“To Educate” or to Entertain? Propaganda, Mass Media, and Mass Culture

Propaganda was one of the fundamental elements through which the Fascist Regime imposed its “policy of consensus.” The political communication promoted by Fascism had a competitor in mass culture, with which it had to contend in the public arena the attention and favours of the public. Moreover, both Fascist propaganda and mass commercial culture, shaping habits, values and lifestyles delineated two different ideas of society and different anthropological models. At the same time, a closer and comparative examination of these two cultural productions leads us also to note the circulation of linguistic structures and cores of meaning which the policy of consent of the Regime exploited. Meaningful examples could be the positive value of the Italian spirit of products widely celebrated in advertising; the role of celebrities in establishing a positive predisposition for the Regime in people's minds and in nourishing the cult of the Duce. The chapter will consider these issues, so far only partially addressed by historiography, and will focus in particular on the film industry.