Interpreting the Visual Evidence
The Fascist Spectacle of Mass Participation
Like other revolutionary
movements, fascism in
Italy and national socialism
in Germany needed
to project an image of
popular support for their political programs.
As far back as the French Revolution
of 1789, representations of "the
people" as political actors took on special
significance in revolutionary propaganda
(see Interpreting Visual Evidence,
Chapter 18, page 566), and both Hitler
and Mussolini understood how to use
such images to create the impression
of an organic and seamless connection
between the party's leadership
and the rank and file who made up the
movement.
Representations of the people in
nineteenth-century liberal revolutionary
movements emphasized an activist
definition of political participation, as
citizens came together to constitute a
national body that reflected their will.
Both Italian fascism and German national
socialism defined themselves in
opposition to democratic or parliamentary
regimes, and they explicitly rejected
the individualism that was the basis for
liberal citizenship. In their orchestration
of public celebrations for their program,
both fascists and national socialists
emphasized images of obedience and
subordination to the leader (image A),
or to the national movement (image
B). Though the pageantry of fascism
and national socialism typically emphasized
an aggressively masculine image
of enthusiastic devotion, most fascist
movements also organized special female
sections within their movements.
In these groups, women could clothe
themselves in uniforms like their male
counterparts and express their own allegiance
to the spirit of self-sacrifice that
was at the heart of such collective movements
(image C).
Images
Questions for Analysis
| 1. fiogf49gjkf0d fiogf49gjkf0d Each of these images was carefully
staged and orchestrated to project a
specific message. What are the messages
contained in each of these images?
What details are important? |
|
| 2. fiogf49gjkf0d fiogf49gjkf0d What do these images tell us about
the place of the individual in fascist
society? |
|
| 3. fiogf49gjkf0d fiogf49gjkf0d What sense of belonging do you think
these images are designed to produce?
What made such images so attractive
to so many people? |
|
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