Italian-Americans Against Media Stereotypes

IA Stereotypes in a Nutshell

2011-08-19T17:26:00.002-04:00

Our friend Greg over at the ItalianAware blog has a nice two-part post about IA stereotypes. It's called...wait for it..."Italian Stereotypes: An In Depth Look."

It's a very insightful piece of writing (as Greg's writing usually is).

Go check it out.

Part 1 is Here

Part 2 is Here

Both parts are pretty concise and an easy read.

These are No Women of Respect

2011-06-12T20:02:00.004-04:00

And I certainly don't feel sorry for any of them.

I'm talking about the women of "Mob Wives," yet another show from the Italian-American History Channel better known as VH1. Along with its sister channel MTV, these two channels are single-handedly responsible for setting back the Italian-American experience about 100 years.

But they're not what this is about.

This about a TV critic writing in the Orion (Illinois) Gazette online site. One Melissa Crawley.

In a review of the show "Mob Wives," our Ms. Crawley lets us know that "Mob Wives," while about Italian-American women (actually the ex-wives and daughters of mobsters) is in no way similar to other IA train wrecks like "Jersey Shore." Why? Well, I'll let Ms. Cawley explain it:

"The women of “Mob Wives” are rough and coarse and in many ways reflect just as poorly upon the media image of Italian-Americans as their fellow reality show casts. The difference is that unlike the casts who are basically drunk and/or stupid and happen to be of Italian descent, these women are documenting the harsh truth of one Italian-American experience."

Huh?

In many ways reflect poorly on IAs? How about in every way?

But, hey, it gets better. This is my favorite part of the article:

"Their lives may reflect yet another all too familiar connection between crime and generations of Italians in America but that doesn't mean their voices should be ignored. I respect that they own the choices they made and are now painfully, sharing the fallout."

So, let me get this straight. They are more "real" than Snooki and the gang at "Jersey Shore" because these "Mob Wives" are/were married to and related to real-life mobsters.

These women have earned Ms. Cawley's respect because they "own" their choices. By owning I guess she means cashing in on their names–Gravano, et al. And they are "painfully" sharing the fallout. I guess by that she means they are finding it hard to live the life of luxury with their spouses/meal-tickets in prison.

My fellow IA blogger Greg has a great piece about our Ms. Cawley's review on his blog ItalianAware.

Life's tough when you have to "own" your choice of marrying a mobster, acquiring every piece of jewelry you ever wanted, eating at the best restaurants and being catered to because people fear your psychopath husband and his hair-trigger temper.

How about "owning" the choice your husband made to have his enemies killed? Or "owning" the killing of innocent bystanders who happened to be in the wrong spot at the wrong time when your husband was having an argument with one of his fellow mobsters.

These women don't deserve anyone's respect. And they certainly don't deserve to be paid to be on TV, pretending they're victims of their husband's crimes.

The women who truly deserve respect are the family members of those innocent victims killed by the "Mob Wives" husbands. The ones who live every day of their lives missing their spouses who were taken from them prematurely and violently. These women who don't go on TV complaining how hard their lives are because their low-life husbands are in jail and it's crimping their lifestyles are the ones who deserve our respect.

Tired of Wise Guys They Ask? Yes, We Are!

2011-03-23T11:04:00.005-04:00

It's bad enough that they have to use these creepy puppets, but Jack Daniels Kia (an automobile dealer) in Fair Lawn, NJ, thinks that having them be "Mafiosi" puppets will make you rush into their dealership and buy a Kia.

Sheesh!

Check out this TV spot:

And this one:

They actually have two other similar TV spots on their web site. If you want to torture yourself, go take a look.

Better yet, if you're so inclined, write them and let them know how distasteful these commercials really are. Greg Zulli is their Director of Operations. Email him at gzulli@jackdanielsmotors.com and let him know what you think.

Did I mention Sheesh?

Maybe Funny is Not the Way to Go

2010-12-12T19:41:00.005-05:00

"You mean, let me understand this cause, ya know maybe it's me, I'm a little fucked up maybe, but I'm funny how, I mean funny like I'm a clown, I amuse you? I make you laugh, I'm here to fuckin' amuse you? What do you mean funny, funny how? How am I funny?" -- Tommy DeVito, "Goodfellas"

It starts out perfectly fine in a journalistic sense. But then, as usual, it degenerates into a jab, couched in humor and ends up as insulting.

I'm speaking of this article in the San Francisco Appeal Online Newspaper.

Why do reporters always try to be funny when writing about Italian-Americans? Do they think that this makes it acceptable to slap on the mob cliches and no one will notice?

It's a story about city Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier taking offense at a "joke" made by the city's Planning Commissioner. The joke involved Sicilians, payoffs, and mobsters. All because the Planning Commissioner was asked if he planned to vote to permit a local restaurant to play amplified opera music.

Alioto-Pier may be a bit more sensitive to mob cracks because she is the granddaughter of former San Francisco Mayor Joseph Alioto, who in 1969 was accused of having mob ties.

The article is written very straightforward and starts out respectfully enough, save one crack about the Planning Commissioner being on Alioto-Pier's "hit list" because of the joke.

OK. That's innocent enough. You knew that in a story about Italian-Americans, there had to be at least one stupid crack.

But then, right at the end, there's this:

Irish jokes, French jokes and Canadian jokes may still be told with impunity, mostly because those cultures don't boast of scary-looking men in expensive suits (we kid, we kid! But that's why we don't tell Russian jokes.)

Totally unnecessary. It's not funny and it manages to disparage four nationalities at once.

If I was this reporter's editor I would have cut the entire sentence. That would have made it a much less insulting story.

This is the Problem

2010-09-24T13:18:00.003-04:00

Why is it so hard to believe that Italian-Americans are discriminated against? Why is it so hard to believe that there is still institutional racism against IAs, especially in New York City?

After all, New York has had an IA governor (Mario Cuomo), New York City has had an IA mayor (Rudy Giuliani) and the state is on track to have another IA governor (Andrew Cuomo). So discrimination against IAs is dead right?

Um, not so much?

In an article in The New York Times recently about a group of IAs suing the City University of New York (CUNY) charging bias, reporter Lisa W. Foderaro finds it "surprising" that IAs are still discriminated against:

If the fierceness of the battle is not unusual — fights over affirmative action are a staple on campuses — what is surprising is the group waging it: Italian-Americans.

Why? Why is this so surprising Lisa. Do you think discrimination went away when Giuliani was voted in as mayor of New York City? Apparently so.

But with Cuomo and Giuliani, all this discrimination stuff is hsitory, right? Certainly according to Ada Meloy, general counsel of the American Council on Education.

This is what she told The New York Times:

“In the diversity of the community that is New York City, it seems particularly unusual that Italian-Americans would be considered disadvantaged,” she said. “After all, in New York we had an Italian-American governor, and we may have another one coming up.”

Huh? Oh, right, since Barack Obama got elected President of the United States, discrimination against African-Americans has disappeared too.

Just because there are seemingly large numbers of IAs working on the staffs of other colleges, and a fair amount in the CUNY system (about 7 percent, up slightly from 1981), that doesn't speak to their treatment as individuals and as a group. Particularly at CUNY colleges. And the funny part is that the current director of CUNY is an Italian-American.

State Senator Diane J. Savino of Staten Island, a Democrat and the president of the Conference of Italian-American Legislators in Albany, had this to say:

“Italian-Americans are the largest ethnic group in the state of New York, and people don’t see us in the traditional sense of being an affirmative action category — I get that. But we’ve seen systematic discrimination with respect to Italian educators by CUNY.”

And this has been going on for at least 35 years.

Yo Adrian! Rocky to Play Gotti in Bio Pic

2010-07-06T17:12:00.007-04:00

Apparently Sylvester Stallone is all set to play infamous mobster John Gotti in an as yet unnamed movie about the "Dapper Don's" life.

Want to place any bets on how long it'll take before the IA organizations start to complain that Sly is trashing his heritage and spitting on IAs everywhere?

According to an exclusive by TMZ, Sly is collaborating with John Gotti Jr. (known as Junior to his friends, though he's technically not a junior, since his name is John Angelo Gotti III and the elder Gotti's name is John Joseph Gotti Jr., but I digress) on the story of his late father's life. The elder Gotti died in prison in 2002.

They're about to pick a screenwriter for the project, TMZ notes.

Animated Gavones Have IA Organizations Up in Arms

2010-04-03T20:18:00.008-04:00

The highly sensitive, over-reactionary Italian-American organizations are up in arms over William Shatner's (yes, that William Shatner, a.k.a. Captain Kirk) new Web-only cartoon series, "The Gavones."

It seems that "The Gavones" is a mob family from New Jersey recently moved out to Hollywood to make movies. Sound familiar?

Naturally, since the protagonists are Italian-American, the orgs are against it – for all their usual reasons. However, I've seen the pilot episode and I don't find anything offensive about it. It's not terribly funny and deals in cliches, but it's not terribly offensive. Other episodes apparently have been "coming soon" since last May. But the pilot is not terribly offensive.

But UNICO, for instance, thinks it's "incredibly offensive" and that Shatner should apologize to IAs for it. Shatner should apologize for "The Gavones," but not for it being offensive, for it being boring.

