Alberto Angela: why Aldo Grasso’s criticism of “commonplaces” and “rhetoric” is unfair

On television, as in life, no one is untouchable, and Alberto Angelaone of the few bastions of culture and dissemination that we have in Italy, is no exception. His special Tonight in Romewhich aired on Rai1 on Christmas evening, won the 20.9% share despite going, legitimately, against the taste of Aldo Grasso which, from the pages of Corriere della Serawith Angela he chose not to go down lightly. In his examination of the program, in fact, Grasso reproached a Tonight in Rome to be full of “intellectual cloying” and of not being truthful because Alberto Angela chose to show a “postcard” Rome, “without traffic, rubbish and construction sites”. Leaving aside the naivety of this clarification, considering that when you film a program on the beauties of a city it is more than normal to highlight its qualities and its strengths – you have to know how to sell yourself, or not? It wasn’t Reports -, at a certain point Grasso reproached Alberto with Angela his speaking in “commonplaces” and its being “rhetorical” without considering a detail.

The beauty of Alberto Angela’s television has always been not taking anything for granted and using a language accessible to all so that anyone could follow his explanations and be enraptured by his story. Choosing not to use sophisticated terms that Alberto Angela naturally knows is a conscious choice so as not to preclude the viewing of his programs by an audience not as equipped as himand it is a bit surprising that Grasso neglects such a detail, given that in this Alberto Angela seems very similar to a historical figure that the critic knows well: that of Alberto Manzi who, in the Sixties, educated the television audience by breaking down the illiteracy of adults in those years was massive.

We cannot fail to recognize that Grasso was one of the first to elevate television to a subject of study in Italy, not to mention that, when he expresses criticism, he can count on a historical and cultural preparation that many who launch into the same criticisms they are not, however, a little sorry that he did not recognize Alberto Angela – as well as his father Piero – the merit of having always left out any intellectual quirk to make himself look good in the eyes of the niche, preferring to address the masses. The Angelas, who, for goodness’ sake, they are not perfect and it is legitimate that someone doesn’t like themhave set up a cultural and informative television that is deliberately broad and for everyone, and we cannot fail to underline this.