When the Nazis came to power in 1933, they proclaimed the beginning of the “Thousand Year Reich,” but they ended up falling short by about 988 years. Italian fascism managed to stay in power for several decades, but it was probably much shorter than Benito Mussolini had imagined by the time he ascended the throne. History shows that regimes of this type suffer from fairly serious stability problems, which is perhaps why they needed to project such a strong and formidable image. of imperial video above Although this paper explores the “evil genius of fascist design” by focusing on how Hitler and Mussolini expressed their ideology in art and the built environment, many of its observations can be generalized to any political movement seeking complete control of a society, especially if that society has a sufficiently illustrious past.
There are many inspirations in the visual language of fascism, and two of the most important cited in the video are: romanticism and futurism. The former offered “a yearning for the past, an attachment to nature, a focus on the sublime.” The latter “worshipped speed, machines, and violence.” Despite their apparent contradictions, these dual currents allowed fascism a “peculiar ability to look both past and future, evoking the glories of past empires while promising a radically new future.”
In Italy, such an empire may have been distant in time, but it was still close at hand. “We dream of a wise, powerful, disciplined and imperial Roman Italy.” Even Hitler drew on the glories of ancient Rome and Greece to form his own ambitious vision of an all-powerful German civilization.
Both of these dictators therefore embarked on large-scale neoclassical architectural projects that “bring the aesthetics of ancient Rome to the streets,” including muscular statues intended to embody officially recognized human ideals. Of course, the builders of the United States also looked to Roman forms, but on a smaller, more humane scale. Fascist buildings are designed not only to be symbols of eternity but also to have a commanding presence, with the purpose of “rather than uplifting the soul, they force the individual into the crowd and encourage conformity.” In theory, this would make the population feel small and powerless, but it would also come with a quasi-religious desire to participate in a larger project of fascism that subordinated everything to the state. For people like Mussolini and Hitler (who it will no doubt be noted are artists-turned-politicians), aesthetics were power. However, even that was not enough to ensure their own survival.
Related content:
Walter Benjamin explains how fascism uses mass media to turn politics into a spectacle (1935)
Yale University professor Jason Stanley identifies 10 tactics of fascism: ‘leader worship,’ law and order, victim mentality, and more
Mussolini sends a happy message of friendly feelings to America in English (1927)
Are You a Fascist?: Take Theodor Adorno’s Authoritarian Personality Test Created to Combat Fascism (1947)
story of fascism: Rick Steves’ documentary helps us learn from the painful lessons of the 20th century
Umberto Eco’s list of 14 commonalities of fascism
Based in Seoul, Colin Mbemust write and broadcastIt’s about cities, languages ​​and cultures. His projects include the Substack newsletter books about cities and a book Stateless City: A Stroll Through Los Angeles in the 21st Century. Follow him on the social network formerly known as Twitter. @Colinbemust.
Source: Open Culture – www.openculture.com
