Daniele Salerno

The politics of response to terror: the reshaping of community and immunity in the aftermath of 7 July 2005 London bombings

ABSTRACT This article explores the politics of response to the 7 July 2005 London bombings, by analysing UK counter-terrorism institutional campaigns in the three years following the attack. By drawing on the interpretive category of community/immunity, the semiotic analysis of counter-terrorism campaigns aims to describe their representation of the political community and citizen in the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks. The article argues that the counter-terrorism discourse relies on two contrasting tendencies: on the one hand, the unifying force that brings people together in the name of common values; and on the other, the necessity to weaken communitarian bonds in order to allow the citizen to control and check-up on others, reporting “anything suspicious” to authorities. In these texts, the figure of the citizen surveillant clearly emerges. Surveillance activities are shaped around the representation of the terrorist event, from the image of the terrorist in normal everyday life to the actual attacks. Paradoxically this brings about a mimicry effect. The surveillance action carried out by the citizen and the imagined actions of the preparation of a terrorist attack partially overlap in the way they are described and visually represented.

Memory, Visuality, Fiction: Italian History and Conspiracies in Romanzo criminale: la serie

Romanzo criminale: la serie portrays Italian history as a continuum of numerous conspiracies and secrets. Based on a semiotic analysis of the TV series, this article argues that this type of narrative investigates both the role that media images play in the social understanding of past events, as well as the very role of power in controlling reality. In order to address these issues, the article will focus on the analysis of two plots that run through the series: the kidnapping and assassination of Aldo Moro and the investigation of the murder of Libanese, the first gang leader. Ultimately, an analysis of the last episode will indicate how the series re-establishes masculine and paternal authority, putting forward a specific representation of historical time.