Ragusa, the new work by "Onorata società" is released

Nasubi, the banality of evil is the new track by Onorata Società, a group from Ragusa that offers a journey into the complexity of the human soul, where the boundary between good and evil becomes thin in a community that pushes us to see without truly looking.

Nasubi prompts a reflection on individual and collective responsibility: how can we allow evil to become ordinary? What does it mean to be human in a society that seems to have lost its nature? Ultimately, it is an invitation to question our inhumanity.

In the 1960s, Hannah Arendt coined the concept of the banality of evil. Following the trial of Adolf Eichmann, one of the main architects of the deportation of Jews, she was struck by the absence of monstrosity in his profile: an ordinary-looking, mediocre, conformist man. Evil, in fact, is no longer recognizable solely in explicit violence: it camouflages itself in less conspicuous forms, does not declare itself but still produces concrete effects.

Nasubi is a Japanese comedian who, in the 1990s, participated in one of the first reality television shows. He entered a room believing he was auditioning for a simple role and remained there for over a year, broadcast live nationwide: unbeknownst to him, the audience at home determined the challenges he would have to face even to obtain food and water. No one hated him or exercised direct violence against him, yet everyone contributed to his suffering.

A preview of dynamics that are now widespread: the normalization of evil that speaks the language of political correctness, hides behind a screen, and exploits mechanisms such as the diffusion of responsibility and the protection offered by the monitor. Eichmann “was just following orders”; we define ourselves as “just consumers of content.” No one feels responsible, but guilt, to varying degrees, concerns us all.

Onorata Società was founded in Ragusa in 1997 as a hip hop project, bringing together lyricists and musicians united by the idea of music as a vehicle for unconventional thoughts and messages, supported by rhythms and harmonies. Over time, the group has changed; today, the core members include lyricists Paolo Cultrera and Giuseppe Giummarra and musicians Massimo Occhipinti (bass), Vincenzo Rotilio (keyboards), and Ciccio Spataro (drums). They have been joined by Enrico Boncoraglio (guitar), Peter Zarby (keyboards and computer), and Sharon Muscolino (vocals).