An anti-colonialist and feminist Sandokan?

This article offers an anti-colonialist and feminist reading of the 1976 Italian TV miniseries Sandokan. Produced at the height of political radicalization in Italy, this series is arguably an expression of the anti-colonialist spirit of the time. In addition, this series is remarkable because it hit an audience record which was probably never reached again: almost 30 million viewers in a country of 60 million. Sandokan is a Malaysian nobleman who becomes a pirate after the British slaughtered his family. Though he certainly fits within the Robin Hood trope, Sandokan not only robs the rich to give to the poor, but he also takes back from the British what they are stealing. Apart from the anti-colonial slant, the miniseries is of interest because of its gender aspects. In the series, a few White women assertively challenge both male and colonial supremacy. Finally, one crucial aspect of the series which has so far been neglected is interracial love, represented by the union of Sandokan and the White Lady Marianna. While their sentimental and physical love defies nineteenth-century racial-colonial relations, it cannot last because of Marianna's death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]