Reading Graffiti in Naples and Reading Naples in Film

Abstract

This article examines graffiti in Naples between 2016 and 2018, arguing for its political importance. My thesis is that erasing graffiti from garbage trucks does not remove the social problems that caused it. Though sometimes seen as an eye-sore by tourists, graffiti offers vital information about the struggles and passions within the city itself. Under Silvio Berlusconi, rubbish became gold, as Camorra member Nunzio Perella stated when arrested in 1992. Three films, Biùtiful cauntri (2007), Gomorrah (2008), and Napoli Jungle (Bagnoli Jungle) (2015) document how toxic waste dumping affected three generations of Italians and continues to be a pervasive problem.