Later in the film, a clergyman tells Guido that cinema has the ability to 'educate or corrupt millions of souls.' Even characters to whom we are only briefly introduced mercilessly probe Guido on the topic of art and life this reaches its climax at the press conference, where reporters harass Guido, asking him everything from 'Are you afraid of the atomic bomb?' to 'Do you really think your life can be of interest to others?' Throughout the film, Guido remains silent on the topic of cinema, with the exception of his conversation with Claudia, to whom he confesses he just wants to make an 'honest film.' Authenticity, then, emerges as the ultimate goal of cinema, as opposed to pure artifice or pure memoir. The first to do so is the writer, Daumier, who boldly states that cinema lags behind all other artistic mediums by 50 years.
Throughout the film, people offer unsolicited advice on cinema's role in the world. The nature of cinema itself dominates 8 1/2, since the film is largely structured around Guido's loss of faith in his creative voice.
