Naples for urban voy(ag)eurs: Tourism and the representation of space in Gomorrah and My Brilliant Friend

Abstract

Abstract The production and release of the critically acclaimed TV drama series Gomorrah (2014‐present) and My Brilliant Friend (2018) has been characterized by extensive debates about the impact of the two shows on national and international perceptions of the city of Naples. While some local authorities openly criticized Gomorrah and denied shooting permits to the producers, the TV adaptation of Elena Ferrante's best seller, My Brilliant Friend, has garnered unanimously positive responses from local stakeholders. This article aims to analyse the representation of place and space in both Gomorrah and My Brilliant Friend. More specifically, it will analyse the stylistic and narrative strategies deployed by the series' producers to construct a tourist gaze over an urban space that plays a crucial role within the narrative economy of both shows. It will argue that Gomorrah and My Brilliant Friend articulate a consistent aesthetic treatment of Naples that in the two shows is simultaneously depicted as a site of poverty, violence and abuse and a potentially appealing and exotic urban destination.