ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses the propagandistic construction of the boxer Primo Carnera as a fascist hero during the 1930s. It draws on studies of propagandistic nation building and on the centrality of sport and sports films to political communication, especially in the cases of dictatorships. Applying social semiotic multimodality, the study textually and visually investigates documentaries and newsreels about Carnera found in the archive of Istituto Luce, the Italian film institute that under fascism spread Mussolini’s propaganda. The results show that any event of Carnera’s life served the fascist purpose, from fighting in London to training in the USA, from being surrounded by an adoring crowd in Italy to attending kids’ boxing matches in Miami. Textually, the grandiloquent language of the regime extolled Carnera’s international fame and devotion to fascist values; visually, the propaganda highlighted Carnera’s strength and Italianness. Importantly, when Carnera spoke directly to the camera, he replicated Mussolini’s verbal and non-verbal language. These items were shot before the racial laws, when the regime still hoped to enter the international forum of Western democracies. The internationally renowned boxer was thus meant as a sort of passport for fascism, able to improve the uneven relationships of the dictatorship with other nations.
