This chapter offers a study of the three teenage protagonists of Sky Italia’s Romulus (2020–) as pivotal in its retelling of the foundation of Rome. While taking into consideration the absence of the titular character, it analyses the focal shift to the foundation of Rome as new home of the children of Rumia, raised in the Latin forests and abjected by the tribes of Alba Longa. Romulus centres on the uprising of these wildlings, led by two teenagers originally expelled from the tribes, Wiros and Yemos, and eventually joined by warrior/priestess Ilia. While the title calls forth a possible correspondence between Wiros and Yemos and the twins of the original legend, the main themes of the series evoke contemporary reflections on migration, integration, and xenophobia. Within these theoretical parameters, Romulus is also read in connection with recent “origin series” and teen period dramas that have mostly targeted teenage viewers worldwide.

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A Tale of Three Teenagers and a City: Romulus, or the Foundation of Rome According to Sky Italia

  • Giancarlo Lombardi

摘要

This chapter offers a study of the three teenage protagonists of Sky Italia’s Romulus (2020–) as pivotal in its retelling of the foundation of Rome. While taking into consideration the absence of the titular character, it analyses the focal shift to the foundation of Rome as new home of the children of Rumia, raised in the Latin forests and abjected by the tribes of Alba Longa. Romulus centres on the uprising of these wildlings, led by two teenagers originally expelled from the tribes, Wiros and Yemos, and eventually joined by warrior/priestess Ilia. While the title calls forth a possible correspondence between Wiros and Yemos and the twins of the original legend, the main themes of the series evoke contemporary reflections on migration, integration, and xenophobia. Within these theoretical parameters, Romulus is also read in connection with recent “origin series” and teen period dramas that have mostly targeted teenage viewers worldwide.