
KU Eichstätt-Ingolstadt
Am Marktplatz 2
85072 Eichstätt
Feliciana.Chiaradia@ku.de
Feliciana Chiaradia pursued her studies at the Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, the Universitat de Barcelona, the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, and La Sapienza University of Rome. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Romance Studies (2018) with a specialization in Linguistics from the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich, where she conducted an experimental thesis in cognitive linguistics. Her research explored metaphor as a grammatical device, analyzing it as a potential framework for dysphemistic categorization related to grammatical gender.
Subsequently, she obtained Master’s degrees in Intercultural Communication (2021) and Film and Media Culture (2022) from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich. For her final project in Intercultural Communication, titled “Belonging or Not Belonging? That is the Question: A Reflection on Identities in the Mazara del Vallo Community – Between the Red Prawn War and the Idyll of Cross-Cultural Resonance”, Feliciana conducted an analysis of a critical incident. The study examined the limitations of citizenship under the ius sanguinis law in Italy, the consequences of rigid legal interpretations, and the identity challenges faced by second-generation immigrants.
For her Master’s thesis in Film and Media Culture, she analyzed the organization of space in Agnès Varda’s documentaries. Her research investigated how the filmmaker’s movements inform the transition from “implicit” to “explicit” narration, examining its degree and functionality in relation to spatial theories and cinematographic techniques.
Her current research focuses on the (self-)representation of identities within two specific groups: the ‘Ndrangheta in Calabria (Italy) and the Cártel de Sinaloa in Mexico.
(De-)Constructing Mafia Identities: Transmedia Visual Practices in and about the Italian ´Ndrangheta and the Mexican Cártel de Sinaloa
Feliciana Chiaradia’s research will investigate the (de)construction of Mafia identities through a transmedia visual perspective. This specific investigation focuses on an in-depth examination of the representation and auto-representation practices within the Calabrian ‘Ndrangheta and Mexico’s Cártel de Sinaloa. The focus will be on modern “Schlagbilder” – encapsulating stereotypical behavioural models, such as those associated with the ‘Ndrangheta and narcoculture, prevalent in transmedia representations. Symbols linked to these Mafia narratives reinforce biases against places/non-places like Calabria and Sinaloa, which are already struggling with “a static, singular, and national identity on one side, and dynamic, plural, and regional manifestations of this identity on the other side” (Sergi, 2018:437).
The term “Schlagbilder,” coined by Aby Warburg, provides an interpretive model that helps us understand how images function not only as vehicles of communication, but also as symbolic forms loaded with cultural values and emotions (Diers, 1997:8-9). The repetition of certain images is essential in constructing collective identity. Creative transformations of Schlagbilder can be considered nowadays a transmedia visual practice enabled by new technologies. These technologies also play a key role, sometimes acting as independent creators of images and imaginaries, enabling users to extend their personal judgment on a global scale, as de Kerckhove (1991) suggested. In recent years, portrayals of the Mafia and self-representations in various media formats have shown cultures of luxury and easy wealth, actively recruiting audiences. The Mafia, with its intricate organizational framework, is increasingly viewed on a global scale as a “business” endeavouring to propagate its overarching “vision” and “mission.” As De Certeau (1984:186) describes, our society has become a “recited society,” shaped by stories, citations, and recitations of stories. And stories are always a proposition to an audience, to say it with the words of Augé (2010:96), a “mise en spectacle du monde”.
This work aims to uncover the visual practices associated with the spectacularization of criminal organizations across various media forms, employing distinct approaches that suit both the case of the ‘Ndrangheta, a criminal association tightly bound by family ties, and the case of Sinaloa, described as the place “where magical realism once prevailed” and where “a fascinated hyperrealism has emerged” (Herlinghaus 2016:246).
Focusing on popular discourses to reveal the geographic determinism associated with these regions is prioritized, as it interacts with both formal and practical discourse. Analysing the agency behind the creation and shaping of various crime-centred narratives across different media platforms involves understanding why and how specific images came into existence. Through various case studies from the world of transmedia, it will be demonstrated how certain visual practices reinforce stereotypes that have permeated the collective imagination, raising questions in the complex field of identity and identification for institutionally defined groups within broader national and international contexts.
Bibliography:
Augé, Marc. Pour une anthropologie des mondes contemporains. Paris: Flammarion, 2010.
De Certeau, Michel. The Practice of Everyday Life. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984.
De Kerckhove, Derrick. Brainframes: Technology, Mind and Business. Utrecht: Veen Bosch & Keuning, 1991.
Diers, Michael. Schlagbilder. Zur politischen Ikonographie der Gegenwart. Frankfurt am Main: Fischer, 1997.
Herlinghaus, Hermann. “Narcocorridos – Narconarrativas – Narcoépicas: Espacios heterogéneos de imaginación / representación”. In Narcoficciones en México y Colombia, edited by Adriaensen, Brigitte; Kunz, Marco. Frankfurt a.M., Madrid: Vervuert Verlagsgesellschaft, 2016.
Ravveduto, Marcello. I Rapporto Le Mafie nell’era digitale. Rappresentazione e immaginario della criminalità organizzata, da Wikipedia ai social media. Milano: FrancoAngeli, 2023.
Sergi, Anna. “What’s in a Name? Shifting Identities of Traditional Organized Crime in Canada in the Transnational Fight against the Calabrian ‘Ndrangheta”. Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice 60, no. 4 (2018).