''Il costume di casa'' (''Faith in Fakes'') was originally an essay written by the Italian semiotician Umberto Eco, about "America's obsession with

simulacra A simulacrum (plural: simulacra or simulacrums, from Latin ''simulacrum'', which means "likeness, semblance") is a representation or imitation of a person or thing. The word was first recorded in the English language in the late 16th century, us ...

and counterfeit reality." It was later incorporated as the centrepiece of the anthology bearing the same name, a collection of articles and essays about Italian ideologies. The anthology contains a selection of essays taken from two Italian books by Eco: ''Il costume di casa'' (first published in 1973)Eco (1973) and ''Sette anni di desiderio'' (1983).Eco (1983) It was translated into English in 1986 as ''Faith in Fakes'' and later updated as ''Travels in Hyperreality'' in 1995.

Content

The book is a collection of articles from mainly Italian newspapers and magazines about the wider subject of human

consciousness Consciousness, at its simplest, is sentience and awareness of internal and external existence. However, the lack of definitions has led to millennia of analyses, explanations and debates by philosophers, theologians, linguisticians, and scien ...

, including Eco's own subject of

semiotics Semiotics (also called semiotic studies) is the systematic study of sign processes ( semiosis) and meaning making. Semiosis is any activity, conduct, or process that involves signs, where a sign is defined as anything that communicates something ...

. The subjects of the main essay includes modern Americana such as wax museums,

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...

and holography, and the other articles discuss a number of other subjects, including

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

, the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

, Jim Jones and the

People's Temple The Peoples Temple of the Disciples of Christ, originally Peoples Temple Full Gospel Church and commonly shortened to Peoples Temple, was an American new religious organization which existed between 1954 and 1978. Founded in Indianapolis, In ...

, and tight jeans.

Semiological guerrilla

The collection included the influential 1967 article ''Towards a Semiological Guerrilla Warfare'', first given as a lecture at the conference Vision '67 in New York, and included in Eco's first work on semiotic theory, his 1968 ''La Struttura Assente'' (''The Absent Structure'').Eco (1967)Bondanella (2005) pp. 53, 88–9 The term has been influential in the theorization of guerrilla tactics against mainstream

mass media culture In cultural studies, media culture refers to the current Western capitalist society that emerged and developed from the 20th century, under the influence of mass media. The term alludes to the overall impact and intellectual guidance exerted by the ...

, such as guerrilla television and culture jamming. Among the expressions used in the essay, "communications guerrilla warfare" and "cultural guerrilla".

Notes

References

*Bondanella, Peter (2005
''Umberto Eco and the Open Text: Semiotics, Fiction, Popular Culture''
*

Eco, Umberto Umberto Eco (5 January 1932 – 19 February 2016) was an Italian medievalist, philosopher, semiotician, novelist, cultural critic, and political and social commentator. In English, he is best known for his popular 1980 novel ''The Name of the ...

(1967) ''Per una guerriglia semiologica'' (English tr.
Towards a Semiological Guerrilla Warfare
') first given as a lecture at conference ''Vision '67'' in New York. *

(1973) ''Il Costume Di Casa: Evidenze E Misteri Dell'ideologia Italiana'', Bompiani 1973, ASIN B002Z5WLQ4 *

(1983
''Sette anni di desiderio''
Bompiani, 1983 * Strangelove, Michael (2005
''The empire of mind: digital piracy and the anti-capitalist movement''

External links

''La cultura di massa secondo Umberto Eco''
extract from Eco's ''La cultura di massa sotto accusa'', by MARCO DAL CIN on 2 APRILE 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Faith In Fakes Bompiani books Essays about hyperreality Essays in semiotics

Content

Semiological guerrilla

Notes

References

Further reading

External links