ILCS 1160 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Istituto Luce, Mass Society, Italian Unification
16 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
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
■ 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.
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Document Summary
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. New law is passed in 1927: requires theatres to play 1/10th italian productions.
