KairiSameshima

SoundsofItalySpring2016
NicolaCipani

LaTelefonistaeTelefoniBianchi
:AconnectioninHistory
JustasBenitoMussoliniusedthevoiceof
IlDuce
tocontrolItaly,hisregime
haddonethesamewithanymediathatcarriedavoiceaswell.Fromtheendofthe
18thcenturytotheendofoftheSecondWorldWar,Italyhadseentheriseofthe
radio,telephone,andcinema.Everyformofmediainthecountryhasanindicationof
fascistinfluence.Evidenceofmediabeingusedastoolsoffascistpreoccupations
areevidentinthebirthandgrowthofeachofthesetypesofcommunication.Italy's
radioinfrastructure,despitethefactitwasfundedandcreatedbyforeigninterests,
werespearheadedbypresidentsandleaderswhohadclosetiestotheFascist
Party.Duringthelateryears,radiowouldseeanexpandinginfluenceonitscontent
aswell.Liketheradio,thetelephonesystemwasalsocreatedunderamonopoly
grantedbyMussolini.Acertaingenreofcinemacreatedundertheregime,
Telefoni
Bianchi
wereparodiesofforeigncomediesatthetimeandstronglypromotedthe
idealsofthefascistregime.WhilefascisminItalyhaddifferentinfluencesonfilmand
telecommunicationsonefilm,onesuchfilmwasthevertexofallthreeaspectsof
fascistinfluence.
LaTelefonista
asdirectedbyNunzioMalasommaisacongress
betweenbothtelephoneandradio.
LaTelefonista
offersabifoldviewofboththe
Italy'srelationshipwithcommunicationtechnologiesaswellastheinfluencethatthe
regimehadoncinema.

Inordertobetterunderstandthekindofenvironmentthetelephoneexisted
undertheregimeitisimportanttotakeintoaccounttheprivatizationof
telecommunicationinfascistItaly.Beginninginthemid1920'sItalywasquickly
tryingtoproveitselfasamajorEuropeanpowerbyquicklybuildinguparadio
system.BenitoMussoliniandthefascistregimerealizedhoweverthattheregimeas
itwascouldnotcreateandsupportthegrandradiosystemtheywerehopingfor.
ConsequentlyMussoliniwasforcedtorelyontheprivateindustrialsector,and
grantedamonopolytoaprivateconsortiumofFrenchandGermaninterests.Early
radioprogramsincludedinstructionsofhowtobuildpersonalradiotransmittersor
classicalmusic.Theseprogramswerebroadcastinaneffortto'promote'Italian
citizenstoahigherclassthrougheducation.Whileradioduringitsearlyyearswas
usedasamediumforopencommunicationandaltruism,theregime'sinterests
begantoshow.Howeverthiseraofrelativelyfreespeechwouldnotlastlong.From
1927on,theradiobecomesasourceofauthorityasArnaldoMussolini,brotherof
thefascistleader,promotesfascistvaluesontheradio.Futuristprogramsthatwere
airingatthetimearealsoaffectedbythisnewdirectionandareaffectedbythe
fascistleaningradioprocessaswellascensorship.Oneexampleofthistransition
arecoverphotosfromtheradiomagazine
Radiocorriere
.Onepublicationfrom
February1926depictsagroupofchildreninteractingwiththeradiotechnology.A
mere7yearsoffascistinfluencelater,thecoverphotoof
Radiocorriere
isofa
gymnasiumfullofchildrenportrayedasafacelessandpassiveaudience.Underthe
regime,itisclearthatanymeansofmasscommunicationisunequivocallytaken
overandalteredtoappealtofascistideals.Thisprocessissimilartotheoneseenin

filmundertheregime,asfreespeechissuppressedandtransformedintofascist
propaganda.
Telephonesandradiohavesimilaradvantagesanddisadvantagesasseen
fromtheeyesofthefascistregime.Withradio,thereisanopportunityforprograms
topromotedangerousandrebelliousideas,butitcanalsobeusedinversely.By
havingthegovernmentcontrolandregulateprogramming,thetechnologycouldbe
avoicenexttotheearofeveryItalianundertheregime.Thetelephonewasanew
problemaltogetherasameansofcommunicationhadnowenteredtheprivate
home.TheItalianpublicandthetelephonehadacomplexrelationshipofbothfear
andfetishizaiton.Peoplehadgarneredbothaphysicalandmentalfearofthe
telephonethroughscientificreportsandrumors.Inresponsetoreportsoftelephones
becomingabreedinggroundforgermsduringatimewheretuberculosiswasstill
verymuchrelevant,phonecompaniescateredtogermaphobesbyproducing
telephonesetsthatwerehygienicandselfsanitizing.Thementalfearsofthe
telephonehowever,wereawholeothermatter.Therootofthefearwasthatthe
telephoneallowedforundisturbedanddiscreetcommunicationbetweentwoparties,
withoutthemeverhavingtomeet.Thesocialbarrierbetweentheprivateandsocial
spherehadbrokenforthefirsttimeasyoungwomencouldcomeintodirectcontact
withunwantedstrangers.Anotherinterestingfearedoccurrencewasthatofpeople
ofdifferentsocialclassesgettingmisconnectedwiresandbeingputonthesame
auditorylevel.Unwantedphonecallslateinthenightorfromanunpleasantstalker
werealsoapersistentproblemfortheseearlytelephoneusersasitistoday.Despite
allofthesefears,itisthegrowthofthefemaleworkingclass,specifically,the
switchboardoperatorthatgoesagainstthefascistidealsofmasculinity.

