How are the main ideas of Fascist doctrine reflected in Fascist music of the period? Fascism which was the dominant ideology in Italy in the 1920’s and 1930’s had huge impact on every sphere of Italian society as well as music. Considering the fact that all public output including music which produced within Italian border was organized and controlled by state which reflected fascist ideas and ambitions, it is vital to analyse several popular pieces of music in order to get complete picture about how this particular form of art echoes the doctrine which was written by Benito Mussolini in 1932. One of the mainly highlighted idea is importance of the strong state along firm leadership. As it is stated in Mussolini’s doctrine, Fascism …show more content…
Considering the fact that Fascism was obsessed with young people, their involvement with fascist ideology and fascist activities because of the fact that generally fascist projects such as infrastructure, army building were extremely dependent on young individuals’ energy and enthusiasm. “Giovinezza” is one of the songs in which fascists ’cult of youth” well explained and young people are portrayed as tomorrow of Italy:
“…Youth, Youth,
Spring of beauty,…”
Collectivism and denial of class struggle at the same time is key point in differentiating it from communism. The author explicitly shows fascism is not only different, but also this difference defines attitude of fascism towards class structure of society. Fascism does not think of the economic motive as the driver of everything. Moreover, belonging different class affiliation does not results in sharp division meaning that people with different class background can collaborate for the interest of the State, as it is mentioned in “Giovinezza”: “…The poets and the artisans, The lords and the countrymen, With an Italian's
The Fascist attempted to influence behaviour in various ways, such as trying to ban the handshake (replacing it with the Roman salute) and ‘fascistizing’ forms of address, which included the use of uniform (p. 242). They made the Militia look like soldiers, but still distinguishable with their black shirts and a small fasci littori (depictions of bundles of rods bound with an axe that was a symbolic element, signifying unity, power, authority and justice) on their jacket lapel (p. 244-246). Woman in the Fascist party would also come to look more masculine and militaristic over the years as woman were becoming more accepted to wear a uniform. For children, a uniform was a source of pride, enhancing their sense of importance. Luisa Tamgno wrote in her memoir that wearing her Piccoa Italiana uniform made her feel stronger, braver, and overall better. She was usually in charge of a troop of girls who would act like little soldiers when she would bark a command (p. 256). This provides important insight in how the Fascist use of uniforms was transforming the youth into more militaristic individuals and provides an example of how women were also targeted in the fascist pursuit of patriotism and
To understand Fascism better, it is basically a spiritual attitude. It sees not only the individual but also the nation and
During the Second World War, Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was the leader of the Italian Nationalist Fascist government. He was head of the Italian government from 1922 till 1943. The significance of Mussolini is that he played a key role acting as the Italian Prime Minister and established a totalitarian regime, during this time, as the unchallenged supreme leader, known as ‘Il Duce’. Fascism consisted of many contributors of which Mussolini with all his quirks was the key to most of its failures and successes, making him the most significant player that is worthy of being investigated. This topic is worthy of being investigated as Mussolini made a lot of decisions that lead to the death of many, but the question as to
The etymology of “fascism” is denotative of power and dominance. For example, the term derived from the Roman fasces which were bundles of rods bound to each other, carried in advance of Roman magistrates. The rods were symbolic of power to punish through severe beating and the axes which extended from the center were symbolic of punishment by death (Grolier Education p.110).
The goals of these two leaders were also very alike because of their fascist ideas. The keystone of the fascist political system was the leader: every person and every group, every lobby, lay beneath him on the same level. The Italian and German fascist movements tried to build a different kind of national unity, based not on the "common good" but on other principles knowing that their countries were internally fragmented.
Millions of people were extremely frustrated with the fallout of World War I, they wanted change and a strong leader to guide them through their times of trouble. The answer to the people's’ prayers had been given to them with the new political idea of fascism. Not only did fascism rise, Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler also rose to power during these times of crisis. Fascism, Mussolini, and Hitler were all able to rise to power because the people had called for change, and they found themselves gravitating towards the ideas of these two intelligent men. Both men were able to persuade many people over to their side. Millions of people quickly adopted the new ideas of fascism, Benito Mussolini, and Adolf Hitler, the people saw them as the light at the end of their long dark tunnels they seemed to be lost
This section argues that the lower classes are under pressure of their owners and that the lower class can be able to achieve their goals to overcome their problems by the formation of unions or riots. It also states the capitalism should be overthrown because communision is the only way for equality among the people. In the third section of the Communist Manifesto, “Socialist and Communist Literature,” the authors discuss the differences of communism and other socioeconomic systems. In their conclusion, “Position of the Communists in Relation to the Various Opposition Parties,” briefly discusses countries that were taking action toward becoming a communist country. It ends with the authors calling for the communist revolution.
