ILCS 1160 Study Guide - Spring 2018, Comprehensive Midterm Notes - Benito Mussolini, Kingdom Of Italy, Italian Fascism
12 Oct 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
ILCS 1160
MIDTERM EXAM
STUDY GUIDE
Fall 2018
Dante DeCesare
Professor Chiappetta-Miller
ILCS
2/6/18
Notes 2/6/18
Ruth Ben Ghiat, Fascist Modernities (2001)
● Modernity and Mass Culture = Threat to social order
● Fear of Social Breakdown = Reactionary political movements
● Need to combat disintegration = Harness modern tools of mass society: to build
consensus, breed conformism, maintain control
○ “Part of the solution”
■ Master plan to remaking Italy
Bonifica***- Reclaiming of something that was lost
○ Bonifica Agricola - Agriculture
○ Bonifica Umana - Health
○ Bonifica della culture - Unified culture
■ Purification
■ Transformation
■ Regeneration
■ Cure
● Strategy:
○ Military Conquest (War)
○ Spiritual Regeneration
● Goal: To achieve 1st tier status on the international stage
○ Used CINEMA*** to help do gain support
Fascism and Cinema
● Pre Fascist Cinema(1910-1920)
○ Thriving industry
■ Driven by popularity of film “divas” and “divos”
● Period of Crisis (Mid to late 1920’s)
○ Industry feels effects of high cost of making films and bad economy as well as
foreign (Mostly American) films being distributed in Italy
■ From 500 films to only 12 by 1930
● Fascist Era Cinema
○ Fascist Govt. becomes involved in industry to try to revive it
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
■ Mussolini uses it as a powerful tool
○ Istituto Luce (1923): Govt. run agency that regulates industry and uses cinema as
instrument of propaganda and national consensus
■ Produces educational documentaries, newsreels, etc.
● Topics range from agriculture to sports
○ Portrays “success” of fascism to public
■ Mussolini appears in movies frequently
○ New Law is passed in 1927: requires theatres to play 1/10th italian productions
○ Feature films: Depict episodes of the Risorgimento, history of italy, colonial
imperialism, etc.
■ Regime controls the moral content of films (1929)
● Creates Self Censorship
■ Overtly Propagandistic films are replaced by those that hide the political
message
● These films adopt Realism
○ Realism: Culturally specific to Italy and represented an
alternative to hollywood’s overproduced films.
○ 1930: Introduction of sound to film
■ American Films dubbed in Italian
○ 1933: Govt. gains FULL CONTROL of cinema
■ “Direzione generale di cinematografia”: Italian film controller
● State Run’
● Administration, censorship, and financing
○ April 21, 1937
■ Mythical Anniversary of the founding of Rome
Nots 2/13/18-FILM
A Special Day
MAY 6, 1938- HITLER VISITS ROME
● Movie Setting
1. Hitler is welcomed into Italy
a. Mussolini has his battalions line up and sing to show strength and welcome
2. Mother is a very demanding and stern lady
a. Many Children
i. Family for the fascist regime
3. All of family goes to parade except mother
a. Stays home, takes care of house
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Claims the legacy of remote mediterranean race that was nonetheless. Debenedetti: why didn"t all the jews flee . Modernity and mass culture = threat to social order. Fear of social breakdown = reactionary political movements. Need to combat disintegration = harness modern tools of mass society: to build consensus, breed conformism, maintain control. Goal: to achieve 1st tier status on the international stage. Used cinema*** to help do gain support. Driven by popularity of film divas and divos . Period of crisis (mid to late 1920"s) Industry feels effects of high cost of making films and bad economy as well as foreign (mostly american) films being distributed in italy. From 500 films to only 12 by 1930. Fascist govt. becomes involved in industry to try to revive it. Mussolini uses it as a powerful tool. Istituto luce (1923): govt. run agency that regulates industry and uses cinema as instrument of propaganda and national consensus.
