While many people were surprised by Pasolini's shift from literature to film, he had considered attending the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome before World War II. Pasolini had collaborated with Federico Fellini on Le notti di Cabiria and considered cinema to be writing with reality. The word "Accattone" is a slang term mainly used for beggars, referring to people who never do well, who are lazy, and who rarely hold down a job.