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Rebellious Walls: Graffiti in Italy during the Cold War (1948-1955)" in: "Words of Power, the Power of Words. The Twentieth-Century Communist Discourse in International Perspective
Mannari, Enrico
2019
Abstract
Graffiti constitutes a significant but very little used source for analysing the relationship
between the ‘subversive’ language of the working classes and the ‘micro’ propaganda
of the ICP (Italian Communist Party) in the central years of the Cold War. These are the walls that, already extensively used by the rhetoric of Fascism, resume speaking
with a rebellious use of language, and where you can find both political orthodoxy
and working-class irony. Invectives, incitements to fight, comments on events, humour,
aggression, puns. They can be found at street crossings, at the entrances to factories
and schools, in the streets of working-class neighbourhoods: all physical spaces where a
mark can be left. Their communicative strength lies in their simplicity and immediacy.
Moreover, the territory is physically marked and personal presence is given visibility in
a context of verbal and ideological confrontation, the traces of which are recorded by
the public security organs. Although this phenomenon is not easily measurable and
difficult to compare, the language and geography of these ‘poor’ forms of protest and
social and political communication also help us to better understand that ‘local’ account
which represents the uncertain boundary between working-class rebellion and the ICP’s
propagandistic activities.
Journal
Studi di Storia
Publisher
EUT Edizioni Università di Trieste
Source
Enrico Mannari, "Rebellious Walls: Graffiti in Italy during the Cold War (1948-1955)" in: "Words of Power, the Power of Words. The Twentieth-Century Communist Discourse in International Perspective", Trieste, EUT Edizioni Università di Trieste, 2019, pp. 181-218
Languages
en
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