Thetelephonesystemasithadexistedduringtheregimerequiredan
operatortomanuallychangeswitchestoconnectcallers.Theseswitchboard
operatorstendedtobeyoungwomenastheycouldbepaidlessandwereoften
kinderwithiratecustomers.Asthe
telefonista
wastheonlyvoicethatpeopleheard
whenoperatingthetelephone,theirvoicewasassociatedwiththetechnologyitself.
Theirvoicewasthetargetofthecustomer'sfrustrationaswellasanobjectofthe
eroticimagery.Thiseroticizationwasduetothefirstinstanceofmenandwomen
interactingwithoutanysocialfilters.Thisinteractionwasafirstofakind,andthe
thoughtofawholeroomfullofwomenoperatingswitchboardssubsequentlybecame
partoftheimagery.TheLUCEfilmsmadebyMarioDamicelliareaprimeexample
ofthefetishizationoftheswitchboardoperator,albeititwasfilmedin1942,during
thelatterpartsoftheregime.Theorchestrationandslowpanningofthecamerais
suggestiveofaballetorsynchronizedswimmingteam.Andtheoperatorsinthefilm
lookimmaculate,withmakeupandhair.Thecloseupononetheirlipsreestablishes
thefemininityofthesituationaswell.NodoubtDamicellihadmeantfortheimagery
toportraytheswitchboardstationasafinelytuned,yetfemininemachine.Thelast
shotinthesegmentabouttheswitchboardoperatorsisadeadgiveawaytotheerotic
imagery.Aslowpanfromunderneaththedesk,showingseveraloperator'scalves
andskirtsweremeanttocatertothemaleviewersoftheprogram.The
cinematographyasdirectedbyDamicelliandtheprogramentirelyservesnotonlyto
informhowtheoperationsattheswitchboardstationarecarriedout,buttoalsofuel
theeroticimaginationoftheItalianpublicevenfurther.Whilecinemaunderfascism
hadbeencompletelyinfluencedbytheregime,LUCEfilmswereaffectedbya
greaterdegree.

Thecomediesmadeinthe1930'sarereferredtoas
TelefoniBianchi
films
becausetheyshowcaseawhitetelephonewhereasthestandardcolorfortelephone
setswereblack.Thewhitetelephonewasusedtorepresentthehighersocialclass
thatthesefilmstookplaceinasmosthouseholdsatthetimecouldnotaffordthe
whitecoloredphones.AnotherLUCEfilmcreatedbyMarioDamicellisupportsthis
classdefiningobject.Thefilmmentionedisaoneshotofawoman'sroom.Aftera
whitetelephoneringswithawakeupcall,thecamerapansoverherbedroom.
Aroundtheroomlietheadornmentsofawealthywoman:abeautifuldress,shows,
crystalamenities.Thepanendslookingoutthewindowtoacathedral,theDuomodi
Milano,implyingthatthewomanlivesinaveryexpensivehouse.LikeDamicelli's
film,many
telefonibianchi
filmsfeaturedexpensiveArtDecosetsusedtofurther
symbolizethedifferenceinsocialwelfare.Many
telefonibianchi
filmswereeither
parodiesordirectadaptationsofHungarianstageplays.Thiswasbecauseunderthe
regime,potentiallycontroversialtopicssuchasdivorceandadulterycouldbe
allowedbyplacingthestorywithinafakeEuropeancityoroftenBudapest.Most
telefonibianchi
filmsfollowasimilarplotstructure.Moreoftenthannot,twopeople
fromdisparatesocialclassesendupfallinginloveafterachanceencounter.The
1931film
LaSegretariaPrivata
byGoffredoAlessandrinitellsthestoryofasmall
towngirlwhomovesintotowntomakeacareerandmarryrich.Inasimilarfilmthe
followingyear,
IlUominiCheMascalzoni
followsprotagonistBruno,asimpledriver
pretendstobeawealthybusinessmantoimpressawoman.Inthesefilmsthereisa
mistakenidentitythatleadstoamixingofsocialclassesandaremeanttobringto
lightthedifferencesbetweenclasses.

