of social distancing while singing together in unison from balconies to ignite community participation. By living in three-generation households, many citizens keep their families strong.
In times of crisis when people are unemployed, various generations chip in together by contributing time and resources to get by. In order to learn more about getting by successfully, one might watch the film “L’Arte di Arrangiarsi” (1954) starring Alberto Sordi (1920-2003), a man who always knows how to ‘arrangiarsi’ by merely going with the flow. One might also watch or read plays by Edoardo De Filippo (1900-1984) in which the author described the struggles that people had and how they dealt with them through humour. The plays include De Filippo’s renowned movie ‘Marriage Italian Style’ (1964) directed by Vittorio De Sica.