In a press release UNICO National President Andre DiMino said Shatner is a coward.

"It appears that the damage stereotyping causes has been lost on Shatner, who for many years was stereotyped and typecast as Captain Kirk, blocking him from many roles in Hollywood," DiMino said. "Instead, Captain Kirk has cowardly gone, where many have gone before him - launching a cheap broadside on the Italian-American community via the stereotype of the mob. I wish I could flip open my own Communicator and have Scotty beam Kirk to an alternative universe where we wouldn't have to hear from this very tacky overexposed persona."

Fine. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. And apparently DiMino thinks this cartoon is offensive. And if he would have left it at that his argument might carry some weight.

But the problem with UNICO President DiMino's criticism of Shatner – and others' as well – is that they are not content with just calling him out for what they consider his bias against IAs. They have to throw in their little digs against his character as well. Their argument would carry more weight and I would take their criticism more seriously if they didn't act like eight-year-olds in their press release.

For example, DiMino has this to say about Shatner:

"The sad reality is that there are not many Italians in powerful positions in Hollywood, and the stereotypical ethnic-bashing cartoon that Shatner is championing underscores that," DiMino said. "Even for Shatner, who embarrasses himself routinely as a classless pitchman and an anything-for-a-buck shill, this is a new low."

Shather "embarrasses himself" and is a "classless pitchman." Apparently an actor who makes a commercial is a "classless pitchman."

DiMino should know about being "classless," as this press release shows. And if that wasn't enough, DiMino makes sure to point out at the beginning of the press release that Shatner is Canadian. As if that has any bearing on the situation whatsoever.

As I said, "The Gavones" doesn't offend me. It doesn't entertain me either. What offends me are the national IA orgs that claim to speak for all IAs and embarrass themselves – and by extension all IAs – with their "classless" press releases and their ineffectual outrage.

Their 15 Minutes Aren't Up Yet?

2010-03-03T09:40:00.002-05:00

It seems that the juggernaut that is "The Jersey Shore" is still rolling along. These guys just can't seem to avoid publicity. everywhere you turn, there's a photo of "Snooki" or all the girls, or the guys, at a party, or just standing there looking all "Guido."

Of course, it's not their fault. Who could blame them for soaking up all the publicity they can get. It's the vacuous media's fault. Instead of covering their every move like it's news, or even like they have something useful to contribute to the planet, the media should just ignore them. Stop writing about them and stop putting them on E News. Just let them fade away.

The media is just prolonging our agony. Just stop covering them.

Aren't their 15 minutes up yet?

They Give New Jersey a Bad Name

2009-12-21T18:28:00.005-05:00

Sorry to paraphrase Bon Jovi, but really.

MTV (remember when they actually played music videos?) apparently thinks a reality show about morons hanging out in clubs "down the shore" is entertaining. As a result, we have "Jersey Shore," a show (actually, more like a giant cliche) about "guidos" and "guidettes."

The people in this show are not attractive, not smart and not entertaining. This is probably the worst piece of crap ever to hit the airwaves (errr...cable). And the fact that's they're Italian-American makes it even worse. This show does nothing but reinforce the stereotypes.

Give it a look, if you can stand it.

Jersey Shore - MTV Shows

So That's Why all the Streets Have Kill in Their Names

2009-11-04T16:44:00.001-05:00

Staten Island's Italian-Americans are up in arms over a soon-to-be-released movie entitled "Staten Island" (imaginative title, eh?) that they say depicts Italian-Americans as mobsters and the borough as mob-victim dumping ground. You know, the usual IA stereotyping B.S. Apparently the movie is a comedy.

The movie isn't out yet, but there is a trailer for it. If the trailer is any indication of how good the movie will be, then Plan Nine From Outer Space may finally be unseated as the worst movie of all time. Think low-rent, comically acted Goodfellas.

Staten Island New York trailer

What makes this all the more pathetic is that the movie was made by native Staten Islander and IA James DeMonaco. As I've said many times before, he should know better.

According to DeMonco:

"For me, the movie has always been a fairy tale, as a metaphor of a small place in comparison to a bigger city. If they see it, they'll see there's an absurdist humor. My intention was never to harm the reputation of this place where I was born and where I will continue to live."

His intentions may be good, but intentions and consequences are generally linked -- and not in the way initially intended. He my not be trying to stereotype Staten Island and IAs, but that's exactly what he's doing.

The problem, as I see it, is that these types of movies focus on the stereotype of the mobster (and why not, they're depicted as colorful, dramatic, expressive and they're interesting to watch) at the expense of the regular folks. The run-of-the-mill IA -- the baker, the dentist, the bus driver -- are not as cinematically interesting. Their stories are not as dramatic. So, naturally, the movie spends most or all of its time focusing on the colorful characters -- who more often than not are not representative of the people or group the movie is about. Not every mobster is John Gotti or Tony Soprano. Many are boring and not too interesting. Most are not too bright. Yet these movies keep depicting them as skillful, cunning, ruthless and somewhat romantic -- your basic outlaw scenario.

The movie has received lukewarm reviews. It opens Nov. 20.

Columbus was a Failure!

2009-10-10T17:19:00.001-04:00

With the 517th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's "discovering" of the new world fast approaching, it's worth nothing that he neither discovered the new world, nor was it new at the time he supposedly discovered it.

Yes, that's right, the man that everyone reveres as the person who made our life here in America possible, was a failed explorer. A fraud. Though probably not the first person to take credit for something he didn't do.

And who could blame him. What with everyone coming up to him and patting him on the back and all. He obviously reveled in all the "Way to go Chris. Nice discovery."

But what exactly did he discover? I guess you could argue he discovered the Bahamas. Though that's pushing it a bit too.

On his first voyage from Spain, Columbus landed in the Bahamas (the specific island he actually landed on is still in dispute) in 1492. He was looking for a direct trade route to the Indies. Subsequent voyages took him to Haiti, Cuba, Puerto Rico and other Caribbean islands. He died in 1506 thinking he had found his trade route, never realizing his calculations and navigation were seriously flawed.

To be fair, Columbus was responsible for making Europe aware of the Americas -- more so than any other explorer before him. And he did sail to Central America on subsequent voyages. But he was hardly the discoverer of the New World. And he wasn't even the first to get there. The Norse, led by Leif Erikson, established a temporary colony in Newfoundland in about 1000 AD.

What Columbus did do -- and something he is conveniently not given credit for -- is enslaving a portion of the native population and causing a genocide.

According to Columbus's diary:

"Many of the men I have seen have scars on their bodies, and when I made signs to them to find out how this happened, they indicated that people from other nearby islands come to San Salvador to capture them; they defend themselves the best they can. I believe that people from the mainland come here to take them as slaves. They ought to make good and skilled servants, for they repeat very quickly whatever we say to them. I think they can very easily be made Christians, for they seem to have no religion. If it pleases our Lord, I will take six of them to Your Highnesses when I depart, in order that they may learn our language."

This certainly doesn't sound like someone who has the natives' best interest at heart.

On his second voyage to Hispaniola (today known as Haiti and the Dominican Republic), Columbus enslaved and murdered most of the native Taino Indians. Many were sent to Europe as slaves. Those that remained on the island were put to work for Columbus. He ordered them to procure gold for him. The only problem was that there was very little gold available on the island. For those that failed to comply with his orders, Columbus had their hands cut off. Within two years, nearly half of the Taino people were wiped out.

In addition to slaves, Columbus apparently brought with him Syphilis to Europe. Many of his crew later fought in King Charles VIII's army, which in 1495 invaded Italy -- and help spread the disease throughout Europe.

So this is the man everyone reveres as a great explorer. A great hero who made it possible for us to have what we have today.

It seems to me our veneration could be better placed. Thankfully, our country is called the United States of America (widely believed to be named for Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci) and not the United States of Columbus.

All of which leads me to this thought. Given the long, rich history of Italian exploration and its connection with America, all this Italian-American bashing and stereotyping is misplaced. If it weren't for the Italians (Columbus not withstanding) we wouldn't be here today.

So give it a rest.

The Godfather and Horses -- Linked Forever?

2009-08-12T10:09:00.003-04:00

What does the movie "The Godfather" and horse racing -- specifically harness racing -- have to do with each other?

Well, there was the scene in the movie where Don Corleone had Tom Hagen cut the head off of movie mogul Jack Woltz's prized race horse and put it in his bed, in an effort to convince him to sign singer and Corleone nephew Johnny Fontane to his new movie.

That would be a good guess. But it would be wrong.

The answer, my friends, is not blowing in the wind, but is that "The Godfather Pace" is the name of a more or less annual horse race held at Monticello Raceway in New York. The kicker is that all the harness drivers are of Italian descent. Get it? Italian-American drivers, and The Godfather?

All I can say is, WTF?

The race will be held this year on August 26. The date was picked because that's the birthday of Italian-born and Spain-working for explorer Christopher Columbus in 1451. Don't even get me started on that whole "discovering America" thing. That's a story for another time.