WhatissointerestingaboutNunzioMalasomma's
LaTelefonista
isthatisa
vertexofseveralprogressionsinthefascistregime.Thisfilmoffersaviewonthe
standingofbothtelephoneandcinemaunderMussolini.
LaTelefonista
followsthe
storyofaswitchboardoperatorwho,throughaseriesofmiscommunicationsand
chanceevents,fallsinlovewithheremployer.
LaTelefonista
quicklyestablishesthe
roletheprotagonisthasaswellastheattitudestheoperatorshaveabouttheirjobs.
Theopeningsceneisamusicalnumber,includingseveralemployeesofa
switchboardstationaswellastheprotagonist.Telephones,arebeingusedasthe
mechanismthroughwhichthefilmcanputsuchmiraculouseventstogether.This
connectionisnottobeunderstoodthat
telefonibianchi
filmsgettheirnamefromthe
useoftelephonesinthefilm,butthatin
LaTelefonista
thephoneisusedasa
cinematicdevice.Duringthesongtheydescribetheirwoesasworkersoftheservice
industryastheircustomersareoftenirritatedbyaccidentsandmisdials.Thecallers
throughoutthesongarevariedandincludepeoplefromcontrastingsocialclassesas
wellasprofessions.Whenaconnectionismadebetweentwopeoplefromdifferent
classes,expectedly,theyarenothappytobespeakingtoeachother.However,the
operatorsputonabravefaceandcontinuetheirserviceinordertoultimatelyprovide
communicationbetweentwolovers.Thefactthatthecustomersareangeredbythe
miscommunications,itisamisconnectionjustlikethisthatsettheeventsofthefilm
inmotion.
Thecinematicvalueofthisfilmliesinitscreationofaseparatereality.The
openingsceneofthefilmisamusicalnumberdespitethefactthefilmisnotentirely
amusical.Singingin
telefonibianchi
filmshelpsmaintaintheconceptthattheworld
thestoryexistsinisabetterthanrealdreamlikeworld.Thisseparationfromreality

iswhy
telefonibianchi
neverportrayedanyofthelegitimateproblemstheItalian
peoplewereexperiencingatthetime.Astheplotprogressestheprotagonistis
connectedtoanoperasinger,andtheybegintofallforeachother.Asexpected,the
socialbarrieriscrossedthroughtheuseofthetelephone,asitisamediumthrough
whichpeopleareplacedinthesameauditorystanding.Oncethiscrossinsocial
classesoccurs,anothermistakenidentitytakesplaceatarestaurantwherethe
protagonistmistakenlymeetswithheremployerandthesingerisstuckwithavain
andcapriciousseamstress.Thesubstitutionofthedatesresultsinacontrast
betweentheupperandworkingclass.Theseamstressisnotmannerlyandeatsand
drinksexcessively,whilethe
telefonista
isportrayedashonestandsimple.The
juxtapositionofbothcouplesmakesasacomparisonofhowpeoplefromdifferent
socialstandingsactdifferently.Inamanner,thefilmcontradictstheideaofthe
workingwoman'semancipation.Forthefirsttime,Italianwomenareabletotakeup
workinacareerthatisrespectedandpayswell.Howeverthefilmportraysthe
switchboardoperators,asnothingmorethansubservientworkers.Whilethewomen
haveprideintheirwork,theyareunequivocallymetwithdisdainastheyfailto
connectcallsrightaway.Theswitchboardoperatorin
Latelefonista
mustendure
harshwordsinordertoservethecustomer.Ofcourse
telefonibianchi
wouldnotbe
completewithouttheinclusionoffascistpreoccupations.Undertheregimesuch
troublingthoughtsasfemaleworkersbecomingmoreestablishedwouldhavetobe
playeddown.
LaTelefonistaisafilmthat
existsinagenuinelyinterestingpointinthe
fascistchronology.Itmarksanintersectionoffascistattitudestowardsseveral
aspectsoftechnologyandcommunication.Therisingpopularityofthetelephone

alongwiththegrowingfreedomofthefemaleworkingclassmetperpendicularlyin
timewiththeeraoffascistcontrolled
telefonibianchi
cinema.Thegenreisnot
namedafteritsuseofthetelephoneasatechnology,butMalasomma'sfilmisa
uniqueexamplewherebothtelephoneandcinema,twosimilarbutuniquefacetsof
fascistmedia,havecollided.

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