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LITR 4332 American Minority Literature Model Assignments Research Project Submissions 2013 research post 1 |
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Felicia Coglianese
March 21, 2013
Who are Italians?
When I think of being Italian I look
back on the Ellis Island document that my Aunt gave me about my “barber boy”
great-great-Grandfather, and wonder about the fascinating history that he must
have brought with him, and the twenty-one dollars in his pocket. Unfortunately,
there is hardly any history about Italian Immigrants other than bad stereotypes
and rumors. Why is there such a bad reputation about Italians? Is it because
this society has already been through slavery and other ruthless eras that
someone had to make the Italians seem like a joke? Movies and television shows
have shown a great deal of these so called “Italians” that live here in the
United States. Are these productions true?
The stereotype of the average Italian is a big
family, who loves Italian food, and is just out to have a good time. Many shows
have been made from an Italian point of view such as “Jersey Shore,” “Cake
Boss,” and “The Real Housewives of New Jersey.” All of these shows have a huge
family of Italians and love to party. It seems that these Italian families
exaggerate their Italian pride by being vulgar, and excessively drinking to have
a good time. Stephen Marche states that “the cruder the stereotype, the bigger
the hit.”
I find this to be true because the biggest hit on
television for the past couple of years has been “Jersey Shore,” which is
basically a bunch of “guidos” and “guidettes” that live in a party house, drink,
tan, and go to the gym every day. If the cast of “Jersey Shore” didn’t flaunt
that the bigger the muscles and the darker the skin makes a true “guido,” then
there would not be a “Jersey Shore” television show. The cast would just be
ordinary and predictable people that no person would want to watch because these
attributes do not make a good television series.
Many
Italian television stars have been around for many years, and no one really
seems to despite their race and how they portray it. Quinn describes the dreary
history of how Italian Americans have been represented on television shows as
‘‘decades of television assumptions . . . of dumb but lovable blue-collar
Italian-American characters.’’ She then lists some famous names such as Arthur
Fonzarelli who was “Fonzie” in “Happy Days,” Joey Tribbiani on “Friends,” and
Laverne De Fazio and Carmine Ragusa on “Laverne and Shirley.” The four mentioned
people were the funniest on their respective in the show. Who can complain? If
they are the funniest, then they are what is keeping the show from
discontinuing. One might conclude that they might be the dumbest ones but if
they are portraying the Italian look or the Italian stereotype, then they come
off as the dumb but endearing ones who many shows want and need in their cast.
The main stereotype Italian’s usually portray is gangsters and
criminals like in the show “The Sopranos,” Messina states that these “portrayals
are not counterbalanced by positive images reflecting the diversity of the
Italian American community.” The media hardly ever portrays the Italian
Americans as they really are, but what media does do is show how difficult and
outrageous these Italian’s become if they are hurt or in any sort of trouble.
Like mentioned above if these Italian’s were themselves, then no one would watch
a show with ordinary people doing ordinary things. A study was conducted and
reveled that “only twenty-seven percent or 152 films portrayed Italian Americans
positively, while seventy-three percent or 781 films portrayed Italian Americans
negatively” (Messina 89). Having such a huge gap between 152-781 goes to show
just how many American’s take the Italian community seriously. Yes, having a
show with violence and crime might raise viewings, but that does not mean that
these actors are who they portray in the television shows. Perhaps it is the
American’s who are living this fantasy of the world as a survival game and they
want and need to see violence to help ease their mind.
Once justification of a group is
announced, “it solidifies stereotypes into norms that suggest how certain
individuals and groups should be treated.” (Messina 90)
In the United States stereotyping of any race is so
strong that many people have a hard time controlling their feelings and what
they have to say about the race or ethnic group. People’s actions and sayings
almost become so vulgar that they are unaware that they are using such a harsh
stereotype. These stereotypes have had a huge impact on Italian Americans, in
fact the “FBI reports that less than two percent of every ten thousand Italian
Americans are involved in organized crime.” (Messina 91)
All Italian Americans constantly have to rise above
and show that they are not bad people and they do not want to kill and be in
Mafias. Perhaps that is why in these past years the portrayal of
Italian
Americans have developed more on the funny level rather that the killing level.
Or the funny Italians have evened out with the other movies and television shows
about Mafias and Italians being the bad people.
Marche, Stephen. "What's wrong with a little bigotry ?."
Esquire 153.5 (2010): 60-61. Academic search complete. Web. 21 Mar. 2013.
Messina, Elizabeth G. "Psychological perspectives on the
stigmatization of Italian Americans in the American media." Psychotherapy
Patient 13.1/2 (2004): 87-121. Academic search complete. Web. 22 Mar. 2013.
Quinn, Roseanne Giannini. "Mothers, molls, and misogynists:
resisting Italian American womanhood in The Sopranos." Journal of American
culture 27.2 (2004): 166-174. Academic search complete. Web. 22 Mar. 2013.