The chosen name for this race is wrong on so many levels I don't even know where to begin. There are so many less-offensive monikers this race could have been given. It could have been called the "Frank Sinatra Pace," which, come to think of it, is only slightly less offensive, given his Mafia ties and all. Or, if you want to stick with the movie theme, it could have been called the "La Dolce Vita Pace."

If the race was composed of only Jewish drivers, would they have called it the "Fiddler on the Roof Pace"? Or if it had only black drivers, would they have called it the "Little Black Sambo Pace"? I don't think so.

Yet we have Italian-American drivers so we have to call it "The Godfather Pace."

I guess it could have been worse. I could have been called "The Goodfellas Pace."

By the way, this month marks the 40th anniversary of the publication of Mario Puzo's novel "The Godfather."

They Took More Than His Thumb This Time, or How Not to Commit Journalism

2009-06-10T10:33:00.008-04:00

"Charlie! they took my thumb man. The Bedbug took my thumb man!"

Sorry, but I just couldn't help channeling Paulie (played by Eric Roberts) in "The Pope of Greenwich Village." After reading this you'll know why.

Anyway, to the problem at hand (sorry, again). I have so many problems with this story that I don't know where to begin. Actually, it's not the story I have a problem with but the way it's been reported by WCBS TV's web site.

For those of you too lazy to click through and read the story, here's the Cliffs Notes version. A man walks into a bar... No, wait, that's something different.

Apparently the owner of the Sound Shore Fishing Club, a Social Club in New Rochelle, NY, owed a whole bunch of money to this other guy. When he failed to pay up on time, two "friends" of the guy he owed the money to tried to cut off his right hand with a meat cleaver as punishment.

OK, so, to the problem. It starts with the headline: "Mob-Style Meat Cleaver Attack Shocks New Rochelle." Fine. Except, chopping someone's hand off with a meat cleaver is not your standard Mob M.O. Sounds more Middle-Eastern than Mafia to me. But, I'll give them that one. I get it. Sensational crime, you want people to read the story, you exaggerate a little.

Then there's the subhead: "In A Page Out Of Your Favorite Mafia Show Social Club Owner Behanded After Allegedly Owing Money To Wrong People."

Why is it assumed that because it's an Italian-American Social Club, and presumably Italian-Americans hang out there, that they are all mobsters? It's not unheard of (except maybe in the newsroom of WCBS TV) for non-mob-affiliated Italian-Americans to hang out at a social club.

Maybe this explains it:

Crime tape still marks the scene outside this Union Avenue Italian-American Social Club, where members drink coffee, play cards, and talk -- but not to reporters.

Yep. That certainly does explain it. Italian-Americans hang out there and drink coffee and play cards. And they refuse to talk to reporters. Hey, I've seen that on The Sopranos. The Sound Shore Fishing Club definitely is a mob social club. Where else do IAs play cards, drink coffee and socialize? Starbucks comes to mind, but I guess that kind of ruins the whole Mob metaphor WCBS was going for.

It's certainly possible that some -- or all -- of the people who are members of the social club have Mob ties. But how does the WCBS TV reporter -- Tony Aiello, by the way -- know for sure? Or is he just assuming and jumping to conclusions -- and in turn perpetuating one of the oldest IA stereotypes.

I guess this is where he got his Mob-angle from:

And now this mob-style assault reportedly has captured the interest of the feds' Organized Crime task force.

Since the crime is a "mob-style" assault, there's no need to look further. And the use of "reportedly" is reporter-speak for "someone mentioned this in passing and I'm reporting it as fact, even though I haven't checked it out and it hasn't been confirmed."

Contrast the WCBS TV story with this even-handed version from LoHud.com. In the entire story, not once did they even mention Italian-American or Mob. An entire story about a sensational crime at a Social Club and not one mention of Italians or the Mob. What the hell kind of journalism is that?

That, my friends, is just good, basic, journalism. It's not the "we don't let the facts stand in the way of a good story" type practiced by others.

We're Here to Offer You Protection

2009-05-28T20:28:00.005-04:00

The people who bring you Miller Lite beer -- among other brands -- have not one, but two, new 30-second television commercials that have the IA organizations up in arms. The spots feature Sopranos alum Frank Vincent and character actor Mike Starr as "wiseguys" offering "protection" to a convenience store clerk and a bartender. The spots -- oddly enough -- are titled "Protection."

Here's the Convenience Store spot:

The MillerCoors spots for their Miller Lite beer are meant to be funny. I find them mildly humorous, particularly the convenience store spot. I'm not really offended by these spots. Sure, I'm not crazy about the fact that they use actors playing the IA mobster role and the pseudo-Godfather music, but the spots are more funny than offensive.

Here's the Bartender spot:

These spots are meant to advertise Miller Lite's new "Taste Protector" can lids. The convenience store clerk and the bartender decline the wiseguys' offer of protection because MillerCoors's new "Taste Protector" lids are all the protection they need.

All the advertising blogs think these spots are the best thing since sliced bread. And they are mildly clever. But the Order Sons of Italy in America is calling for a boycott and an email-writing campaign. I think that's a bit extreme. These spots are pretty clever and only mildly offensive.

If we ignore them they'll run their course and go away. If we make a federal case out of them, they'll become even more popular and get a lot more press than they deserve.

UPDATE JUNE 5: Apparently the Italian American Human Relations Foundation of Chicago -- which complained that the spots are offensive to Italian-Americans -- got MillerCoors to pull the spots. The company says they'll be gone in a week.

The True Story of IAs in America

2009-05-15T09:33:00.003-04:00

In one of the better pieces I've read about the Italian-American experience in the U.S. in a long time, writer Daria DiGiovanni hits the nail on the head in a post on the blog Smart Girl Nation. In her piece "Moving Beyond the Mafia" she asks the central question: Why aren't IAs depicted in the media the way they truly are, instead of stereotypically as gangsters? And even when IAs were portrayed in a positive light, why aren't they portrayed accurately?

She notes:

None of the aforementioned folks have mob ties, nor do they talk as if they have a mouthful of food they forgot to swallow. All are bright, intelligent, law-abiding citizens who continue to make meaningful contributions to their country, clients and family. Yet none are represented specifically as Italian-Americans on film or television. That is a grave disservice, not only to them, but to their hard-working immigrant forefathers who came to America in search of a better life, and left an indelible mark on the country in the process.

This article is well worth reading. It makes you wonder why many of the stories out there aren't told by the media -- they're just as compelling as any gangster saga. Maybe not as flashy and violent, but compelling nonetheless.

Institutional Racism Against an IA?

2009-03-13T09:41:00.003-04:00

Over in the great state of Hawaii, a professor at the University of Hawaii-Manoa, who was banned from campus and forbidden to talk to anyone at the school in 2007, has filed a lawsuit against the College of Education and the State of Hawaii.

Professor Michael D'Andrea in his lawsuit alleges "retaliatory harassment" over his complaints in 2007 about institutional racism at the University. Professor D'Andrea was banned from campus and from speaking to faculty, staff and students because of alleged complaints about his bullying and intimidating conduct. He reached a settlement with the University after he was banned.

The professor filed a complaint with the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission in 2006, alleging the University was discriminating against him because he is Italian-American and because of his complaints to the University over alleged institutional racism and sexism.

Professor D'Andrea is a tenured professor in the Department of Counseling Education. He said the University is in the process of trying to fire him, but he's still doing research and being paid by the University.

"My working-class Italian-American background and the way I communicate may conflict with persons in other cultural groups that are less direct in their approach," Professor D'Andrea told the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. He also said he believes the University is treating him differently from other people who have been accused of workplace violence and harassment because of his opposition to the Iraq war and in retaliation for his complaints against the administration.

I don't know enough about this case to say whether Professor D'Andrea is right or not. He could be telling the truth, or he could be an oversensitive type who has perceived some slight by the University.

But I do know that there definitely is institutional racism against IAs in this country. Just as there is overt racism by many people in this country. This very well may be that case at the University of Hawaii.

What I find interesting though is that this takes place in Hawaii. If any group of people should be sensitive to racism -- institutional or otherwise -- it should be native Hawaiians. They have been feeling its effects since the Republic of Hawaii was taken over by the United States in 1893. They of all people should know that it exists and be wary of practicing it.

IA Bashing Goes to Washington

2009-02-17T10:54:00.003-05:00

Yes, it has happened again.

This time the offending party is Republican House Minority Whip Eric Cantor of Virginia. Cantor's spokesperson sent out this highly offensive video mashup in response to the Union AFSCME taking Cantor to task for leading the charge against President Barack Obama's Stimulus Bill.

Cantor, obviously, disavows any knowledge of the video. That's not him on the voice over. And his staff is not responsible for putting the video together. They just thought this parody would be a funny way to respond to AFSCME. Apparently his staff has a lot of time on their hands. Plenty of time to troll YouTube for videos that would make -- in their estimation -- a good response to AFSCME.

The video, of course, is not funny. It takes an actual AFSCME Public Service Announcement from the 1970s and ads a voice over in a bad Tony Soprano accent. It's laced with profanity. It's offensive. And it's juvenile.

And the funny part is, Cantor makes a big deal of being "anti-profanity." He recently came out against profanity as disgusting and damaging to society. Apparently the hypocrisy that is at the core of the Republican Party is not damaging to society.

