Watching Sympathetic Perpetrators on Italian Television

Watching Sympathetic Perpetrators on Italian Television “Evil, as depicted in scripted series on TV, has a singular allure for viewers. Having sprung into the international media spotlight in recent years, Italian- made serial dramas have probed evil’s murky depths through the narrative construct of complex characters—criminals, killers, mafa bosses—anti-heroes who have given viewers a front-row view of hell. Dana Renga’s Sympathetic Perpetrators succeeds admirably in leading us on an extraordinary journey through the ins and outs of Italy’s crime series output, which has raised the quality bar and prompted a real renaissance in Italian TV. The book explores titles such as Romanzo Criminale, Gomorrah or Suburra—to name but three of the most internationally renowned—and applies a close textual analysis to laser in on characters who elicit empathetic appeal while raising ethical dilemmas in viewers’ minds. In doing so, it provides pivotal insights not only for understanding a key aspect of Italy’s contemporary popular culture but also more broadly for contex- tualising the signifcance of anti-heroes in today’s television drama, which creates a hidden yet strong link from quality US output (from The Sopranos to Breaking Bad and beyond) to the European offerings.” —Massimo Scaglioni, University of Milan, Italy Dana Renga Watching Sympathetic Perpetrators on Italian Television Gomorrah and Beyond Dana Renga The Department of French and Italian The Ohio State University Columbus, OH, USA ISBN 978-3-030-11502-9 ISBN 978-3-030-11503-6 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11503-6 Library of Congress Control Number: 2018967758 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG, part of Springer Nature 2019 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifcally the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microflms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specifc statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affliations. Cover image: Cover photo by Emanuela Scarpa - Gomorrah Season 2 - © Copyright by Cattleya S.r.l./ Sky, S.r.l., 2016 Cover design by eStudio Calamar This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland To my grandmother Dora Renga (1907–2004), my frst serial television viewing companion ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am incredibly fortunate to have written, and published, a book on popular television. I have been an avid television viewer for as long as I can remember, and my earliest serial television viewing memories involve watching the long-running soap General Hospital with my grandmother Dora Renga and my cousin Diane Lynn. More days than not, I raced off the bus to arrive just after the installment began, and while eating cook- ies, we would watch and chat about the trials and tribulations of Luke, Laura, and co. This book exists because of the support of many individuals and institutions. I thank the Division of Arts and Humanities at The Ohio State University for generous research funding which allowed me to travel to Bologna and Rome, where I was frequently on the lookout for Alessandro Borghi. I commend my research assistant Jessica Henderson for her invaluable assistance in research astuteness and the formatting of the tables and bibliography. I am forever in Paolo Noto’s debt for con- necting me with Sky Italy, who generously provided me with the book’s cover image and an image inside of the book, and I thank Cattleya, Sky Italy, and Roberto Saviano for generously allowing me to include in the book the two images from Gomorrah. I wish to thank the editorial team at Palgrave Macmillan: Lina Aboujieb who supported the project, and Ellie Freeman who patiently answered my endless questions, and saw the book through to completion. I have found that television invites participation, and this book has beneftted greatly from conversations and exchanges with colleagues, vii viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS students, friends, and family. To my friends at The Ohio State University, in particular in the Department of French and Italian, The Department of Comparative Studies, the Film Studies Program, and the Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, I am very appreciative of exciting discussions, collaborations, and debates surrounding popular flm and television, and I thank all of my colleagues at OSU for their support and attention to my work. I am incredibly lucky to work with such amazingly smart people. I am grateful to the students enrolled in small seminars and large general education courses with a focus on organized crime and serial television whose insights into television’s many viewing pleasures greatly shaped the book’s introduction. I am fortunate to have been invited to present parts of the book at several institutions, including Lakeland Community College, Loyola Marymount University, Miami University, New York University, The University of Bologna, and The University of Notre Dame. I extend warm thanks to all involved in these experiences, as conversations with so many smart and interesting people gave me much to think about and made positive impacts on the book (while hopefully advancing the burgeoning feld of #BorghiStudies). I approached television studies through flm studies, and I could not have asked for a more supportive and welcoming group of colleagues working in Italian television. In particular, I would like to thank Luca Barra, Giancarlo Lombardi, and Massimo Scaglioni for providing me with substantial resources and engaging in stimulating conversations regarding Italian television’s cultural specifcity and global reach (and, of course, discussing all things Marco D’Amore/Ciro di Marzio). I am incredibly fortunate that many of the book’s chapters were read and commented upon by so many clever people, including Tom Hawkins, Giacomo Manzoli, Judith Mayne, Robin Pickering-Iazzi, Sergio Rigoletto, and Monica Seger. I am humbled by their generosity in providing me with benefcial (and prompt) feedback, and I thank them— together with Dom Holdaway, Àine O’Healy, Paolo Noto, and Jim Phelan, and many others—for joining me in useful deliberations surrounding criminal antiheroes. I am particularly indebted to a group of brilliant friends who have been there well before the book’s inception and who read and commented upon drafts, chapters, abstracts, and proposals, talking through inchoate ideas, providing me with invaluable insight, and challenging me. To Amy Boylan, Danielle Hipkins, Genevieve Love, Alan O’Leary, ACKnowledgements ix and Elena Past, I am forever in your debt. I would like to make a special mention to Allison Cooper and Catherine O’Rawe who supported the project from beginning to end, reading and rereading material, pushing me to think more broadly, and keeping me grounded through friend- ship, humor, and more than one dance party. I gratefully acknowledge the support of my family, including my friends across the USA, my mother La Donna, brother Alan and his family, Joel, and Sofe (Sofe is owed a particular debt of gratitude for her inquisitive mind). Finally, to Richard Samuels, I am most thankful for your unwavering support, your willingness to drop everything and read through a paragraph, talk through a sticking point, and help formulate the sympathetic perpetrator identikit, all the while being a loving and fun partner, and patiently abiding my obsession with Ciro. Writing this book was joyful in large part due to your presence. A small part of the book’s material was previously published as articles or a book chapter. A portion of Chapter 12 appeared as “Remediating the Banda della Magliana: Debating Sympathetic Perpetrators in the Digital Age.” In The Italian Mafa, New Media, and the Culture of Legality, edited by Robin Pickering-Iazzi, 137–61. Toronto, Buffalo, and London: University of Toronto Press, 2017. A version of Chapter 15 appeared as “Making Men in Gomorra la serie” L’Avventura. Italian Journal of Italian Film and Media Landscapes 1, no. 1 (2015): 105–20. A portion of Chapter 17 appeared as “Suburra. La serie as ‘Patrimonio internazionale / International Patrimony’” SERIES: International Journal of TV Serial Narratives 4, no. 1 (2018): 63–80. I thank The University of Toronto Press, L’Avventura, and SERIES for their permission to republish. Reprinted with permission of the publisher. Cover photo by Emanuela Scarpa - Gomorrah Season 2, by an idea of Roberto Saviano, © Copyright by Cattleya S.r.l./ Sky S.r.l., 2016. CONTENTS 1 Introduction: Sympathetic Serial Offenders 1 2 Rai: “Educate While Entertaining—Entertain While Educating” in L’ultimo dei Corleonesi, “Niente di personale,” and Il segreto dell’acqua 39 3 Mediaset’s Middlebrow Model: Il capo dei capi, L’ultimo padrino, Il clan dei camorristi, and L’onore e il rispetto 63 4 Sky’s Offer You Can’t Refuse and Romanzo criminale.

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