Fellini and the (low) attention span

Federico Fellini, the iconic Italian filmmaker, had a critical view of television, particularly in terms of its artistic and cultural impact.

He famously said:

“Television is a medium of entertainment which permits millions of people to listen to the same joke at the same time, and yet remain lonesome.”

This quote reflects Fellini's concerns about the superficiality and homogenizing effect of television.

He saw it as a medium that, while capable of reaching a vast audience, lacked the depth and personal connection of cinema.

Fellini believed that television had a tendency to reduce art and culture to simplistic, mass-consumed content, leading to a kind of emotional and intellectual isolation despite its reach. He viewed cinema as a more profound and meaningful medium for storytelling and human expression.

He also worried and predicted what was bound to happen: that the attention span of viewers was going to be drastically reduced. If only he knew about cellphones and the internet…

In an interview, he said that a person who with a remote control can switch between 4 channels and watch 4 different movies at the same time might be seen as a brilliant mind with an amazing capacity to concentrate on so many plots at once.

But, in reality, said Fellini, that person is simply unable to focus on anything for any significant period of time. Therefore, the quality of the experience becomes superficial and useless.

He worried that because of television, cinematographers would have to come up with ever more drastic hooks to keep the attention of their viewers.

If only he had known about social media…

As usual, there are many colors in these complicated topics. But it´s worth to think about Fellini´s words and reflect on our habits.

What are we paying attention to? For how long? Does it benefit us? Or does the endless switching between Netflix series, or scrolling through Instagram or TikTok leave us fulfilled, or emptier inside?

Don´t get me wrong, I think that well used, there´s good in all these tools. Well used…

To end this post, I leave you my “Elegant Evenings” playlist in which, at the top of the playlist, you´ll find some music by Nino Rota for some of Fellini´s iconic films. Listen to it here.

Enjoy, and have a great day.

Claudio.