In this article, we examine a travel documentary program focusing on Naples
and the Amalfi Coast. Drawing upon Appraisal Theory and Multimedia
Discourse Analysis, we examine three key components: one traditionally
linguistic, one visuo-linguistic, and one meta-linguistic. We argue that the
framing of Naples and Amalfi has as its ultimate teleos their neoliberal
commodification. We trace how the authors of the episode call upon prior
frames concerning Naples’ danger and Amalfi’s rurality, reshaping these into
expressions of authenticity to be consumed by viewers. In this sense, framing
involves layers that function not to complexify or provide depth to an object,
but to further simplify it by inserting it into a globalised discursive order. This,
we argue, is yet another manifestation of banal globalisation, a superficial
recognition of difference that frames objects not as holistic linguacultural
landscapes, but one that reduces these to products
