Capítulo 7. Pillorying the Pillars: the EU identity crisis through the lens of Italian contemporary film and TV drama

Abstract

This chapter investigates screen representations of migrants in Italian productions over the last two decades through a methodological blend of textual analysis and statistical analysis of select hard data.A representative sample of feature films (Saimir, Good morning Aman, La desconocida, Cover Boy, Mar Nero, Francesca, Terraferma, Fuego en el mar) reveals a balance between narratives of clash and encounter between cultures while highlighting the frequency of the victim paradigm almost always through a vision ab intra that, in most cases, carries a symbolic function of condemnation of a social issue (be it racism or injustice) and of promoting integration in the form of compassionate realism.However, a detailed analysis of audience numbers and box office records (both in Italy and in other European markets such as Spain) also reveals the low impact and public outreach of these films. The real paradigm shift in the past two decades has been from film to serial television, which has become capable of attracting audiences of millions and multiplying exports.Thus, the second part of the chapter will argue how, through a distinctive blending and dramatization of true facts and fiction, series like Gomorra, Suburra and El Comisario Montalbano push beyond traditional stereotypes and can be seen as paradigmatic of the crisis of the European Identity as a result of the failure (by Italian and EU institutions alike) to keep true to the so-called Pillars that the European entity has set itself.
 Palabras clave: EU Pillars, Migration/migrants, Italy, Feature film, TV serial drama, Audience outreach.