Watching films in Italian East Africa (1936-41). Fascist ambitions, contradictions, and anxieties

This article examines film consumption within the Fascist empire of Italian East Africa (1936–1941). In dialogue with recent scholarship exploring social and cultural aspects of the Italian presence in the Horn of Africa, it draws on original archival research to investigate the stories, theories and practices underpinning the Fascist intervention. The implementation of itinerant screening by state authorities as well as the organization of distribution, censorship and consumption’s spaces concerning movie theatres will be interpreted within a broad critical framework, which will highlight the impact of the Fascist intervention in the field of colonial culture compared with previous or coeval experiences and projects of film consumption in Africa. Analysis reveals the difficulties in arranging a racially segregated cinematic experience and the related imperfect level of Fascistization of the imperial society, in part because the Fascist empire was short-lived and, especially in Ethiopia, it was constantly threatened by local resistance. However, the article argues that the substantial failure of the Fascistization of film consumption primarily stems from the unsuccessful relationship that Fascism established with pre-existing theatre owners. It also reveals how the transnational nature of film practices de facto inhibited their seamless adaptation to the Fascist’s imperial agenda.