(Re) Framing the Mafia: Cosa Nostra, Movies

Intersession 2017. AS.211.242.13

(Re) Framing the Mafia: Cosa Nostra, Movies and Popular Culture

Meeting times: Monday/Wednesday/Friday 1:00-2:45 pm. Instructor: Beatrice Variolo Email: [email protected] Office Hours: After class & on appointment.

Course description:

This course intends to explore how Cosa Nostra (Our Thing), the Sicilian Mafia, has deeply influenced the social, political and cultural landscape of Sicily and Italy at large, from its origins to the present day. From The Godfather to The Sopranos, the figure of the Mafia mobster has become deeply embedded in American popular culture, considered with certain sympathy by the audience. But it is problematic when the representation of the Mafia, as produced by the American imagination, is extended to the homonymous Sicilian criminal association. The aim of this class is to show the Mafia through Italian eyes. Using movies and crime fictions, direct testimonies and short stories, this course examines the various ways in which the Mafia is depicted, idealized and parodied on the other side of the Atlantic. The goal is to provide insights into societal and cultural fascination with the Mafia, but also to dispel myths and stereotypes surrounding it.

Course objectives

In this class students will:

 acquire or improve skills necessary for a critical examination of representations of contemporary Italian society.

 develop a basic understanding of Cosa nostra, its origins, growth and persistence

 improve their ability to think critically about the impact of the Mafia on society (both in history and today)

 acquire an understanding of the representation of the Mafia in movies and popular culture

 explore the narrative dynamics behind the representation of the Mafia in Italian movies and TV series

 gain an understanding of differences in the representation of the Mafia between Italian and American movies

Requirements

No previous knowledge of Italian language, history or literature is required. All the texts will be available in English and the class will be taught in English as well. Classroom attendance and participation are fundamental. Active class participation is a very important aspect of this course. Active participation means that you should feel the responsibility to speak, volunteer for discussion and interact with your instructor and/or fellow students. Students will be held responsible for reading/watching the materials assigned and coming prepared to class. Grading :

Grades will be awarded on the basis of class preparation, participation and a final presentation.

Grade breakdown

15%: Class attendance

45%: Participation and class discussion

40%: Final Presentation

Course Materials

All the articles and books chapters will be available on Blackboard. The movies for this class will be put on reserve in the University Library. Some of them are also available on Kanopy (search for jhu-kanopystreaming) and on Netflix. All the movies to screen for class have English subtitles. Further bibliography will be suggested for the presentations and those who wish to explore the topics more in depth.

Syllabus

1) Monday January 9: General class introduction/ Sicilian Mafia and their overseas cousins: Hollywood Mafia

2) Wednesday January 11: The legend of the “men of honor”: Mafia’s origins

- Readings: 1) Giovanni Verga. Cavalleria Rusticana. 27-34; 2) Giovanni Verga. The Golden Key. 21-5. (Blackboard) 3) Friday January 13: Does the Mafia really exist?

- Readings: Leonardo Sciascia. The Day of the Owl (on Blackboard/on reserve)

4) Monday January 16: No class: Martin Luther King Day

5) Wednesday January 18: Against the Mafia: The rise of the Anti-Mafia

-To watch: Marco Tullio Giordana. I cento passi (The Hundred Steps) (On reserve) -Readings: George De Stefano. “Marco Tullio Giordana’s The Hundreds Steps: The Biopic as Political Cinema.” 320-8. (on Blackboard)

6) Friday January 20: Another way to fight the Mafia: Mafia’s parodies

-To watch: Roberta Torre. Tano da morire (To Die for Tano) (on Kanopy) - Readings: Millicent Marcus. Postmodern Pastiche, the Sceneggiata, and the View of the Mafia from Below in Roberta Torre’s Tano da Morire. 234-49 (on Blackboard) - Optional: Pierfrancesco Diliberto (Pif). La Mafia uccide solo d’estate (The Mafia Kills Only in Summer) (on reserve)

7) Monday January 23: Law&Mafia: the Mafia as portrayed in TV series and fictions

-To watch: Il Commissario Montalbano Gita a Tindari. (Inspector Montalbano. Excursion to Tindari) (on reserve) -Readings: Andrea Camilleri. Excursion to Tindari. (on Blackboard)

8) Wednesday January 25: Mafia heroes, women against Mafia and Mafia’s women

-To watch: Marco Amenta. La siciliana ribelle. (The Sicilian Girl) (on Kanopy) OR Roberta Torre. Angela (on reserve) Optional: Alexander Stille-Marco Turco. In un altro paese (Excellent Cadavers) (documentary): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wN4vB0NNfoo

9) Friday January 27: Final Presentations