Since Cantor is Jewish, why didn't his staff look for any videos with a Jewish-sounding voice over? Why pick one with an Italian accent?

I'll tell you why. Because if they had found one with a Jewish-sounding voice over, Cantor would have been drawn and quartered in the media, by his Republican colleagues, every Jewish group in existence and just about anyone breathing (as he rightly should be). He never would even consider releasing a "parody" like that. If someone on his staff would have done something like that, how quickly -- and how publicly -- would Cantor have him or her fired?

Picking the Italian-sounding one was a safe bet. No one would complain too loudly about it. It's acceptable to bash Italians. We're fair game.

Apparently I'm not the only IA not pleased by this. John Amato at CrooksAndLiars also is not amused.

Whatsa Matter? You No like a Da Calzone?

2009-02-12T17:23:00.004-05:00

According to the Associated Press, the owner of a Goomba's Pizza in Florida pistol-whipped and beat a customer because he complained about the calzone he ordered.

In what I can only assume is an attempt at humor (it fails miserably at it, by the way) a web site called News Blaze -- which claims to be an independent source of news the mainstream outlets won't cover -- their writer on "Politics, Pop Culture and Pointless Pontification" (they at least got the pointless point right) has this to say about the Pizza Incident:

I have no sympathy for the victim, you don't complain that your calzone was prepared incorrectly to the owner of a joint named 'Goomba's Pizzeria.' That's like complaining to the owner of Hell's Angels Motorcycle Sales and Repairs that he installed a muffler incorrectly. He's lucky Mr. Goomba restrained himself, and merely gave him a well-deserved pistol-whipping.

He also gives a definition of the "word" Goomba, from UrbanDictionary.com. The fact that UrbanDictionary.com is a Wikipedia-like outfit that lets anyone contribute definitions to the site (and apparently, unlike Wikipedia, doesn't attempt to check the accuracy of the definitions contributed) doesn't seem to make much of a difference to the author of the News Blaze piece.

The author ends the piece with some advice for the victim of the Pizzeria's rage.

My advice for the hapless customer is to stick to Domino's Pizza, they won't send a hit man after you for complaining that your pizza wasn't delivered on time.

Sheesh. As I said, I hope this is supposed to be funny. While that won't make it less offensive on every level, it will go a long way to explaining why the piece was published in the first place.

Then again, it probably won't.

But what can you expect? The Goomba's Pizzeria chain is so offensive on every level, that it only seems fitting.

Mr. Peanut is Italian? Who Knew?

2009-01-25T12:34:00.005-05:00

Yes, it's true. The dandy Mr. Peanut, complete with his top hat and cane, is Italian-American. I guess his name is really Signor Arachide then.

Born in 1916, Mr. Peanut was the result of a contest. When the Planter’s Nut and Chocolate Factory moved from Pennsylvania to Virginia, factory owner Amedeo Obici (yes, another Italian) sponsored a drawing contest looking for a mascot. The winner of the contest was 12-year-old Suffolk, Virginia resident Antonio Gentile. He was paid $5 for his drawing.

Gentile drew a peanut (pretty much as we know Mr. Peanut today) with arms and legs. The top hat, cane and monocle were added later by a professional illustrator.

Mr. Peanut made his debut in the Saturday Evening Post in 1918. Today he is one of the best known advertising icons in the world. Mr. Peanut is widely considered to be the first advertising icon.

Not bad for a little Italian kid from Virginia.

Anyway, fast-forward 91 years to today, and we have the Virginia Department of Historic Resources approving a marker to be placed in Gentile's neighborhood, preserving Mr. Peanut's legacy and recognizing the neighborhood in which he was born as an historic neighborhood.

According to Tara Stainback, president of the local civic league, the league plans to erect a plaque commemorating the event:

“[Mr. Peanut] was born in this neighborhood,” Stainback said. “So many people love Mr. Peanut. There are groups dedicated to Mr. Peanut. Why not know where he was born? Why not celebrate it? Why not mark it?”

Why not indeed?

But I have another question. Why not acknowledge Antonio Gentile? He's from the neighborhood. He invented one of the most recognized advertising icons of all time -- and one of the first. If it weren't for Gentile, no one outside of the neighborhood would have ever heard of the neighborhood. Why doesn't he get more recognition? Like a statue on Main Street, or the street in front of the Planter's factory named after him.

To be fair, Gentile is named on the plaque. As he should be. Here's the complete text of the plaque:

“In 1913, a peanut factory, known as Planter’s Nut and Chocolate Factory, moved from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, to Suffolk. Amedeo Obici, owner of the factory, sponsored a contest to develop a “mascot” for the company in 1916. The winning drawing submitted by twelve year old and fellow Italian American, Antonio Gentile, who lived with his family in their home in this Hall Place neighborhood, was a peanut with arms and legs labeled, “Mr. Peanut.” Mr. Peanut made his world debut in 1918 in the Saturday Evening Post and is now ranked as one of the best-known advertising icons in the world.”

The civic league is trying to raise about $2,000 to have the plaque made and installed.

Chicago Police Dept. Says No to "Dagos"

2008-12-03T12:27:00.003-05:00

Well, at least they did back in the Roaring '20s. And you thought discrimination against IAs was a recent phenomenon that started with the Sopranos.

In Chicago, an 85-year-old memo from then-Police Commissioner Michael Hughes to the then-Mayor William Everett Dever has surfaced, proving that discrimination against IAs has been going on for decades, and probably since the beginning of time. The Mayor had the gall to suggest the Police Department use three-wheel motorcycles and to hire more Italian-Americans. What the hell was he thinking?

Check out the story here.

Here are some tasty tidbits from the memo:

"Nothing I can presently think of would do more to ruin the Chicago Police Department than to implement the use of three-wheel motorcycles and to start hiring Dagos in large numbers," wrote Commissioner Michael Hughes to Mayor William Everett Dever on May 26, 1923.

And then there's this:

"The department has been very fortunate in being able to recruit in the main Irishmen from overseas and narrow backs, and should stick with success."

But my favorite quote from the story is this one:

Former [Italian American Police Association of Illinois] President Ralph DeBartolo, now a chief with the Cook County sheriff's police, went further:
"I'd like to know where the grave of the guy who wrote that memo is, so I can go piss on it," he said.

Just make sure you're standing downwind.

The Signing of Madonna, or Make Her an Offer She Can't Refuse

2008-10-09T18:31:00.002-04:00

In an otherwise excellent article on the BBC News web site entitled, The Man Who Signed Madonna, about the career of Seymour Stein, the web site's music writer blows it by throwing in one of the oldest cliches from "The Godfather." It took him 28 paragraphs -- in a 38 paragraph story -- but he eventually got there.

Writing about Stein's career -- in which he signed such acts as Madonna, The Ramones and The Talking Heads and started Sire Records -- the writer just couldn't resist throwing this quote about Madonna from Stein:

"Being an Italian-American girl, she was made an offer she couldn't refuse," Stein says.

Sheesh. I'm surprised he didn't finish the quote and mention how Madonna had a choice -- either her signature would be on the contract, or her brains.

If you recall, this is what Michael says to Kay during his sister's wedding after she inquires about Luca Brasi talking to himself in the corner, waiting to see the Don:

"So the next day, my father went to see him; only this time with Luca Brasi. An' within an hour, he signed a release, for a certified check for $1000.
[Kay: "How'd he do that?"]
My father made him an offer he couldn't refuse.
[Kay: "What was that?"]
Luca Brasi held a gun to his head and my father assured him that either his brains, or his signature, would be on the contract. That's a true story. That's my family, Kay, it's not me."

He was, of course, explaining how singer Johnny Fontane (widely believed to be based on Frank Sinatra) got his first acting job, with a little help from Don Corleone.

Shud Uppa You Face!

2008-08-18T17:11:00.003-04:00

You should know better Greg Duva.

Duva, a New Jersey native and Italian-American comic artist, has started a comic strip called "Jamboni Brothers Pizza." The strip is populated with uneducated, cliche Italian Pizzeria workers who speak in broken English and say things like "Stunod," "You sumona peach" and the ever-popular "Shud uppa you face." Most of their words end in vowels.

The strip, which hasn't been around very long, isn't funny. The characters are cliches -- and to be honest -- embarrassing. Duva should clean up his strip.

His Name is Dino so He Must be Mobbed Up, Right?

2008-07-17T19:17:00.002-04:00

The fact that people think they can still get away with this crap is amazing.

The Democratic Party of Washington State recently ran an online video ad critical of GOP gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi (seen here at left), accusing him of "big money support" for the state's Building Industry Association of Washington (BIAW). Nothing too unusual there in a political campaign, right?

Well -- and as if you couldn't guess what's coming next -- apparently the Dems just couldn't leave well-enough alone. They had to ad just that little extra twist. They included the theme song from "The Sopranos" as the background music.

A Democratic Party spokesman told the Associated Press that the use of "The Sopranos" music was not intended to link Rossi with Organized Crime. But as the party knows full well, that's the association many people will come away with after seeing the ad. And that's in addition to all the people that think Rossi is connected just because he's Italian-American.

