Copyright by Amanda Rose Bush 2019
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Copyright by Amanda Rose Bush 2019 The Dissertation Committee for Amanda Rose Bush Certifies that this is the approved version of the following Dissertation: Self-presentation, Representation, and a Reconsideration of Cosa nostra through the Expanding Narratives of Tommaso Buscetta Committee: Paola Bonifazio, Supervisor Daniela Bini Circe Sturm Alessandra Montalbano Self-presentation, Representation, and a Reconsideration of Cosa nostra through the Expanding Narratives of Tommaso by Amanda Rose Bush Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin May 2019 Dedication I dedicate this disseration to Phoebe, my big sister and biggest supporter. Your fierce intelligence and fearless pursuit of knowledge, adventure, and happiness have inspired me more than you will ever know, as individual and as scholar. Acknowledgements This dissertation would not have been possible without the sage support of Professor Paola Bonifazio, who was always open to discussing my ideas and provided both encouragement and logistical prowess for my research between Corleone, Rome, Florence, and Bologna, Italy. Likewise, she provided a safe space for meetings at UT and has always framed her questions and critiques in a manner which supported my own analytical development. I also want to acknowledge and thank Professor Daniela Bini whose extensive knowledge of Sicilian literature and film provided many exciting discussions in her office. Her guidance helped me greatly in both the genesis of this project and in understanding its vaster implications in our hypermediated society. Additionally, I would like to thank Professor Circe Sturm and Professor Alessandra Montalbano for their very important insights and unique academic backgrounds that helped me to consider points of connection of this project to other larger theories and concepts. Beyond this wonderful committee who has supported this work, I would be amiss to not mention the individuals in the Department of French and Italian at the University of Texas that made my time as a PhD student what is was. During my coursework, I was fortunate to learn from the ranks of Professor Raffa, Professor Biow, and Professor Picherit alongside fellow graduate students. From my first day on UT campus, I was honored to be included in a group of individuals meriting great success. Beatrice Mabrey, Melissa Demos, Ettore Marchetti, Martino Lovato, Paola D’Amora, Stephanie Hotz: thank you for paving the way. Elisa Valentini, Altina Hoti, Vanessa Fanelli, Robert Bucci, Sam Gaglio, and Guido Capaccioli: you’re next, and v you’ll be great. Beyond my research and scholarship, I have grown immensely as a teacher of Italian language and culture through immense support from Antonella Del Fattore Olson, Irene Eibenstein-Alvisi, Adria Frizzi, and Paola Bonifazio. Special thanks go to Jessica Luhn, Emily Watson, Vickie Kight, Chaz Nailor, Michael Schmidt, and Catherine Jaroschy, and Chris Bryce for all the work they’ve done (and continue to do!) behind the scenes to keep our department running. Thank you all. vi Abstract Self-presentation, Representation, and a Reconsideration of Cosa nostra through the Expanding Narratives of Tommaso Buscetta Amanda Rose Bush, PhD The University of Texas at Austin, 2019 Supervisor: Paola Bonifazio This dissertation explores the narratives of Tommaso Buscetta (Italy’s first pentito from Cosa nostra) as an exemplum of historically dominant discourses on organized crime. Departing from Buscetta’s 1984 Depositions, this dissertation aims to fill a void in existing scholarship on the representation of organized crime across media. The author argues that Tommaso Buscetta, both in his own self-modelling and in the subsequent narratives that arose from his collaboration with the Italian State, can be read as a continuity with literarily produced narratives of a noble mafia and in which the mafioso represents honor, dignity, and respect. Based on archival research on Buscetta’s depositions, print news media during the 1986 Maxi Trial of Palermo, and on literary and media research into the offspring narratives (biographies and docudramas, mainly), this dissertation provides an analysis of the tenacity of apologist mafia narratives and their implications in the historical world. Through theoretical engagement with recent studies on autobiography, co-authorship, celebrated criminality, and docudrama, the author of this dissertation provides the first study of Tommaso Buscetta as a transmedia icon. vii TaBle of Contents Why Tommaso Buscetta? ................................................................................................ 1 Historical Background ............................................................................................ 3 Existing Literature ................................................................................................ 11 Methodology and Research Criteria ...................................................................... 13 Chapter Division .................................................................................................. 14 Chapter 1: Echoes of a Literary Mafia in the Depositions of Italy's First 'Pentito' ......... 20 The Depositions: 1984 .......................................................................................... 29 Betraying the Mafia, Buscetta Style ...................................................................... 32 Onore and omertà: From Sociology to Literature .................................................. 35 Sonnino and Franchetti ......................................................................................... 38 Rizzotto ................................................................................................................ 41 Minor Works ........................................................................................................ 44 Pervasive Imagery in Sciascia............................................................................... 46 Old and New: A Temporal Division of Honor ...................................................... 53 I Beati Paoli ......................................................................................................... 53 The Godfather ...................................................................................................... 64 Conclusion: A Meeting of the Mafia and the State ................................................ 65 Chapter 2: Buscetta Implacabile: The Construction of a Robin Hood Criminal in Maxi Trial Printed Press .......................................................................................... 67 The 'Robin Hood' Type ......................................................................................... 68 A Portrait of Civil Society .................................................................................... 71 A Prepared Judiciary ............................................................................................ 77 viii Tutti i sindaci a Palermo ...................................................................................... 80 Visibly Corrupt: The Modern Mafia Takes Form .................................................. 81 'Sindacalista nato, socialista nato ......................................................................... 88 Accuser and accused: Duello in aula .................................................................... 96 Possible Outcomes: A Hero for the State? .......................................................... 100 Chapter 3: Buscetta in Dialogue: A Harvest of Celebrity Potential for Political Aims . 106 Il boss è solo ....................................................................................................... 111 Addio Cosa nostra .............................................................................................. 125 La mafia ha vinto................................................................................................ 141 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 153 Chapter 4: From Document to Drama: Falcone, Buscetta, and the Maxi Trial Remembered ......................................................................................................... 155 Docudrama: A Brief Theoretical Introduction ..................................................... 162 Giovanni Falcone (Ferrara, 1993) ....................................................................... 167 I Giudici (Cadaveri eccellenti) (Toganzzi, 1999) ................................................ 181 Giovanni Falcone, L'uomo che sfidò Cosa nostra (Frazzi and Frazzi, 2006) ....... 193 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 203 Bibliography .............................................................................................................. 207 ix Why Tommaso Buscetta? In April of 1986, a man previously unknown to international audiences took the witness stand at the courtroom bunker of Palermo’s Ucciardone prison. He was the star witness in the Italian state’s largest trial against the Sicilian mafia, Cosa nostra. Almost five hundred Mafiosi were under the scrutiny of justice at this trial while this man, Tommaso Buscetta, a self-defined Mafioso, was flown in secrecy from the U.S. to sit as their accuser. Tommaso Buscetta