Consent & Control in fascist Italy - Press & censorship

Question 1

Cinema became ….. in the 1930s.

Answer 1

the most popular form of entertainment in Italy

Question 2

Cinema

The regime created the….

Answer 2

“experimental centre of cinematography” which trained 100 students a year

Question 3

Describe the films created in the 1930s under Mussolini

Answer 3

• Very few overtly fascist films were produced before the second world war
• Films like Luciano Serra pilota focused on an Italian pilot during the Abyssinia war which glorified the war
• Although the films weren’t strictly propaganda the news reels before and after glorified the Fascist state and in particular Mussolini

Answer 4

Radio broadcasting was state controlled
* By 1932 there were 300,000 registered radio sets and by 1938 there were more than 1 million
* A special rural radio agency (ERR) was set up to provide information. It was particularly impactful as you didn’t have to be literate to access the content.
* During WW2 the government 2 million radio sets were installed in market places schools and factories giving the state a huge reach with all of Mussolini’s speeches broadcast across thew nation.

Question 5

Radio broadcasting was ……. controlled

Answer 5

state

Question 6

Describe the timeline of radio establishment in Italy

Answer 6

• 1924-5 the first radiostation was set up
• By 1932 there were 300,000 registered radio sets
• By 1938 there were more than 1 million

Question 7

Why was radio a useful propaganda tool

Answer 7

• radio was important in all areas of Italy to all people as you didn’t need to be literate to engage with the information being broadcast
• e.g For example, FGC member Davanzati’s Chronicles of the regime programme interviews other leading fascists

Question 8

radio

Mussolinis speeches were….

Answer 8

• broadcast live via loud speakers in public squares and buildings

Question 9

• A special rural radio agency (ERR) was set up to provide information.
• It was particularly impactful as you didn’t have to be literate to access the content.

Question 10

How did the govt use radios for propaganda in WW2

Answer 10

• During WW2 the government installed 2 million radio sets in market places schools and factories giving the state a huge reach with all of Mussolini’s speeches broadcast across thew nation

Question 11

With the press, until 1925 there was……. press freedom but…… of the fascists was rare

Answer 11

• a degree of
• criticism

Question 12

What was introduced with the press by the end of 1926

Answer 12

• laws restricting the freedom of the press were sanctioned by parliament
• he government had the ability to confiscate whole editions of any newspaper, journal or magazine that produced material that could be judged as unfavourable to the fascist regime and could even shut them down completely.

Question 13

What was Mussolini most interested by in the press

Answer 13

• Mussolini was more interested in controlling the press as opposed to banning newspapers

Question 14

Describe the circulation of fascist newspapers

Answer 14

• Fascist newspapers only accounted for 10% of the entire newspaper sales in Italy.
• His fascist newspaper Popolo d’Italia only had a circulation of around 100,000, compared to 600,000 for the Corriere della Sera.

Question 15

How did the press display Mussolini’s views

Answer 15

• That said the press consistently provided the Italian people with government approved stories and opinions.
• Other forms of control were used, such as increased subsidies for those newspapers that printed positive stories about Mussolini.

Question 16

How did press control strengthen post 1935

Answer 16

• In 1935 the press off ice who controlled became the Ministry of Press and Propaganda. There was from then strict censorship of newspapers, radio film, theatre of foreign publications. The press was not fully coordinated by the state but editors themselves self-censored.

Question 17

What were the weaknesses of the cult of Il Duce

Answer 17

• • cult of il Duce did not achieve aim of transforming Italian people into more militaristic culture
• focused on one leader, rather than an ideology that could continue after M died - therefore to difficult to consider fascism surviving beyond M
• difficult to maintain image as M aged

Question 18

Why in the 1930s could it be argued that Mussolini began to believe in the myth

Answer 18

• could explain his more radical and aggressive foreign policy from 1935

Question 19

Cult of Il Duce was arguably…

Answer 19

The most powerful and successful aspect of fascist propaganda

Question 20

What was the Cult of Il Duce

Answer 20

an image spread through posters, cinema news reels and radio broadcasts that sought to portray Mussolini as a leader of immense ability who was leading Italy to greatness

Question 21

What was the aim of the cult of il duce

Answer 21

• The aim was to present Mussolini as an infallible leader who had singlehandedly saved Italy from socialism and economic backwardness.
• This was to help him control the county but also the party

Question 22

What were the different aspects of the cult of il duce

Answer 22

• Slogan: ‘Mussolini is always right’
• 30 million pictures were circulated of Mussolini in 2,500 different poses
• Described as a superb swimmer and aviator
• Frequently photographed shirtless
• It presented him as a wrestler a swimmer, an intellectual, an engineer a musician – essentially superman who worked for 20 hours a day
• He associated himself with Roman emperors like Caesar

Question 23

Cult of Il Duce

Why was Cult of Il Duce so strong

Answer 23

• Contradictions, rather than weakening the cult, helped to strengthen it; M was a leader who appealed to everyone
• Sustaining myth of the regime, uniting Italians in support for the dictatorship (PN and fascist ideology may not have been popular with the majority of Italians, but M stood above the party as a leader Italians could believe in)

Question 24

What was the weakness of Mussolini’s influence on Fascist culture

Answer 24

• Not overly successful at transforming Italians into loyal fascists /questionable to what extent, if at all, it had any transformative effect on the Italian nation)
• No coherent focus with key message
• Lacked an intellectual giant e.g. d’Annunzio, who could inspire the population

Question 25

weakness of culture

….% of box office takings came from showings of Hollywood-produced films

Answer 25

87%

Question 26

What was the style of art under Mussolini

Answer 26

• eo-classicists looked to ancient Rome for inspiration and used it as a way to compare Rome with Mussolini’s Italy
• Some modernists preferred favoured clean lines and geometric shapes Mussolini favoured the classical approach

Question 27

The government put on around …. exhibitions a year that focused on…..

Answer 27

• The government put on around 50 exhibitions a year that focused on portraying rural and industrial workers and all art increasingly glorified the regime.

Question 28

1932: Exhibition of the ………………..held to celebrate 10 years of fascist rule - ………..

Answer 28

1932: Exhibition of the Fascist Revolution held to celebrate 10 years of fascist rule - artists commissioned to create artwork representing this achievement (over 4 million visitors)

Question 29

Describe architecture under Mussolini

Answer 29

• new fascist buildings modelled on neo-classical Roman style
• e.g The Esposizione Universale Roma (EUR) was the largest building project during Mussolini’s regime and one of the largest in Europe.
• This was in Rome and consisted of apartments, monuments, and government buildings

Question 30

What was the fascist aspiration for art

Answer 30

PNF produced policies for artists and intellectuals: all art should serve the goals of the fascist state and help to create/maintain the fascist myths and images

Question 31

What was produced in 1926 for culture

Answer 31

• 1926: National Institute of Fascist Culture created (artists and intellectuals organised into particular associations) - organised cultural
• • events, free concerts and publications that would encourage mass participation
• Organisation of artists and intellectuals efficient in controlling what was produced, and ensuring it helped boost the image of M and PNF

Question 32

Why was it a strength for Mussolini to be so chill about art

Answer 32

• Mussolini never attempted to control artistic styles e.g. much fascist art was quite modern (just had to help to glorify fascism)