According to Luke Esser, Republican State Party chairman, the video intended to shift the focus away from Gov. Christine Gregoire's alleged ethical lapses.

"Gov. Gregoire's political operatives have engaged in bigotry with this web video in order to shift the focus away from the ethical clouds surrounding [Gov. Chris] Gregoire," Esser said in a statement. "This video is offensive to every Italian-American in this state and should not be tolerated."

The Democratic Party in a statement defended their choice of music by saying it is a "catchy song" and that it "jibed stylistically" with their message about Rossi and his close association with the BIAW.

Doesn't that directly contradict their original statement saying they never intended to associate Rossi with the Mafia?

The Dems said they'd continue to run the ad, but they'll replace the music with a different song this time. I can't wait to see what they pick this time. Maybe the theme from "The Godfather"?

Everyman the Pool Cleaner

2008-06-23T18:29:00.003-04:00

NBC's lead golf analyst, Johnny Miller, had to apologize June 20 for some stupid comments he made on-air about golfer Rocco Mediate (photo above).

Hard on the heels of Tiger Woods during the United States Open, Miller said Mediate "looks like the guy who cleans Tiger’s swimming pool." Later in the broadcast, when it looked like Mediate might win the round, Miller asked: "Guys with the name of Rocco don’t get on the trophy, do they?"

Miller later apologized in a statement. But only after he was called on his comments by two Italian-American organizations. In his statement, Miller said:

“I chose my words poorly and in the future will be more careful." He added that his intention was to “convey my affection and admiration for Rocco’s everyman qualities and had absolutely nothing to do with his heritage.”

Right. He conveys his admiration and affection by calling the guy a pool cleaner. Since when is pool cleaning dominated by Italian-Americans anyway? And calling somebody "everyman" is just as bad. It is basically saying Mediate is boring and unexceptional and has no qualities that make him stand out.

Well, one of the biggest qualities that makes him definitely not an "everyman" is that he's Italian-American. How many Italian-Americans are professional golfers competing at the US Open level? Not very many.

At least he didn't make a Godfather joke.

A Time Out Should be Called on this Nonsense

2008-04-23T12:11:00.004-04:00

Time Out Chicago, a web site and magazine featuring coverage of all things Chicago (as well as New York, Los Angeles and other cities), should know better. After all, Chicago has a sizeable Italian-American population.

But, apparently, at least one of their writers -- in an effort to be hip, funny, with-it or erudite (possibly all these things) -- has masterly boiled down the Italian-American eating experience at a particular local restaurant into a cliched theatrical performance. Or should I say a farcical experience?

In an article on Time Out Chicago's website, writer David Tamarkin took on the task of reviewing Natalino's, a local Chicago Italian restaurant. In his short review he's managed to reduce the restaurant to a caricature of the Italian-American-Mafia-Food experience.

Here's just a taste of the tripe he passes off as a restaurant review:

It’s hard to say if the bada-bing vibe here is an act or not. But it doesn’t really matter, because either way Natalino’s does the Italian-American thing pretty well.

It's nice to know that Natalino's "does the Italian-American thing" well! That says a lot for its food. It's as if Natalino's was a Chinese restaurant trying to pass itself off as Mama Leone's.

And when he does get around to actually mentioning the food, he does this:

As if to top it, the restaurant pushes a dessert called “broken” cannoli, an enormous pile of sweet mascarpone that’s dotted with broken cannoli shells to scoop it all up. Nobody could possibly finish the thing. Of course, you’re not expected to—it’s simply about keeping up appearances.

Apparently Natalino's doesn't serve food. They "push" it on their customers, who are not really expected to actually eat any of the "things" the restaurant serves them. They're just expected to enjoy the "appearance" of an illusion of Italian food.

It's Official -- Italian-Americans Are Stereotyped!

2008-03-10T09:14:00.005-04:00

None other than U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito Jr. says Italian-Americans are the victims of stereotypes. And he pointed to The Sopranos as the main culprit.

What more proof do you need?

Speaking at Rutgers University in New Jersey last month, Justice Alito, a New Jersey native, said the hit HBO mob drama was guilty of helping associate in the minds of many Americans the Mafia with Italian-Americans.

According to the Associate Press, Alito told the Rutgers crowd: "You have a trifecta — gangsters, Italian-Americans, New Jersey — wedded in the popular American imagination." The AP pointed out that Alito "lamented" that there is too much stereotyping if Italian-Americans in the U.S.

So there you have it folks. The Supreme Court (well, at least one-ninth of the Supreme Court) admits stereotyping of Italian-Americans exists and that it is lamentable. Not only that, be he used a horse racing reference to drive home his point.

Well, I guess that takes care of the problem then.

Ba-Da Bling! You Win

2008-02-06T11:29:00.000-05:00

The New York State Lottery has managed to insult Italian-Americans everywhere with a commercial for one of its new instant scratch-off lottery games.

The organization was running a series of commercials for its new $3 million "Ba-Da Bling" scratch off game featuring Soprano-like characters in bad clothes and worse accents.

According to the New York Post:

The ad has run on television in New York City and across the state for months. It's shot in the style of a typical rap music video with performers singing about the "Bada Bling" game to the tune of Duke Ellington's "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)."
After a group of rappers and dancers finish their part of the spot, a group of actors resembling mobsters come out and strike tough-guy poses while singing about the game. One closely resembles the Tony Soprano character on the hit HBO show, while another looks a lot like Paulie "Walnuts."

The ads, which featured the actors talking "in thick accents, declaring that you have "tree chances to win," were scheduled to stop airing this week. The lottery apologized for running the ads and said it didn't intend to offend anyone.

However, the lottery still has a banner for the game on its web site.

Two Stereotypes for the Price of One

2007-12-17T16:43:00.000-05:00

Just in time for Christmas comes this little tidbit about the 1994 remake of the holiday classic film Miracle on 34th Street.

The altogether terrible remake of the 1947 classic features a drunken department store Santa Claus, as does the original. In both films, the "real" Santa Claus takes the drunk to task for letting the children down and setting a lousy example.

In the original, the part of "Drunken Santa Claus" was uncredited and played by actor Percy Helton. The 1994 remake -- for no apparent reason -- chose to retain the character, but renamed him Tony Falacchi!

The Falacchi character in the remake is played by Jack McGee, probably best known to audiences as Chief Jerry Reilly on Denis Leary's firefighter TV series "Rescue Me."

In one fell swoop, the producers of the 1994 remake of Miracle on 34th Street managed to shoehorn in two stereotypes. One against Italian-Americans for giving a drunk character an Italian name -- for no apparent reason. And the other against the Irish, for hiring an Irish actor to play a drunk, albeit a drunken Italian in this case.

A Musical Legacy

2007-10-24T09:14:00.000-04:00

In keeping with our Italian Heritage Month Theme, I present to you an article that features Italian-American musicians and their contributions to American music.

So, why the photo of George Clooney illustrating this column you ask? Well, the article, which appeared in the Cincinnati Post online on Columbus Day, was written by Nick Clooney, a journalist and television host. Clooney is probably better known these days as actor George Clooney's dad. Also in the photo with Clooney and his dad is Nina, his mother.

If it's October, it Must Be Italian Heritage Month

2007-10-05T13:02:00.000-04:00

If you think Italians and Italian-Americans are all Tony Sopranos, think again.

Since October is Italian Heritage Month (Christopher Columbus notwithstanding, but that's another story), I thought it would be appropriate to point out that many Italian-Americans have made some wonderful contributions to America.

Here's a list of 31 Italians and Italian-Americans and their contributions. And not a mobster in sight.

And a Bronx Cheer to You Too

2007-08-28T14:55:00.001-04:00

Why, oh why, must newspaper editors and writers continue to trot out the trite, overused, stereotypical expressions when writing about Italian-Americans? Haven't we had enough of the bad "Italian accents" and the "fahgedabowdits"?

Case in point, a recent article in the Covallis (Oregon) Gazette-Times online. They run a column called "Roses 'N Razzies" that includes short tidbits of good, bad and funny news. The article in question includes this piece about a New York City police detective who apparently failed a drug test (it's the second raspberry down in the column):

RASPBERRIES to the “My-wife-spiked-my-meatballs-with-pot-and-that’s-
why-I-flunked-my-drug-test” defense.

That’s the story that 22-year veteran New York City police detective Anthony Chiofala tried to sell his superiors. Chiofala — a member of the joint terrorism task force (for real) said his wife so wanted him to leave police work that she substituted marijuana for oregano in his meatball dinner. Apparently she wanted him to be fired from the police department (and lose his pension and be disgraced).

Despite his wife backing up this story, Chiofala’s cop colleagues didn’t buy it. We can imagine how the other veteran detectives reacted to this defense: “Wha? You flippin’ kiddin’ me?”

NYPD spokesman Paul Browne simply said Thursday that Chiofala’s claims “simply weren’t credible.”

Yeah. What kind of Italian-American detective wouldn’t realize that the meatball had no oregano? Fahgedabowdit.

