Only in Italy

I couldn't believe my ears when I heard this commercial for Kinder fetta al latte with Fiona May: "Quando fa caldo e' difficile fare colazione, per questo c'e' Kinder fetta al latte*..."

Seriously? Who the fuck came up with this??

(*When it's hot out it's hard to eat breakfast, that's why we have Kinder fetta al latte)

mysteries of Italian TV

I don't watch much Italian TV, but when I do happen to tune in I can't help but wonder about these oddities:

1) Why do shows start at random times like 3:05 or 9:40?

2) Why do commercials have to be announced/introduced by screen images like the one I posted above? I've never had a hard time differentiating a TV show or movie from a commercial so the need for this escapes me.

3) Why do they have TV guide readers? Some channels (like RAI) have these ladies who come on the air and tell you what the evening's TV schedule will be. I find it amusing yet senseless.

IL CORPO DELLE DONNE

I just discovered this wonderfully true and powerful documentary by an Italian woman which addresses how women are seen and used on Italian TV (and those of us who've had the misfortune of watching Italian TV know how disturbing it can be). The English translation is a bit sketchy but it's still very much worth watching. Please watch and tell others about it!

http://www.ilcorpodelledonne.net/?page_id=91

The horror of Italian TV

For obvious reasons, I don't watch much Italian TV but Le Iene is one show I enjoy, or used to enjoy... Apparently, they weren't meeting the national quota for semi-naked dancing on TV so they decided to make some changes. Instead of giving more time to the content that made the show worthwhile: hardcore investigative reports, spoofs and pranks embarrassing public figures, revealing scandals, etc., they decided to add more crap by making the presenters do stoopid and humiliating dance routines throughout the show. One of the presenters is none other than the lovely Ilary Blasi (Totti's wife for those of you who don't know). She's forced to wear skimpy dresses and do ridiculous dances, at times causing some rather awkward moments for her. Exhibit number one: while wearing a skin-tight pencil skirt, she attempts to perform the lame choreography and ends up tearing the slit in her skirt. Exhibit number two:

Major wardrobe malfunction here, this outdoes Janet Jackson's nipple slip! Maybe the costume department and the choreographers should compare notes before subjecting this poor girl to further embarrassment. Can't an attractive woman be on Italian TV and still maintain her dignity?

Has anyone else happened to witness this atrocity on Italia 1 called "Saturday Night Live" (from Milano)? I caught about 5 minutes of it and was appalled by how bad it is, there's no comparison to the real Saturday Night Live. This is not a format like reality shows or game shows that can easily be repeated in any country, by any comedian or "actor". It requires talent from the writers and the performers- a talent which seems to be lacking in the world of Italian TV.