Sanremo, Rai, and why music isn't "just a celebration"

A few weeks ago, it would have seemed unlikely to associate the images of violence that occurred outside the Rai headquarters in Naples and Sanremo, the quintessentially popular national festival, cradle of Italianess in its most pop interpretation. Yet, the latest edition hosted by Amadeus has highlighted a concerning short circuit, shedding light on the freedom (or lack thereof) to express oneself on political causes on public television and highlighting a significant shift in the narrative it promotes. From "stop the Genocide" pronounced by Ghali on stage to the "Ceasefire" by Dargen D’Amico: if on one hand it is not surprising that a stage and a television space are legitimately used by artists to convey a message - in this case, solidarity with the Palestinian cause and condemnation of the genocide - what really surprises and worries are the chain reactions that such statements have triggered at the top of the institutions. But to analyze the phenomenon in its entirety, to dare to clarify its drifts - from the statement by Roberto Sergio, CEO of Rai, read by Mara Venier at Domenica In to the statements by Amadeus at Porta a Porta - we need to take it step by step.

All the politics of Sanremo

Sanremo is perhaps the only Italian television event capable of speaking for the times and debates that animate contemporaneity. In recent years, Gen Z has finally turned its gaze to it, making it a cross-generational showcase that, in a few moments of truth in six hours of songs and sketches, reveals an extremely accurate portrait of a varied and contradictory Italy. Analyzing the peak in viewer searches on the political themes that emerged during the five nights of the Festival, on February 7th the word "queer" saw a click increase of +2500% during BigMama's performance dedicated to the community. A +490% increase occurred in the same time slot for the term "bodyshaming", following offensive comments spread online about the singer from Avellino. February 10th was the turn of "farmers" (+270%), after the tractor protest landed on stage in the form of a statement read by Amadeus, an excerpt from the longer one sent by the Agricultural Redemption group, which has been stationed with tractors on the Riviera for days. The term "Neapolitan" dominated the searches during the cover night, when Geolier won over Angelina Mango, causing boos and disorder among the audience in jackets and ties, a call from the host, and anti-southern conspiracy theories online. Repeatedly, the real spotlight was on Palestine - +1300% on the night of February 10th for "ceasefire", a term pronounced by Dargen on February 10th +10,000% for "genocide" following Ghali's statements on the same date.

All the politics after Sanremo

The escalation following the statements related to the conflict starts from Domenica In on February 12th: first, Mara Venier reads the statement from Rai CEO Sergio who, responding to the criticisms of the Israeli ambassador about Ghali's words the day before, expresses solidarity with Israel. The host ends the reading by adding: "These are words that - obviously - we all share." Subsequently, she interrupts Dargen D'Amico while he speaks - positively - about migrants: "Okay, but this is a party, it would take too long to address certain themes; we're talking about music here and so I apologize to everyone." But is music really “a party”?

According to the undersecretary of the League Alessandro Morelli "artists should go on stage, perform their beautiful exhibition, and leave", according to Jonathan Zenti, author and podcast designer, "music, like every other cultural product, is always political. (...) To think that a singer should "sing" without doing politics is like thinking of washing one's hands with water without getting wet. What certain people are demanding is not "sing instead of doing politics", but "sing the politics that suits me". Among the public opinion and perhaps not enough on newspaper headlines, the terms "censorship" and "party TV" spread, "TeleMeloni strikes again" comments Antonella Baccaro on Corriere della Sera.

Rai has always reflected more or less faithfully its leadership, but in times when politics veers towards an unprecedented polarization, the freedom of expression risks succumbing to a "party narrative" if not "regime narrative". A scenario already foreseen by the resignation of the former CEO Carlo Fuortes last May, followed closely by Lucia Annunziata a few weeks later: "I do not agree with the methods of intervention on the company" said the journalist to Il Sole 24 ORE. The escalations of violence that occurred outside the Rai in Viale Marconi in Naples - five police officers and five demonstrators injured during a clash with batons - fit into a panorama where a certain type of right-wing politics represents a concrete threat not only to freedom of press and expression, but to democracy as a whole. Especially in a climate of populism and fear, no, music cannot just be a party as Venier says, indeed, there can be no party while a genocide is taking place. And TV, even if public, cannot reflect the Meloni ideals, especially if they undermine the fundamental rights of Italian citizens. In a world where we are increasingly heading towards cultural flattening, we still need voices outside the choir, to realize that the problem is the choir itself.