Overview

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.

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9781789384062

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Reviews

'Buscemi provides in-depth discussions on the important links between British and Italian food culture, television, politics and associated industries and behaviours. [...] [This book] will be valuable to students of television generally, and particularly those taking an interdisciplinary approach to media, food, culture, politics and globalisation. Buscemi provides a capsule case study of the development over sixty years of Italian television and the journey of food through those decades, witnessing changes to gender expectations, ideas of being a ‘better’ Italian and the possibility of food being used to promote a political ‘lie’ (p. 138) to viewers. [It] considers the culinary and cultural capital that the presenters acquire through television appearances and then use in their representations of the politics of food, world events and aspects of our lives which are far from frivolous.' -- Kevin Geddes, Critical Studies on Television

Author Information

Francesco Buscemi researches on food TV, political communication and cultural history. He teaches media history and media writing at the Catholic University of Milan, Insubria University and University of Udine.

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