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Paninaro (Italian; IPA: [pani'naro]; feminine: Paninara; plural: Paninari; feminine plural: Paninare) is the name of the members of a subculture that was born in Milan, Italy during the early 1980s. The name comes from the word Panino [pa'nino] which roughly means sandwich; this refers to the eating habits of the Paninari who used to eat in fast-food restaurants like McDonalds which in the early 1980s started to open in Italy. The first group of Paninari used to gather at a fast food restaurant called Al Panino (At the Sandwich), which gave name to the movement.[1] The subculture was famous for its apolitical nature and its twin obsessions with fashion and Americana, contrasting sharply with the politically-aware generations of 1960s and 1970s.
The Paninaro scene developed in tandem with the vapid hedonism of the 80s, fostered by Reaganomics, Thatcherism and deregulation liberism and was eagerly embraced by the sons of well-to-do professionals who benefitted from the widening gulf between high-income families and salaried workers.
It was also reinforced by the diffusion in Italy of Berlusconi's television channels, which transmitted messages of consumerism and fostered a fetishistic urge of self-affirmation through the acquisition of status symbols. Among these one station Italia 1 was explicitly aimed at a younger target, broadcasting then-popular u.s. series, movies, cartoons and comedy shows which had unparalleled popularity in the 10-25 age range.
The Paninaro look's cornerstones were: Timberland boots or deck shoes, El Charro jeans rolled up to ankle height, belts with Texan or western-style big buckles, Best Company sweatshirts, bulky Dolomite or Moncler jackets and brightly colored Invicta rucksacks.
Other popular items were Ray-Ban sunglasses, Naj-Oleari, Fiorucci and Moschino accessories, Controvento and CP Company clothing.
In their heyday, Paninari were lampooned in the Italia 1 comedy show Drive-in by Enzo Braschi, who played a character depicting the shallowness of the subculture and its unending vulnerability to newer trends and fads of the 1980s (New Romantic, Dark-Goth, Rambo-like, and so on...). Braschi later dropped the character after a season in which he appeared in military uniform relating his experiences in the then-compulsory service in the Italian Army (then a rite of passage signaling detachment from the teenage years).
The Paninaro movement was also diffused in some European countries, and is immortalized in the cult song "Paninaro" from 1986 by the Pet Shop Boys.
See also
External links
References
- ^ Zingarelli Nicola, (2008), Dizionario della Lingua Italiana, Zanichelli
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