Enzo Tortora's tragic story revisited
In his series Portobello, Marco Bellocchio examines the tragic history of Enzo Tortora, who went from television star to pariah in Italy during the 1980s. The series premiered on October 22, 2026, and opens with Giovanni Pandico, an incarcerated mafioso, who is obsessively drawn to a television set in his cell.Television as a central theme
The series explores the collusion of powers in Italy and the fall of popular idols, as well as the delirious power of television. Bellocchio places the television in various settings, such as a nursing home, a bourgeois living room, the desk of a catacomb guard, or in the middle of a convent.Recent fictions on television's influence
Recent fictions have increasingly focused on the influence of television. The film Primetime, released on September 23, discusses the megalomania of its host, Chris Hansen, and those of his preferred medium.Television's rise and cultural impact
The first season of Culte, broadcast in 2024, offers an ambivalent view of the seismic impact caused by the arrival of Loft Story, a visionary and terrifying reality show. In 1983, David Cronenberg materialized the fascination for cathode ray images in Videodrome, by fusing a television network executive with his set.Television's enduring presence
According to Glance, the international branch of Médiamétrie, the set was watched on average two hours and thirteen minutes per day worldwide in 2025, compared to more than three hours in 2017. Television, cradle of the digital age.Fictions reflecting on television's legacy
From Portobello to Culte, recent fictions prefer to take a look in the rearview mirror, establishing troubling parallels with our era. Television appears in these works as the cradle of the digital age, where its effects outlive it in other, more diffuse and often more extreme forms.Television's dual role in culture
Nevertheless, television's influence is not entirely negative. I Saw the TV Glow, a surprise success at the Sundance festival in 2024 directed by Jane Schoenbrun, features Owen and Maddie, teenagers uncomfortable in their own skin, who form a very strong friendship around a shared passion for a fictional series, recorded on VHS, The Pink Opaque.Television as a source of connection and identity
Far from implying generalized dumbing down, television has also provided models, exits, or keys for those who did not fit into the norm to learn how to be in the world. Just like, at their best, social networks. Portobello, by Marco Bellocchio, airs on Arte, every Thursday at 21:00, and on Arte.tv.