Do we really need the "veteran detective's reaction" and "fahgedabowdit"? Couldn't the article have been written without those insulting sentences and still conveyed the amusement the author was obviously going for? The "veteran detective's reaction" obviously is not a real quote, it's just the author's lame attempt at some local color at the expense of an Italian-American subject.

Please Stop It.

There is no writer's name on the piece. I guess they didn't want to actually be associated with this crap. There are no reader comments either. I'm not sure if that means readers in Corvallis think its funny or just didn't bother to read the column.

Did I mention to Please Stop It?

All Quiet on the Stereotype Front

2007-07-29T15:17:00.000-04:00

You may have noticed that we haven't posted anything in a while. That's because there's been nothing of note to report.

I guess it's a good sign that there's been nothing worthwhile to report on the stereotyping front lately. But I'm sure something will come up soon (it always does, doesn't it?).

Then again, today is Tony Sirico's birthday. For those of you who believed all the nonsense by the so-called Italian-American watchdog groups that "The Sopranos" was responsible for setting back IA progress about 100 years and didn't watch the show, Sirico played Paulie Walnuts.

Sirico was born in Brooklyn in 1942.

Happy Birthday Tony!

Going Undercover

2007-06-06T19:36:00.000-04:00

There isn't much that needs to be said about a recent column on suntimes.com, the web site of the Chicago Sun-Times by Maureen O'Donnell about being an Irish-woman married to an Italian man. She writes about "going undercover" and hearing what people say about Italian-Americans when they think there are no Italians around.

Here's just a taste:

Since "The Sopranos" began airing, it seems to me that some people feel it's given them a license to slur Italian Americans. I recently sat at a banquet table and listened to a highly educated person joke about a way to solve a problem. "Do you know anyone named Vinnie or Mario?'' he said, brushing under his chin for emphasis.

Read the complete column here.

The Home of the Wop-per

2007-05-31T14:22:00.000-04:00

I'm not sure how high up Louisville, Colorado is in the Rocky Mountains, but the air must be pretty thin there.

How else to explain the stupidity of Blue Parrot restaurant owners Joe Colacci and Joan Riggins, who serve a hamburger called the "Wopburger."

According to a local television station's web site, an Italian-American customer complained that the name of the burger is offensive. Others said the complaints were just "political correctness gone too far." Mostly it's just stupidity running rampant.

Case in point:

"If you were born in New York or some place maybe a wop was derogatory, but not here," said customer Bob Bush. "We love being wops."

The restaurant's owners fail to see how offensive this is. To them it's just a name for a hamburger. For some of their customers, it's a joke. It's not derogatory where they come from, only in New York.

According to Ms. Riggins, the Blue Parrot's co-owner, its not derogatory to call a hamburger a "Wop."

"It's just a wopper. It's just a sandwich," said Riggins. "If I out and called you 'a dirty wop,' then that would be a slur. That would be a problem."

I wonder if she thinks it would be a problem if she called their new chicken sandwich the "N*****." Or maybe only people from New York would be offended. Mr. Bush, who I can only assume is a lily-white yokel, would probably be proud to be a "N*****".

Apparently the "Wopburger" has been on the menu for years. After the controversy erupted, the owners planned to change the name of the sandwich to the "Italian Burger," but then changed their minds when a lot of customers said they weren't offended and left the offensive name in tact.

As for the controversy, it's been good for business. For the restaurant and the local press. Many of the local Denver-area columnists don't see what all the fuss is about. Most of them are not Italian-American and just don't get it.

According to a story on DenverPost.com: "

"Wop," of course, is an epithet occasionally used to slur Italian Americans. Some say it originates from those immigrants who were here "without papers," and others claim it comes from the Italian word "guappo."

Occasionally used to slur Italian-Americans? You're kidding, right? When is "Wop" ever used as a term of endearment?

RockyMountainNews.com just doesn't get it either:

OK, so maybe over the years, a few eyebrows had been raised, concedes State Rep. Paul Weissman, a Blue Parrot bartender for 18 years. "But after it was explained that [the Wopburger] had been on the menu for 88 years and the tradition behind it, people were fine."

So, what, slavery was a quaint tradition? It was around for more than 200 years. I guess it was OK then, huh.

If There's an Ethnic Slur, can an Italian-American be far Behind?

2007-04-20T15:43:00.000-04:00

Lest you think ethnic slurs against Italian-Americans are few and far between, take a look at a recent column by Michael P. Tremoglie in The Evening Bulletin of Philadelphia, entitled "Some Ethnic Slurs Are More Equal Than Others."

He does a good job of putting the problem in perspective. He also does a good job of pointing out the double standard that exists when it comes to slurring IAs.

Tremoglie, a writer and ex-Philadelphia cop, using the databases of The Order of the Sons of Italy of America (OSIA) and the National Italian-American Federation (NIAF), documents some of the more recent slurs against IAs in the media.

Some of his examples include:

During the Nov. 2, 2005 Don Imus show, his Executive Producer Bernard McGuirk, who initiated the conversation about the Rutgers women's basketball team, called Supreme Court nominee Sam Alito a "meatball sucking wop."
Star 93.7 radio in Boston in 2004 played the offensive song, "The Twelve Days of Guido Christmas," which depicts Italian-Americans in a particularly unflattering manner.
David Letterman's July 28, 2006 opening monologue, plugged the movie "Miami Vice" with the comment, "I have a part ... . I play a pimp named Guido!"

According to Tremoglie:

The idea is that slurring and stereotyping Italian-Americans is acceptable. One has to wonder why it is that insults against Jewish-Americans, African-Americans, Chinese-Americans (Rosie O'Donnell also targets this race) are not acceptable, while similar terms used to describe Italian-Americans are? Why does the double standard exist? Why should any double standard exist in journalism?

There are plenty more examples of this kind that just slip by every day. The only time you hear about any of these is when someone complains loud enough to be listened to.

Double standard indeed.

America's Mayor Dissed in the Press

2007-04-14T20:54:00.000-04:00

In a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, Peggy Noonan wrote a column about the Republican presidential candidates. John McCain is looking stronger and stronger she points out (never mind that he puts his foot in his mouth every time he opens it -- or strolls outside for a photo op) and Rudy Giuliani, well, he's Italian-American after all, so let's just make fun of him.

Here's Noonan's take on a recent speech Giuliani made in California:

Here was Rudy Giuliani this week in a speech in California. No one much noted it -- he was lucky it was subsumed by the Imus wave. But this is how Mr. Giuliani opened a speech to citizens considering his candidacy for the American presidency. "Thank youse all very much for invitin' me here tuh-day, to this meeting of the families from different parts'a California."

He was imitating Marlon Brando in "The Godfather." (The rendering comes from a Newsday report.) Actually the character of Don Corleone, as drawn by Mario Puzo, was possessed of a certain verbal elegance, but never mind. Mr. Giuliani's imitation was clear enough to inspire in the audience a smattering of applause and, apparently, laughter.

Earlier in the week, in reaction to a spate of critical stories about his wife, Judith, he asked reporters to leave her alone: "I am a candidate. She's a civilian, to use the old Mafia distinction."

Ah. Can't have enough candidates for president who whimsically employ the language of mobsters.

Giuliani was trying to add a little levity to a political speech. We all know how dull they can be. So he decided to trade on the one thing that makes him stand out from the other candidates -- he's Italian-American. It's not a crime. So he used some mob references as a joke. Big deal.

Now, I'm no Rudy fan. He was my mayor when I lived in Brooklyn. I covered his mayoral campaign for some local newspapers and I covered a part of his mayoralty for them. I have seen what he can do "up close and personal."

Still, making fun of him because he's Italian-American is low. It is uncalled for. The man was making a joke. But Noonan was making it personal. Apparently Republicans can't handle comedy.

Or then again, maybe they can. How else do you explain George W. Bush?

Arrivederci Tony

2007-03-23T11:29:00.000-04:00

On April 8, The Sopranos begins its final season.

To some, this is very good news. To others, it's depressing. But no matter what you think about the show, you have to admit it's first-class entertainment.

Check out the trailer for the final season. The trailer alone is an amazing piece of film:

Once the show goes off the air, can we finally get over ourselves and stop blaming it for the "Decline and Fall of the Italian-American Empire"? The Sopranos is a fictional television show about a fictional New Jersey Mafia family. It's not a documentary about Italian-Americans in general. It is intended as entertainment. It is not intended to be a window into the lives of Italian-Americans. It is intended to be a window into the lives of a small percentage of people who are Italian-American. It is not representative of all of us, just some of us.

OK. Are we clear? Sheesh.

Space Oddity

2007-02-06T09:47:00.000-05:00

In July, we told you about Lisa Marie Nowak, a shuttle astronaut and the first female Italian-American in space. We held her up as a good role model for young girls everywhere.

Well, never mind...

According to the Orlando Sentinel, Nowak was charged with attempted kidnapping, battery, attempted vehicle burglary with battery and destruction of evidence, after police say she attacked her rival for a male astronaut's attention at Orlando International Airport yesterday.

According to the paper:

Nowak -- who was a mission specialist on a Space Shuttle Discovery flight last summer -- was wearing a trench coat and wig and had a knife, BB pistol, and latex gloves in her car, reports show. They also found diapers, which Nowak said she used so she wouldn't have to stop on the 1,000-mile drive. Reports show that after U.S. Air Force Capt. Colleen Shipman's flight arrived, Nowak followed her to the airport's Blue Lot for long-term parking, tried to get into Shipman's car and then doused her with pepper spray.

