The Mafia through Cinematic and Literary Perspectives



The course will analyze the cinematic representation of the complex phenomena called Mafia. We will study how within Italian cinema the characterization of the Mafia and mafiosi began with the archetypal figures of the bosses and the good guy, crusader from the North sent to Sicily to fight crime. Special attention will be dedicated to Francis Ford Coppola’s Godfather trilogy, Placido Rizzotto, Salvatore Giuliano, Il giorno della civetta, Falcone, Borsellino, Fortapasc and Il Divo.



Required Texts:

La mafia spiegata ai ragazzi. Nicaso, Antonio - Mondadori, 2010

Il Giorno della civetta. Sciascia Leonardo, Baglione A. - La nuova italia editrice, 1993

Silvana Gandolfi, Io dentro gli spari, Salani Editore, 2010

Giancarlo De Cataldo, Nelle mani giuste, Einaudi, 2007