The rise of Fascism in Italy contributed to World War II because of it’s militaristic and nationalistic
Benito Mussolini outlines several essential characteristics of his preferred political ideology, Fascism, in what has become known as the Doctrine of Fascism. In this paper, Mussolini outlines his vision of the ideology, and explains the major issues that Fascism will address once it becomes the leading political system in Italy. Mussolini’s major points as outlined in the Doctrine included an extreme emphasis on nationalism, organization and modernization of the state, persistent focus on religion, life as a struggle, and the notion that individuals exist only for the improvement of society as a whole. Wolfgang Schieder, after reviewing the Doctrine of Fascism, explains Mussolini’s success based on it and
The state of Mussolini’s Fascist Italy and Hitler’s Nazi Germany, can be highly comparable in their policies and ideologies. Fascism is a political ideology, in which the country is to be racially and culturally pure. Mussolini said himself that “Fascism desires the state to be strong and organic and to always be prepared for conflict”. Fascism includes things such as nationalism, hostility to democracy, racism, the love of symbols such as uniforms, parades and army discipline. It is a totalitarian philosophy which worships the state and nation. Fascism is an extreme right-wing that celebrates the nation or race as a pure community which exceeds all other loyalties and expectations (Downing, 2001). Most of the time it celebrates masculinity and male supremacy, rarely it will promote female solidarity (De Grand, 1995). Fascist aims are to prepare for conflict and violence and to prepare and educate the youth. Both were able to gain support from military associations,
Benito Mussolini employed ancient Rome’s heritage, or romanità, as the method to propel his Fascist state. This concept focused on the exploits of Ancient Rome, and it sought to align the city’s historical past with the Fascist’s idealized future. Mussolini used ancient architecture and symbols as propaganda, which served to represent him as the ideal, destined ruler. He compared himself to Augustus, who guided Rome to peace and transformed the state into an empire. Mussolini also created vast piazzas that emphasized the existing ancient architecture, merging the past with the present. Using the past as a precedent, Mussolini created an effective propaganda campaign that employed Rome’s bountiful art and architecture, establishing a sense of nationalism within the Italian people. With propaganda, Mussolini merged ancient and modern art and revived the pride of ancient Rome. An analysis of Mussolini’s use of art and architecture as propaganda emphasizes the relationship between the Fascist’s ideals and the romanità and how Mussolini manipulated the people to view Fascist art as the modern, ideal Roman art.
Mussolini was able to reach even the deep outskirts of the nation. To help with this, Mussolini created the Ministry of Popular Culture, which was in charge of most radio broadcasts and literary items, in 1933. However, people were becoming distraught with what they were hearing on the radio. Many social groups were calling for specific radio broadcasts catered to their needs. Mussolini and the regime took this is a huge step forward in their radio usage, in which they created radio broadcasts that allowed them to penetrate deeper in all parts of Italian society. The social groups got their specific radio broadcasts, with fascist infused ideas included. The idea of catering radio broadcasts to specific groups lead to the creation of the School Radio and the Village Radio, which are exactly what they sound like. In order to test this idea of broadcasting to specific social groups, Mussolini started with the Village Radio; this broadcast was made for the sole purpose of introducing fascism to the rural Italian population. It was a huge success, so Mussolini moved onto the School Radio. Just like it sounds, the school radio was broadcasted to schools around the country. The radio broadcasts were in the afternoon hours, so the kids could listen to them after school. The School radio was so effective that it actually became a part of the school curriculum. These radio broadcasts glorified Mussolini and fascism, as well as praising the Italian army and Italian achievements. Overall, these initiatives allowed Mussolini to reach deeper parts of the population, which even included school
By the late 1960s, Italy had suffered through World War II. It had seen the Vietnam War unfold before them. Furthermore, it had experienced a dramatic urbanization from an agrarian society to an urban one. Such a shift precipitated the appeal for communism. Into this complicated political and socio-economic arena came the Red Brigades. The Red Brigades were an Italian terrorist organization with a strong emphasis on Marxism. Founded in 1969 by radical left-leaning students Renato Curcio and his wife Mara Cagol, the Red Brigades began a reign of terror that . In order to fully assess the impact of the Red Brigades in Italy, it is necessary to answer a central question: why were the Red Brigades so violent? The Red Brigades had ties to
Futurism and Fascism were two essential movements in the history of the Italian state. Futurism was an attempt to rid Italy of its past and create a new, improved country through the destruction and aggression while fascism was a radical, political movement. The relationship between these two ideas continues to be questioned. Did Fascism cause Futurism, vice versa, or is there in fact no correlation between the two? I will discuss the interaction between Fascism and Futurism as well as several pieces of Futurist art work.
These factors were all highly important to the Fascists’ control of Italy up to 1939 but it could be argued some of these were of more value to the Fascist domination than others.