Editing Pier Paolo Pasolini (section)

== Legacy ==
As a director, Pasolini created a [[picaresque]] [[Italian neorealism|neorealism]], showing a sad reality. Many people did not want to see such portrayals in artistic work for public distribution. ''[[Mamma Roma]]'' (1962), featuring [[Anna Magnani]] and telling the story of a prostitute and her son, was considered an affront to the public ideals and morality of those times. His works, with their unequalled poetry applied to cruel realities, showed that such realities were less distant from most daily lives, and contributed to changes in the Italian psyche.<ref name="JAM8">{{cite book |title=Il Caos (collected articles) |author=Pier Paolo Pasolini |year=1995 |publisher=[[Editori Riuniti]] |location=Rome |language=it}}</ref>

Pasolini's work often engendered disapproval, perhaps primarily because of his frequent focus on sexual behaviour, and the contrast between what he presented and what was publicly sanctioned. While Pasolini's poetry often dealt with his gay love interests, this was not the only, or even main, theme. His interest in and use of Italian dialects should also be noted. Much of the poetry was about his highly revered mother. He depicted certain corners of the contemporary reality as few other poets could do. His poetry, which took some time before it was translated, was not as well known outside Italy as were his films. A collection in English was published in 1996.<ref name="noonday">{{cite book |author=Pier Paolo Pasolini |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pqzRAIwoq8EC&q=pier+paolo+pasolini+collected+poems |title=Collected Poems |publisher=[[Noonday Press]] |year=1996 |isbn=9780374524692}}</ref>

Pasolini also developed a philosophy of language mainly related to his studies on cinema.<ref name="JAM7">{{cite book
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v0-pPQAACAAJ&q=pier+paolo+pasolini |title=Heretical empiricism |last=Pasolini |first=Pier Paolo |date=1988–2005 |publisher=New Academia Publishing |isbn=9780976704225}}</ref> This theoretical and critical activity was another hotly debated topic. His collected articles and responses are still available today.<ref name="JAM8" /><ref>{{cite book |title=Dibattiti sui film |author=A. Covi |year=1971 |publisher=Gregoriana |location=Padova |language=it}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Scrittori e Popolo – il populismo nella letteratura italiana contemporanea |author=A. Asor Rosa |year=1988 |publisher=Gregoriana |location=Torino |language=it}}</ref>

These studies can be considered the foundation of his artistic point of view: he believed that the language—such as English, Italian, dialect or other—is a [[Linguistic relativity|rigid system in which human thought is trapped]]. He also thought that the cinema is the "written" language of reality which, like any other written language, enables man to see things from the point of view of truth.<ref name="JAM7"/>

His films won awards at the [[Berlin International Film Festival]], [[Cannes Film Festival]], [[Venice Film Festival]], Italian National Syndicate for Film Journalists, [[Jussi Awards]], [[Kinema Junpo Awards]], International Catholic Film Office and [[New York Film Critics Circle]]. ''[[The Gospel According to St. Matthew (film)|The Gospel According to St. Matthew]]'' was nominated for the United Nations Award of the [[21st British Academy Film Awards|British Academy of Film and Television Arts]] (BAFTA) in 1968.