America in Italian culture : the rise of a new model of modernity, 1861-1943 /
"This book examines the influence of American culture in Italy during the decades between unification in 1861 and the implosion of Mussolini's Fascist regime in July 1943. During this period the country witnessed large-scale social and economic modernization as well as an unprecedented exp...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | eBook |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Oxford ; New York, NY :
Oxford University Press,
[2023]
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Connect to the full text of this electronic book |
| Summary: | "This book examines the influence of American culture in Italy during the decades between unification in 1861 and the implosion of Mussolini's Fascist regime in July 1943. During this period the country witnessed large-scale social and economic modernization as well as an unprecedented explosion of mass culture. Focusing on six key fields of study—the press, literature, cinema, music, radio and the comics industry—the book traces a gradual shift from the hegemonic influence of France on Italy's highbrow culture to the emergence of the USA as a new transnational model of modernity, able to address all social classes. This phenomenon coincided with the mass migration of Italians, whose hopes for a better life across the ocean produced a positive image of America that was largely at loggerheads with a more dismissive reaction from Italy's educated elite. By tracing the presence of American culture in Italy, this book offers new perspectives on the development of Italian culture in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It also offers a thorough revision of how Mussolini's regime responded to American culture, from jazz music to Hollywood films, and dismisses the myth of a fundamentally anti-American totalitarian regime. While scholarship to date has focused on the pervasive influence of American culture in the aftermath of the Second World War, this book tells the story of its first arrival, at a time when the French model was still dominant and Italy was beginning to embrace modernity and mass culture. The book is divided into two parts, each containing five chapters: Part One is entitled ‘The Discovery of America, 1861–1919', while Part Two covers ‘America in Fascist Italy, 1922–1943'"--Publisher's description. |
|---|---|
| Item Description: | Also issued in print: 2023. |
| Physical Description: | 1 online resource : illustrations |
| Audience: | Specialized. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| ISBN: | 9780191883583 0191883581 9780192589248 0192589245 9780192589255 0192589253 |