The history of Italy since the mid-1950s retold through the lens of food television.
In this dynamic interdisciplinary study at the intersection of food studies, media studies, and politics, Francesco Buscemi explores the central role of food in Italian culture through a political history of Italian food on national television. A highly original work of political history, the book tells the story of Italian food television from a political point of view: from the pioneering shows developed under strict Catholic control in the 1950s and 1960s to the left-wing political twists of the 1970s, the conservative riflusso or resurgence of the 1980s, through the disputed Berlusconian era, and into the contemporary rise of the celebrity chef. Through this lively and engaging work, we learn that cooking spaghetti in a TV studio is a political act, and by watching it, we become citizens.
In this dynamic interdisciplinary study at the intersection of food studies, media studies, and politics, Francesco Buscemi explores the central role of food in Italian culture through a political history of Italian food on national television. A highly original work of political history, the book tells the story of Italian food television from a political point of view: from the pioneering shows developed under strict Catholic control in the 1950s and 1960s to the left-wing political twists of the 1970s, the conservative riflusso or resurgence of the 1980s, through the disputed Berlusconian era, and into the contemporary rise of the celebrity chef. Through this lively and engaging work, we learn that cooking spaghetti in a TV studio is a political act, and by watching it, we become citizens.
Reviews
Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1: Literature Review, Theoretical Framework and Methodology
Politics, Television and Food in Italy: Dangerous Liaisons
Politics in Italy after the Second World War
Television in Italy
Italian Food between reality and stereotypes
Italian food TV
Theoretical framework
Methodology
Conclusion
Chapter 2: Broadcasting Sacred Food: 1954-1970
Soldati’s Journey to the Po Valley
Soldati’s Conception of Genuineness
Nature and Culture
Culture and the Past
Where are the women?
Soldati’s Sacred Food
Linea contro Linea
Conclusion
Chapter 3: 1971-1980: The Ephemeral Wind of Change
A new political scenario
The New scenario on TV: RAI’s reformation
A Tavola alle 7
The Relationship between Veronelli and Ninchi
Ninchi, Veronelli and the field of Italian Politics in the 1970s
Dimmi Come Mangi and the Dawn of Neo-TV
Conclusion
Chapter 4: 1981-1999: Going Back Home (and to the Kitchen)
Riflusso and Italy in the 1980s and 1990s
Wilma De Angelis and home cooking
A Pranzo con Wilma
Food Television Becomes a Genre
Conclusion
Chapter 5: Eating TV: Food on Berlusconian Television, 2000-2012
The Celebrity Housewives and their Shows
La Prova del Cuoco
Women Between Power and Stereotype
Serving Sacred Food in Trattoria
The Contrasted Discovery of Foreign Food
Food in the News
Conclusion
Chapter 6: 2012-The Present, The Italian Way to the Celebrity Chef
The Invasion of the Global Formats
A Case of Italian Adaptation: From Kitchen Nightmares to Cucine da Incubo
A Cena da Me: Representing Food to Talk about Something Else
Food Network Italia
The New Celebrity Chefs
Alessandro Borghese e Simone Rugiati
MasterChef
Italian Food out of Italy
Dietary Chefs and their Enemies
The Tough Chef
Female Professional Cooking
Benedetta Rossi, the Anti-chef
Conclusion
Conclusion
Chapter 1: Literature Review, Theoretical Framework and Methodology
Politics, Television and Food in Italy: Dangerous Liaisons
Politics in Italy after the Second World War
Television in Italy
Italian Food between reality and stereotypes
Italian food TV
Theoretical framework
Methodology
Conclusion
Chapter 2: Broadcasting Sacred Food: 1954-1970
Soldati’s Journey to the Po Valley
Soldati’s Conception of Genuineness
Nature and Culture
Culture and the Past
Where are the women?
Soldati’s Sacred Food
Linea contro Linea
Conclusion
Chapter 3: 1971-1980: The Ephemeral Wind of Change
A new political scenario
The New scenario on TV: RAI’s reformation
A Tavola alle 7
The Relationship between Veronelli and Ninchi
Ninchi, Veronelli and the field of Italian Politics in the 1970s
Dimmi Come Mangi and the Dawn of Neo-TV
Conclusion
Chapter 4: 1981-1999: Going Back Home (and to the Kitchen)
Riflusso and Italy in the 1980s and 1990s
Wilma De Angelis and home cooking
A Pranzo con Wilma
Food Television Becomes a Genre
Conclusion
Chapter 5: Eating TV: Food on Berlusconian Television, 2000-2012
The Celebrity Housewives and their Shows
La Prova del Cuoco
Women Between Power and Stereotype
Serving Sacred Food in Trattoria
The Contrasted Discovery of Foreign Food
Food in the News
Conclusion
Chapter 6: 2012-The Present, The Italian Way to the Celebrity Chef
The Invasion of the Global Formats
A Case of Italian Adaptation: From Kitchen Nightmares to Cucine da Incubo
A Cena da Me: Representing Food to Talk about Something Else
Food Network Italia
The New Celebrity Chefs
Alessandro Borghese e Simone Rugiati
MasterChef
Italian Food out of Italy
Dietary Chefs and their Enemies
The Tough Chef
Female Professional Cooking
Benedetta Rossi, the Anti-chef
Conclusion
Conclusion