Nowak's arrest may be the first-ever felony charges filed on an active-duty astronaut, according to NASA.

UPDATE MARCH 21 -- Navy Capt. Lisa Nowak has been fired by NASA. She will go back to her military duties and work on developing curriculum and training programs when she joins the staff of the Chief of Naval Air Training Command in Corpus Christi next month, said a Navy spokesman. Nowak could go on trial in July.

They're Baaaack!

2007-01-12T11:02:00.000-05:00

Well, sort of.

The hit HBO show The Sopranos is now running on the basic cable channel A&E, though in a cleaned-up version (no cursing and less violence).

So naturally all the mob cliches have to be dragged out by the press to explain it to us.

Here's just one example from the first paragraph in an Ad Age story about the show:

It's going to take some kind of wise guy to recoup the record $2.5 million per episode that A&E shelled out for "The Sopranos" syndication rights, but the network's sales capo Mel Berning thinks he's come up with a plan to pull it off.

I can't wait to see how much worse it's going to get once the show comes back in March for its final season. Who wants to bet that at least one headline will read something like this:

"The Sopranos to Sleep with the Fishes after Next Eight Episodes."

Ugh!

Anti-IA Nursery Rhyme?

2006-12-15T20:28:00.000-05:00

There's a joke making the e-mail rounds that's pretty offensive.

It involves the "Three Little Pigs," but with an anti-Italian-American twist. Also, it has a bit of Mafia mayhem thrown in.

Here's the joke:

The Three Little Pigs - Italian Style

Once upon a time there were three little pigs. The straw pig, the stick pig and the brick pig.

One day this nasty old wolf came up to the straw pig's house and said, "I'm gonna huff and puff and blow your house down." And he did!!!

So the straw pig went running over to the stick pig's house and said, "Please let me in, the wolf just blew down my house." So the stick Pig let the straw pig in.

Just then the wolf showed up and said, "I'm gonna huff and puff and blow your house down." And he did!!!

So the straw pig and the stick pig went running over to the brick pig's house and said, "Let us in, let us in, the big bad wolf just blew our houses down!"

So the brick pig let them in just as the wolf showed up the wolf said, "I'm gonna huff and puff and blow your house down." The straw pig and the stick pig were so scared! But the brick pig picked up the phone and made a call.

A few minutes passed and a big, black Caddy pulls up.

Out stepped two massive pigs in pin striped suits and fedora hats. These pigs came over to the wolf, grabbed him by the neck and beat the living crap out of him, then one of them pulled out a gun, stuck it in his mouth and fired, killing the wolf, then they got back into their Caddy and drove off.

The straw pig and stick pig were amazed!!! "Who the heck were those guys?" they asked. Those were my cousins ... the Guinea Pigs.

Definitely not funny.

Stereotype Masquerading as a Review

2006-12-11T17:58:00.000-05:00

I realize that many blogs are just the writer's opinions (as IAAMS is) but when IA stereotypes masquerade as a restaurant review, there's something terribly wrong.

Case in point, a recent posting in Gridskipper, which bills itself as an "Urban Travel Guide" to all things Brooklyn. The posting was supposed to be a review of the Fortunato Brothers pastry shop in Williamsburg. The blogger obviously wasn't very impressed with the pastries or the coffee.

However, there was one thing that left an impression on the blogger:

Every morning a gaggle of old Italian men can be found lounging in the expansive store, speaking rapid fire dialect over espresso while the two large-boned owners, the sons of the original Fortunato, hit on the waitresses. So it's authentic.

Actually, the blogger did a pretty good job of stuffing nearly all the major IA stereotypes into two short sentences. A decent bit of atmosphere, too. But the blogger blew it by throwing in the last sentence: "So it's authentic."

At least there was no mention of the Mafia in this piece. Which in this case, sadly, would have been entirely appropriate because Mario Fortunato, whose family owns the bakery, is reputed to be a member of the Genovese Family.

Mudslinging in Politics?

2006-10-25T16:31:00.000-04:00

Who wudda thunk!

A new political commercial in support of Tom Kean Jr., who is running for the United States Senate in New Jersey, uses IA stereotyping at its worst to promote its man. The commercial was produced by the the Free Enterprise Fund Committee.

The commercial features a man in a black leather coat, speaking on a cell phone as he looks furtively around an alley. Speaking in what I assume is supposed to be a New Jersey accent, he warns that “our boy Menendez” is in trouble,” as a result of investigations triggered by Kean. He is referring to U.S. Senator Robert Menendez of New jersey, whom Kean is running against.

“Badda Bing...we need to get the bosses to fix this thing. Like we did for Torricelli,” he says alluding to the former senator from New Jersey, Robert Torricelli who decided not to run for re- election after being implicated in a bribery and campaign finance scandal in 2002.

In case you don't get the point that this man is supposed to be a gangster, the ad is entitled “The Politicos” with the “L” replaced by a revolver as is done in the HBO series’ title for “The Sopranos,” which uses a revolver instead of the letter “R.” To make matters worse, the voice-over announcer is also putting on a "New Jersey accent" but doing a pretty bad job of it.

The whole thing is rather funny. It's so badly done that I'm not sure which is more offensive, the message, or the acting.

Oy Vey!

2006-10-17T16:09:00.000-04:00

There isn't much to say about this piece by staff writer Diana Sholley, in the Inland Daily Bulletin from Ontario, California

It's a good thing they put it in the "Entertainment" section of the paper.

T.G.I. Friday's Just Doesn't Get It

2006-10-11T10:40:00.001-04:00

The restaurant chain T.G.I. Friday's is promoting its "$4 Radically New Appetizers" with stereotypes and cliches. And guess which ethnic group they use to promote their "Sizzling Triple Meat Fundido"? That's right, the good ole Guido. Since the "Fundido" is like a pizza, I guess Friday's figured who better to promote it than an Italian-American.

The actor portraying the Guido trots out all the typical stereotypical phrases and hand gestures. he complains the Fundido "isn't even a pizza" and that there's no way to fold it and eat it. Then he mentions that he has "a cousin that knows a guy..." The tag line is that "He Just Doesn't Get It."

Apparently what he doesn't get is that the new appetizers are so radically different that you have to look at them in a whole new way. What Friday's doesn't get is that it could have used an IA character that wasn't stereotypical to get its point across. The Guidio is the worst IA stereotype of them all. But I guess because its is such a gross exaggeration of that type of IA, it is almost a farce. And that's apparently entertaining to a lot of people.

Unfortunately, it's also denegrating to a lot of people. Not to mention in poor taste. And taste is something that a restaurant chain should care a lot about.

Check out the videos for Friday's new appetizers here.

Et Tu Shoe?

2006-09-19T15:00:00.000-04:00

Even in cartoons we are not safe from the stereotypes. Though that shouldn't be surprising.

The latest infraction comes from "Shoe," a cartoon about birds from Chris Cassatt and Gary Brookins that runs in numerous newspapers in the US. The cartoonists describe their characters like this:

Whether they are arguing about The Perfesser’s bad writing or offering each other advice on the opposite sex, the treetop crew of characters maintains a comical, spirited banter.

In a recent cartoon, Shoe goes to the bar and meets Guido (complete with cigar and Fedora hat). Shoes asks "how the Wiseguy business" is going. Guido says it's not so good because he had to lay off a judge and two cops.

Guido is obviously an Italian gangster. The cartoon is not funny. What's the point?

Check out the full cartoon here.

Ad Council Needs Sensitivity Training

2006-08-15T10:14:00.000-04:00

The Ad Council, the public service organization that brought you the famous "This your brain. This is your brain on drugs" and "A mind is a terrible thing to waste" public service advertising (PSA) campaigns, has developed a new campaign calling on parents to take a more active role in policing what their kids watch on TV.

The new campaign, called Media Management, features two PSA spots for TV: "Boss of Mob" and "Boss of Drugs." While meant to be humurous, the "Boss of Mob" spot is not funny and very offensive. It features three "mob types" in a woman's living room. The woman is telling the mobsters (who apparently are characters in a fictitious Sopranos-like TV show) that what they do on TV is not appropriate for children. She tells them that they will have to be blocked (a reference to using the V-chip that is built into most TVs these days, which enables parents to block TV shows they deem inappropriate for their children). The head mobster tries to change her mind by offering to give her child's watch back (which he apparently stole from the kid).

According to a press release, the creator of the PSAs notes:

"It is important for parents to know that they have the power and the responsibility to monitor what their children watch on TV," said Joyce King Thomas, Chief Creative Officer at McCann Erickson New York. "We decided to show that empowered parent in a humorous, relevant way."

Ms. King Thomas is correct, it is important for parents to monitor what their children watch on TV. But perpetuating stereotypes and offending an entire group of people is not the way to get your message across. Ms. King Thomas needs to be aware of how offensive her new PSAs are to Italian-Americans.

