If you think that Generation Z is only the one who wins “no” in the referendum, well, you’re wrong. This is demonstrated by the existence – and the resounding success – of “Parking Table”, a completely podcast sui generisadmittedly trashy to the point of bordering on camp and, at times, crazy enough to be hypnotic. In short, if so far we have described this new generation as the most serious ever – “even disinterested in sex!”, the older ones indignantly denounce – what is certain is that it is also capable of enjoying a bit of healthy, disengaged entertainment, just like the previous one. Suitably adapted to the current times, of course.

“Parking Table”, hosted by Nicole Pallado and Gianmarco Zagato – respectively an influencer and a YouTuber who proclaim themselves Barbie and Ken due to their shameless use of cosmetic surgery – is in fact an afternoon television talk show but updated in the times of “Brain Rot”: very popular in short, but often even more empty of concept. So why are we writing about it, you ask? Well, for example because, even as we type these lines, it is among the 10 most listened to podcasts in Italy on Spotify.

What exactly is Parking Table. Born from a hangover and remained so

The genesis of Tavolo Parcheggio is itself explanatory of the product. Known for its chaotic and confidential style, the podcast was born from a random idea and, like all ideas born spontaneously and not by strategy, it works particularly well. Nicole – beauty influencer and entrepreneur, who ended up in the newspapers for having redone her lips to the point of having to reduce them – and Gianmarco – seasoned YouTuber, capable of racking up millions of views talking about the paranormal and lifestyle – used to meet at a table in a car park on the outskirts of Padua to get drunk before going to the disco. Hence, the name. And the format, that is: a hangover. In fact, shortly thereafter, without realizing it – or at least so they say – the two put together the first Italian “Bla bla cast”, welcomed with fury by Spotify. The concept is simple: chat freely, without too many pretensions or a logical thread. In practice, listening to their podcast is like “picking up the phone between two friends and overhearing a conversation”, as they explain it. Or: how to sit on plastic chairs together with the village “sciure”, the ones who always stand outside the front door, and adorably spite all the neighbors.

And so it is that – in this total vacuity of bar chatter in which no skills or food for thought are required – we move from Fabrizio Corona to satanic sects, from the abuse of retouching to Epstein, from crime news to social issues, all often seasoned with ignorance displayed very proudly (and equally strategically, but we’ll see this later). In short, we are in the area of ​​”brain emptying” products: indeed, at times here the brain is emptied to the point of feeling like you are under hallucinogens. But the added value is theattitude irony of the “odd couple”, which has its own comic moments, absolutely enjoyable.

@amazonmusicit @Levanteofficial didn’t know what he was getting into when he said yes to @tavoloparcheggio with @Nicolepallado and @Gianmarco Zagato ♬ original audio – Amazon Music EN

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WHAT IS THE BRENTAAA CLEANING? 😭😭😭 Ep.106

♬ original sound – parking table

To understand what we’re talking about, you have to see the episode with Fulminacci in Sanremo

To understand what we are talking about, look for example at the episode in which Fulminacci is a guest. Faced with the “questions-not-questions” of Nicole and Gianmarco, the Roman singer – the most radical chic of this Sanremo, so to speak – observes these two creatures with wide-open eyes. “You are out of your mind,” he repeats obsessively. And meanwhile he casts oblique glances at the manager. In fact, it is precisely in interviews that the two give their best: it is there that their extravagant character emerges compared to the usual living room liturgy. Like oil floating in water, in short.

Now, imagine Fulminacci, someone who wrote “Santa Marinella” so to speak, faced with the following exchange: “You have a bit of culture”, Nicole tells him, “that’s what’s missing here”, she adds. “But on the other hand we have two beautiful balls,” replies Zagato, pointing to her breasts. “Yes, but these are also fake,” specifies the colleague. In short, on the part of the hosts, there is no type of awe towards the guests, who here have the opportunity to show their self-irony or their absolute snobbery (spoiler: they often end up adoring the hosts). Among the traditions, for example, there is the one in which Nicole pretends not to know the composition of the solar system, surprising the interlocutor. Levante, guest after Fulminacci, is shocked: “I didn’t know I ended up in the psychiatry ward.”

