Luparello’s Death as Political Theater

The Shape of Water

The body’s placement and the media response transform private death into a staged public story about decency, shame, and power.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

The Exposed Body The Exposed Body from "The Shape of Water". The Exposed Body A Fall from Image Luparello’s exposed body contradicts the immaculate public figure remembered by newspapers and politicians.

The Exposed Body from "The Shape of Water". The Exposed Body A Fall from Image Luparello’s exposed body contradicts the immaculate public figure remembered by newspapers and politicians.

The Exposed Body A Fall from Image Luparello’s exposed body contradicts the immaculate public figure remembered by newspapers and politicians. Spectacle The humiliation invites a story about sexual disgrace before the facts are known.

The Praise of the Dead The Praise of the Dead from "The Shape of Water". The Praise of the Dead Public Memory Newspapers celebrate Luparello’s generosity and political virtue while omitting where and how he died.

The Praise of the Dead from "The Shape of Water". The Praise of the Dead Public Memory Newspapers celebrate Luparello’s generosity and political virtue while omitting where and how he died.

The Praise of the Dead Public Memory Newspapers celebrate Luparello’s generosity and political virtue while omitting where and how he died. Selective Respect The silence protects the dead man’s image but also protects the living network attached to him.

A Funeral of Performances A Funeral of Performances from "The Shape of Water". A Funeral of Performances Ceremony Officials, party figures, and mourners gather in a public display of grief and reverence.

A Funeral of Performances from "The Shape of Water". A Funeral of Performances Ceremony Officials, party figures, and mourners gather in a public display of grief and reverence.

A Funeral of Performances Ceremony Officials, party figures, and mourners gather in a public display of grief and reverence. Private Disbelief The widow’s staged faint and Giorgio’s real grief expose the distance between political ritual and intimate loss.

The Scandal Feeds on Silence The Scandal Feeds on Silence from "The Shape of Water". The Scandal Feeds on Silence Rumor Multiplies The Free Channel’s silence prompts callers to invent increasingly lurid stories about Luparello.

The Scandal Feeds on Silence from "The Shape of Water". The Scandal Feeds on Silence Rumor Multiplies The Free Channel’s silence prompts callers to invent increasingly lurid stories about Luparello.

The Scandal Feeds on Silence Rumor Multiplies The Free Channel’s silence prompts callers to invent increasingly lurid stories about Luparello. Unintended Effect An attempt to preserve dignity makes the scandal more imaginative and harder to contain.

A Body Used as a Political Tool

A Body Used as a Political Tool Designed Shame Rizzo allegedly uses the Pasture and staged sexual evidence to make Luparello’s allies ashamed to inherit his banner. Afterlife of the Image The dead man’s body becomes a political instrument long after his heart has stopped.

At the Pasture on Monday morning

The day after the discovery

The funeral morning

After Zito explains the Free Channel’s restraint

As Montalbano reconstructs Rizzo’s plan