Why it makes no sense to rage against “Avetrana – This is not Hollywood”
Avetrana – This is not Hollywood has become the cornerstone of scandal. The series on Sarah Scazzi’s crime ended up at the center of media chaos even before it came out on Disney+, so much so that its broadcast, scheduled for October 25th on Disney, was blocked due to an emergency precautionary appeal by part of the Municipality of Avetrana, which requested a rectification of the title and its temporary suspension.
But what is the point of suspending a series that has already been seen by the press and the public – let us remember that it was in fact presented as a preview at the Rome Film Festival – and what reason is there to focus so much on a product that is openly fictionalized and not so different from any other true crime that we find on all streaming platforms and that we love to watch so much? Nobody.
How the series was born
Perhaps not everyone remembers it but it was 2020 when the project for a TV series on the Sarah Scazzi crime was talked about for the first time and it was 2022 when filming of the series began under the direction of Pippo Mezzapesa. At the time the news didn’t cause much of a stir. After all, it was neither the first nor the last time that a crime case inspired the making of a film or TV series, on the contrary, the true crime genre was becoming increasingly popular.
Furthermore, the announcement of the series on the Scazzi crime came together with that of the creation of a documentary on the same news case, entitled “Sarah Scazzi, the girl from Avetrana”. Both projects would have been produced by Matteo Rovere for Greenlandia and inspired by the book “Sarah – The girl from Avetrana” by Piccinni and Gazzanni but they both did not have the same effect on the public. The docuseries, released on Sky and NOW on 30 May 2022, was considered one of the best true crime titles as well as an excellent reconstruction of the story. For the Disney+ series, however, it was not the same.
But why all this hatred towards “Avetrana – This is not Hollywood”? Nothing has been forgiven for this product, even before it could be seen, even before any benefit of the doubt. The fury is certainly not linked to the decision to tell Sarah Scazzi’s story on the screen, otherwise the controversy would have arisen earlier and would have also encompassed the Sky docuseries. And it’s not even related to gender itself.
So what about Netflix? It has always focused on true crime
If we think about it, in fact, a platform like Netflix has focused a lot on this type of story to the point that some of its most successful titles are true crime and, what’s more, decidedly more daring and controversial than Avetrana – Here it’s not Hollywood and despite this their airing has never been suspended. Just think of products like Yara, Dahmer, The Good Nurse, Baby Reindeer, Monsters: The Story of the Menendez Brothers, all very strong titles, at times even extreme in the representation of a certain type of violence but belonging to a narrative thread that cannot be deny exists and works very well on screen. And yes, the serial world is not only art but also market.
But then where does the aversion to Avetrana – Qui è non Hollywood come from? Mainly by two factors: his name and his poster.
At the origins of the controversy: the poster and the title
The moment in which the curiosity linked to the arrival of a series on the Scazzi case turned into hatred was certainly when Disney+ showed the poster for the first time, considered by most to be in bad taste. But, although this may actually be the case, we must admit that it is not that different from the posters that we are used to seeing on streaming platforms where the focus is on presenting us with a single image of a story that will glue us to the screen. It’s marketing and it’s part of this world.
And then there is the question of the name, perhaps the most sore point of all, at least for the Municipality of Avetrana which has attached itself more to a title than to the content of the series. But does deleting the word “Avetrana” from the title of this serial adaptation really change things? The name of a city on the title of a TV series certainly does not have the aim of discriminating against the entire city and its inhabitants but only to make the identification of a content and its localization in a space immediate. Furthermore, it is common practice for news events to be remembered with the name of the place where they happened.
It’s just a TV series and should be taken as such
Perhaps Avetrana – This is Not Hollywood acquired such popularity before its debut that all this talk about the series has generated curiosity on the one hand and fear on the other. Perhaps it has reawakened old traumas or made all those who could potentially be associated with that place or that story feel involved. But we must remember that this is just a TV series and should be taken as such.
Regardless of whether one likes or dislikes the screenplay, the choice of cast, the direction, Avetrana – Qui è non Hollywood is a fictional story, a fiction, a fictional product inspired by a true story and with a cut chosen by directors and screenwriters who tell stories by profession and do not judge cities or citizens. This series is not a sentence – there has already been a trial for that – and it does not pretend to tell the truth but simply does its duty: it entertains with a fictionalized account of a story that really happened which after more than twenty years, if seen with the right emotional detachment, it certainly still has a lot to tell us. You just need to give him the opportunity to do it.