Authentic, among so many podcasts that are all the same

So, given that we are not dealing with a podcast that stands out for its dissemination, what are the secrets to the success of “Tavolo Parcheggio”? There is certainly the issue of authenticity. Of credibility. Despite all its (deliberate) conceptual limits, in fact, Nicole and Gianmarco’s complicity is evidently sincere: if, in short, you try to re-propose or reinvent something similar, you will hardly be able to replicate its genuinely amused atmosphere. And this is something magnetic in the age of podcasts that are all the same, created artificially just because they are fashionable. Let’s look around: we are literally surrounded by podcasts in which “people who have no ability to ask” interview other “people who have nothing to say”, while taking themselves very seriously. How many times have the Ferragni sisters gone around babbling about their non-existent childhood traumas? Well here, at least, the “nothing to say” is declared and fun.

Self-memization and other reasons for success

More than irony, however, what matters in Tavolo Parcheggio is self-irony: a foundational aspect, which reveals how the two, in reality, are much more intelligent than what may seem to the most superficial. The mechanism is simple: as happened in the 2000s with “La Pupa e il nerd”, where a plethora of beautiful girls pretended not to know the European capitals, thus pushing on the powerful engine of indignation, here Nicole pretends not to know the solar system, thus pushing on the powerful accelerator of self-mememisation. And so the clip will fly on social media and generate polarization. It will be there‘hate watching of whom, for the most trivial Schadenfreudewill remain and watch, enjoying the subtle pleasure of feeling superior; but also who will set the podcast as their own guilty pleasure: in openly presenting themselves as “Rubbish”, in fact, Gianmarco and Nicole have made disengagement a declared and claimed space, no longer shunned or stigmatized. And this is a winner.

@.palladox I DIE. @Nicolepallado @Gianmarco Zagato @tavoloparcheggio #fypppppppppppppppppppppppppp #viral #fyp #nicolepallado #gianmarcozagato ♬ original audio – fp nicolep🩷

Gianmarco and Nicole, two outsiders of the “influencer” world

And it is here, then, that we understand that Parking Table is indeed a little trashy, but also a little campy (forgive us, Susan Sontag, if perhaps we bring up higher topics than necessary). In fact, while trash is what feeds on the ugliness of others to trigger further ugliness in the unaware spectator, here the homage to excess is a conscious, ironic and theatrical choice, both on the part of the hosts and the audience. It is practically a parody of the very category of influencers, made of luxury, aesthetic perfection and arrogance, and of the public that follows them: Nicole and Gianmarco are two outsiders, they look at their colleagues with amused distance.

Tavolo Parcheggio is, ultimately, the transition from trash as a “spectacle of other people’s horror” to trash as a “comfort zone”: it is no coincidence that among the brands that have invested in the product there is also Douglas, evidently interested in the authentic target of spectators (mostly female).

An afternoon talk taken to the extreme

Last, but not least – in this age where we have the attention span of a goldfish – part of the luck is definitely in the rhythm. The variety of topics, which constantly changes without actually being able to conclude any concept, is probably ideal for a generation (including myself) with very low concentration reserves. It is the natural evolution of afternoon talk shows: the difference is that here the classic “television blocks”, focused on specific topics, are literally flattened into a single stream of consciousness, without rhyme or reason. In common, however, there is the total lack of concentration required of the public: if while watching “Men and Women” you are there messing around with your phone (the phenomenon is technically called “second screen”), here you can also turn around permanently and hang out your clothes. Gianmarco and Nicole will always be there: you can pick up the phone whenever you want.

@tavoloparcheggio

PEARL OF THE DAY Ep.88

♬ original sound – parking table

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LET’S ABOLISH MATCHA TEA 🤢🍵 Ep.123

♬ original audio – tableparking

@iiabe2 #tavoloparcheggio #nicolepallado #gianmarcozagato#neiperte #gianmarcozagato #messa #santa #santamessa #viral #noflop #noflop#fyp #noflop#viral#viral #viral #noflop #viral #noflop#fyp #noflop#viral #noflop#viral @tavoloparcheggio ♬ original sound – Marco