Who's That Knocking at My Door: Catholic Guilt, Sexual Repression, and Identity in Postwar Italian-American Communities

By Tim Madsen

Who's That Knocking at My Door: Catholic Guilt, Sexual Repression, and Identity in Postwar Italian-American Communities is a bold, penetrating examination of Martin Scorsese's debut feature film and the cultural, religious, and psychological forces it so intimately portrays.

Drawing from theology, film studies, gender theory, and immigrant history, this book unpacks the layers beneath Scorsese's 1967 film to reveal a complex portrait of a young man torn between inherited Catholic ideals and modern American realities. Through the character of J.R., a sensitive but conflicted Italian-American navigating love, sexuality, and shame, Scorsese stages a deeply autobiographical meditation on identity and moral paralysis.

Across ten meticulously constructed chapters, the book explores themes of Catholic guilt, the Madonna-whore complex, masculinity in ethnic communities, and the psychological architecture of repression. It also traces how these themes echo throughout Scorsese's later works-Mean Streets, Raging Bull, The Irishman-making this volume both a focused film analysis and a broader study of postwar cultural identity.

For scholars, cinephiles, and readers interested in religion, sexuality, and second-generation immigrant experience, this is more than a study of one film. It is a window into a world shaped by silence, tradition, and the quiet ache of unanswered prayers.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0FKTMF1K6
• ISBN13: 9798296076267
• Release Date: August 2025
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.22 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.1" x 8.5" x 11.0"