Masters Reading Response Gomorrah Part One and Part Two

Gomorrah Part One by Roberto Saviano reflects an Italy that is the heart of criminal activity. He starts out discussing Naples as a sphincter muscle that squeezes out products. I love that analogy of it being a part of the body: its a very visceral image that connects with all the Camorra killings. There are images of people being dissolved in acid, being burned in cars, being shot multiple times, and being killed by drug dealers. There is a moment in this part of the book that really stuck with me: the moment when the man is "dead" and his girlfriend pees on his face. This makes Italy seem like a land of insanity. Confusion and wonderment. Drugs and prostitution. Recently I traveled to Bologna, where the car that I was in passed by a street where prostitutes were waiting for someone to stop. This made everything seem so much more real. Italy, though this part, manifests as a place of justified violence. Its a place that everything goes, there are no rules even when the police catch you, nothing happens of major significance. Rome shows this immensely. Its a place where people don’t want to follow the rules because their history is all about oppression. This remains the same all around Italy, people from Bologna talk about when going to America, it is amazing how people actually follow rules. I think its very intriguing how this book truly shows how Italy’s violence really comes out. That’s not something advertised, even though people know about it.

Part Two goes deeper into the behind the scenes mental activity of the Camorra. For example, the most intriguing part of the part two was the chapter about Hollywood. I found it fascinating how much Hollywood plays into the naming and the dress of the Camorra clans. I still cannot grasp the interest with the Hollywood lifestyle for the bosses, and while being here, nothing has pointed to that idea other than the way some people dress. The book talks about how the Scarface and the Godfather ideologies play into the life of the Camorra, and that then extends into what the other people wear. People follow those around them, and fashion is what Italy is known for throughout the world. It makes me wonder whether or not Italy is turning into a country of another Hollywood. I like this idea of Camorra following Hollywood, but it begs the question, is Hollywood actually following Camorra and the Mafia lifestyle?