Videocracy

What comes to mind from the words “Italian television”? The aptly-named Videocracy explores the harmonious union between entertainment and power, one of the many fruits of which is a television-show-girl-come-minister. The infamous leviathan Silvio Berlusconi is obviously at the top of this hierarchy of bad apples, a television mogul who made himself prime minister.

Documentarist Erik Gandini does not point the camera at Berlusconi himself, but an even more revealing image of Il Cavaliere’s power and persona is drawn through his acquaintances. Lele Mora, who entertains Big Brother competitors in his white mansion, statuesque and tragic Fabio Corona, and paparazzi Marella, who is Berlusconi’s neighbour, form a cavalcade that leaves you speechless.

Sanna Paakkanen | Translation by Anna Volmari