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Viral (per)versions of power in Paolo Sorrentino's diptych Loro
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 June 2020
Abstract
This article examines Paolo Sorrentino's portrayal of moral degradation and pursuit of power in his twin biopics about Silvio Berlusconi: Loro 1 and Loro 2 (2018). It does so by performing a psychological reading of Sorrentino's representation of Berlusconi, as someone suffering from a personality disorder characterised by excessive power striving. It argues that this obsession with power also affects most of the films’ characters, who become obsessed with entering Berlusconi's inner circle – the pinnacle of wealth and power in a neoliberal society. In particular, it argues that their power striving circulates ‘virally’ in the film's narrative; the characters are willing to do anything to befriend their idol and attain absolute power. The ensuing analysis shows that Sorrentino's portrayal of Berlusconi – as the embodiment of a highly dysfunctional and obsessive, viral quest for power – comes to represent the deep pervasiveness of corruption, hedonism and commodification that marked the Second Republic.
Questo articolo esamina la rappresentazione del degrado morale e la ricerca del potere nei due film biografici di Paolo Sorrentino su Silvio Berlusconi: Loro 1 e Loro 2 (2018). Partendo dal presupposto che il personaggio soffra di un disturbo di personalità legato all'eccesiva dipendenza dal potere, si evince che questa ossessione si diffonde tra gli altri personaggi del film e dilaga nella diegesi con la forza di una pandemia scatenata da un virus indotto dal fascino per Berlusconi. Infatti, nel film il magnate simboleggia l'oro, l'apice della ricchezza e del potere neoliberista a cui tutti aspirano e ne sono contagiati come in una pandemia psicologica. L'articolo sottolinea come l'entourage di Berlusconi sia disposto a piegarsi a qualsiasi servigio pur di emulare il proprio idolo e raggiungere il potere. L'argomentazione illustra come, per Sorrentino, Berlusconi raffiguri la capillarità della corruzione, dell'edonismo e della mercificazione che hanno caratterizzato la Seconda Repubblica italiana.
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- Copyright © The Author(s) 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Association for the Study of Modern Italy
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