Cosa Nostra in the YouTube Comment Section: Visions of Tommaso Buscetta, the Mafia, and Italian History

Abstract

When Tommaso Buscetta broke omertà in 1984 (only a decade after politicians were claiming that the mafia did not exist), one of his first statements in his depositions directly related to media depictions of Cosa nostra: “la mafia è un’invenzione letteraria,” he explained, going on to say that from the inside they are simply “Cosa nostra.” From the first lines of the deposition, Buscetta informed Judge Giovanni Falcone of the structure, practices, and codes employed within the brotherhood, claims that were ultimately held up with the sentencing in the 1986 Maxi Trial. From the Maxi Trial until the present day, Buscetta’s revelations have shaped the way in which Cosa nostra is perceived, discussed, and mediated. Through literature, fiction film, television series, documentaries, social networks, and even theatrical productions and comic books, Buscetta’s importance has grown, and he continues to occupy a prominent place in cultural productions. Beyond professionally produced media, a proliferation of amateur-made texts has been generated across internet platforms. SEO search statistics reveal that “Tommaso Buscetta” was searched on google.it an average 5,400 times per month in 2018, yielding 160 K results per search. Of particular interest to my essay are the user-generated comments on videos that feature Buscetta. These comments offer a sampling of contemporary conversations surrounding both the pentito himself and the mafia at large. In this essay, I explore the primary meanings generated by Buscetta’s media likeness and discuss whether they confirm, question, or even negate the ideas originally presented in his own words.