Many Latin and Greek authors - among them Aristophanes, Lucilius and Horace - produced astonishing pieces of satire.
Later on, Molière coined a definition of this genre, stating that satire “castigat ridendo mores” (criticises customs through humour).
Satire may have been a popular genre in the past, but, in Italy, it became a cause of concern since Silvio Berlusconi appeared on the political scene.
Soon after he was elected as Prime Minister, Berlusconi - also the owner of Italian private TV channels, newspapers and of a publishing empire and, as Prime Minister, able to influence the Italian state broadcaster Rai - literally purged the airwaves of whoever dared to say anything against him, among them many journalists and comedians.
One of the victims of the purge was Sabina Guzzanti. Sabina’s name has always been linked in Italy to satirical TV shows in which, together with her brother Corrado and her sister Caterina, she mocked left and right-wing politicians and show-biz icons.
The Berlusconi curse abated on Sabina in November 2003 when her programme RaiOt was cancelled after just one episode.
The title of the programme echoed the pronunciation of the English word “riot”, but also stood for “Rai Eight”, a sort of eighth TV channel free from any political influence that Sabina hoped one day would exist.
Entitled “Weapons of Mass Distraction” and dedicated to censorship and information, the first episode of the programme featured a monologue by Sabina about Berlusconi’s TV monopoly and an analysis of the Legge Gasparri (Gasparri Law), a law meant to reform the Italian means of communications that took its name from the previous Minister for Telecommunications Maurizio Gasparri.
Sabina’s 2005 film Viva Zapatero! - dubbed by many critics as a documentary in Michael Moore style - was the story of how RaiOt was censored, and how, a few days later, Berlusconi’s company Mediaset sued it for damages for her jokes on the Gasparri Law (as if Mediaset were the press office of the Ministry for Telecommunications...), and for causing losses to the company in the stock exchange on the morning after the first episode of the programme was broadcast.
RaiOt was never broadcast again despite a judge issued a sentence in its favour.
Sabina the “jester” - as she defines herself - interviewed for Viva Zapatero! many prominent Italians such as late journalist Enzo Biagi (himself fired from Rai for having invited in his programme, broadcast before the 2001 elections, actor and director Roberto Benigni who poked fun at Berlusconi), Nobel Prize Dario Fo and comedians Beppe Grillo and Paolo Rossi, and also spoke to British comedian Rory Bremner and French group Le Grand Guignol, drawing comparisons between satire in Italy and abroad.
Viva Zapatero! was Sabina's way of documenting the state of the mass-media and of freedom of speech in Italy, but it was also meant to spark up a debate and wake up that part of the Italian population caught in a Berlusconi-induced slumber.
I've always admired Sabina, her work and her incredible transformations achieved through perfect make up and costumes and often screened clips selected from her work at lectures on the political situation in Italy or during courses about women and Italian cinema.
I was therefore very happy to hear that her new film, a documentary entitled Draquila (released on 7th May in
Italy), will be previewed in the Special Screenings section of the Cannes Film Festival.
This time Sabina chronicles what happened in L'Aquila after the town was destroyed by last year's earthquake and analyses the corruption and business/political interests in the post-earthquake reconstruction (Prime Minister Berlusconi & Co never missed a photo op while visiting L'Aquila...).
While shooting, Sabina often turned for help to the Internet community and the title of the documentary, a pun on the words Dracula/L'Aquila, was indeed suggested to her by social network users.
When Viva Zapatero! was presented at the Venice Film Festival, it received a 15-minute ovation. I hope that Draquila will once again stir people's consciences like Viva Zapatero! did. Italian speakers can keep updated on Sabina and Draquila by following her video posts here.
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