What's ironic about this whole campaign is that it was developed in conjunction with Jack Valenti, an Italian-American, and the former head of the Motion Picture Association of America. Mr. Valenti is a very powerful executive in Hollywood. As an Italian-American he should be more sensitive to how his paisans are portrayed in the media.

First Female IA on Space Shuttle an Excellent Role Model for Young Girls

2006-07-05T11:44:00.000-04:00

The Space Shuttle Discovery (mission STS-121) will go down in history not only for the fact that it is the first to launch on July 4 (Independence Day in the U.S.), but also because the first Italian-American woman on a manned space flight is part of its crew.

Lisa Marie (Caputo) Nowak, is from Salt Lake City, Utah. Her aunt, Cathy (Caputo) Hoskins, is, understandably, proud of her astronaut niece.

According to an account in the Salt Lake City Tribune:

For Hoskins, who is the sister of Nowak's father, Alfredo Caputo, her niece's launch is not only about a dream come true, but the effect it's had on the Italian-American community across the nation. Nowak is the first female Italian-American to go into space...
"We are all very proud of our Italian roots, and Lisa reflects well on a great heritage," Hoskins said.

The paper also said Nowak was honored by the National Organization of Italian American Women and featured on the cover of Italian America magazine. The mayor of Aiello, Italy, said he would make Nowak an honorary citizen of the Italian city.

According to Nowak's aunt: "So often you see Italian-Americans depicted as members of the mafia. It's so nice to see someone who has accomplished so much."

Amen to that.

Finally, Some Positive Role Models for Kids

2006-06-19T09:53:00.000-04:00

I saw the movie Cars over the weekend with my wife and daughter. It was very cute and fun to sit through, though a bit long for a four-year-old.

I was happy to see that Disney-Pixar did not succumb to the all too easy temptation to make some Italian characters gangsters. There were two Italian characters in the movie, Guido and Luigi. Luigi owns the tire shop and Guido works for him. They were cute and funny (despite Luigi's cliche heavy Italian accent). There was not one mention of gangsters, the Mafia or anything else negative in these characters.

Bravo Disney-Pixar.

Go see Cars. It's a fun movie. And the kids will love it.

Hey Goomba!

2006-06-16T12:56:00.000-04:00

Apparently there's a storm brewing up in Shodack, New York over the name of a planned local pizza restaurant.

According to The Independent, the owners want to name the restaurant Goomba's. Some on the planning board think that it's an offensive term and a slur to Italian-Americans. Others are not so sure.

I think that Goomba is such a mild word that it's hardly offensive. Traditionally it means "friend" or "buddy," but lately has come to be used as a derogatory reference to Italian-Americans, such as "dago," "wop" or "greaseball." I am not offended by the term "Goomba." I consider it a term of endearment, like "paisan."

Of all the offenses and slurs against IAs out there, this one would fall way down on the list.

This is Disturbing on So Many Levels...

2006-06-09T11:44:00.000-04:00

...that I don't even know where to begin.

There's a site called Gino the Ginny that features a video of what looks like a 10 or 11 year old boy dressed in a gold chain and a T-shirt, dancing around and cursing in a bad "Brooklyn" accent. It also has a bunch of photos of the kid in various poses, all with him gesturing with his hands a lot.

What's so disturbing is not that the site is one big cliche, or that it is highly offensive to Italian-Americans, but that the kid obviously was put up to it by someone older who should know better.

This site is offensive, plain and simple. I suspect it's intended as a parody. And the kid looks like he could be Italian-American. He's probably from New York, since there's a photo of him on his MySpace site in front of the Unisphere from the 1964 World's Fair in Flushing Meadows Park in Queens. But it's not funny. It's not even mildly humorous.

Besides, if you intend to parody something, it helps to actually spell it correctly. The site is obviously meant to be Gino the Guinea not Ginny (pronounced gin [like the liquor] - ee).

Say Cheese. But it Better be in English.

2006-06-05T16:13:00.000-04:00

Apparently Italian-Americans are capable of racism and stereotypical thinking too. Who knew?

According to an editorial in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Philly's favorite son, Joseph Vento, owner of Geno's Steaks in South Philly, would like you to order your cheesesteaks in English. Don't you dare try it in any other language because he'll ignore you.

According to the newspaper:

It seems that Joseph Vento, Geno's owner, feels strongly that everyone in this country ought to speak English - even if they're tourists from faraway climes looking for that fabled Philly cheesesteak fix.

Vento insists his customers order in English. No pointing at the menu items. Speak English, a sign at Vento's popular, curbside counter reads.

The paper points out that Vento's Italian-born grandparents, who were immigrants to this country, spoke little English.

How times have changed.

Vento went so far as to put up a sign at Geno's stating his new English-only policy. Apparently the fact that South Philly, once the home of Philly's Little Italy, is quickly becoming Little Mexico, does not sit well with some of the old-timers.

I wonder how Vento would react is someone came up to him and ordered a cheesesteak in Italian?

So many Cliches. So Little Space.

2006-06-01T10:17:00.000-04:00

It's amazing how many cliched stereotypes about Italian-Americans one can fit into a measly 238 words about Hillary Clinton introducing her husband (Former President Bill Clinton for those who just arrived from Mars) at a Sons of Italy function.

In an unsigned blog entitled "He Sleeps with the Fishes" on the conservative online site, Human Events Online, the writer had a bit of fun with Hillary Clinton's bumping guest Joe Mantegna at the last minute. Here's what he (or she) had to say about the event:

Last Thursday, Bill Clinton gave the keynote address to the 18th annual Sons of Italy gala in DC. He was originally supposed to be introduced by celebrity Italian-American Joe Mantegna, who is best known for his Italiocentric roles in Godfather III, The Last Don I and II, and in The Simpsons as "Fat Tony." But hours before the event, Mantegna was whacked by one of the most ruthless and remorseless bosses around–Hillary. According to Roll Call, she told the event organizers that she would be introducing her husband, and apparently it was an offer they couldn't refuse. So goodbye, Tony-award winning Italian American, hello WASP woman who is looking for Italian-American votes in 2006 and beyond.

You can read the whole blog here.

It's truly a masterful job of writing, considering the subject was Hillary Clinton and not Joe Mantegna. To be fair, the writer also dissed Hillary and Bill as well, alluding to their sex life in the piece.

The Problem is It's Just Too Easy

2006-05-24T10:22:00.000-04:00

When you're reaching for an analogy to help describe a situation that's a bit shady, high pressure or even criminal, the first thing that probably comes to mind is the Mafia. It's an easy one. And everyone gets it right away.

Well, that's the problem. It shouldn't be that easy and it shouldn't be the universal symbol for all things that are wrong. Sure the members of the American Mafia are criminals and are bad people. And sure they are Italian-American. But not all Italian-Americans are in the Mafia. This bears repeating. While all Mafiosi are Italian-Americans (at least all made Mafiosi anyway), not all Italian-Americans are in the Mafia. To associate the two groups is wrong, unfair, insulting and perpetuates stereotypes.

How long would it be tolerated if African-Americans were continually associated with the Stepin Fetchit character? How long would it be tolerated if all Jews were associated with the Shylock character? Not very long.

But it seems to be readily accepted that Italian-Americans and the Mafia go together. Well, I'm here to tell you they don't.

As an example of how easy it is to reach for and grab the Mafia analogy, even though it has nothing to do with anything and is irrelevant to the situation at hand, is a recent article from the Associated Press about the sale of two Philadelphia newspapers to a private company. A columnist for one of the papers being sold spoke to the Associated Press and complained about the corporate mentality that has overtaken the newspaper business. He expressed relief that the newspapers would no longer have to please Wall Street and the company's shareholders above everyone else.

Here's what the columnist, Stu Bykofsky, told the AP:

"That is enormously important because Wall Street has been the poison that has destroyed American journalism by its constant demands to return, say, 25 percent annually on investment, which is a figure that only the Mafia used to get," Bykofsky said.

His point being that trying to please the shareholders is akin to extortion by the Mafia. Sure, it's a colorful analogy. But is it necessary. No. Could he have used another, less stereotypical, less offensive analogy. Yes. But it was an easy one. It came to mind quickly.

That's the problem. It's too easy. It's our job to make it less easy.

Hello, Ma? It's Me, Guido.

2006-05-17T16:56:00.000-04:00

A blogger called The Doorman, who writes a blog called Clublife (which covers topics related to the nightlife in New York City) recently wrote an offensive piece called "Stiffs."

What makes the piece offensive is not the title, but the subject. He is writing about Italian-Americans in the two clubs he works at and the way they hold their cell phones. Apparently it's different from the way everyone else holds their phones. But the offensive part is he refers to them as "Guidos." Now we all know (at least we all should know) that "Guido" is a pejorative term for an Italian-American from Brooklyn. "They" are supposed to be the height of the stereotype – you know, T-shrt wearing, gold chain sporting, Trans-Am driving young man with no class and no brains.

Since I'm an Italian-American from Brooklyn (but about as far from a "Guido" as you can get) I find this highly offensive.

Here's a little taste of the stupidity The Doorman espouses:

Next time you're in a nightclub, I want you to look for guidos. There's something about them I want you to see. If you're not in their natural New York habitat, they might be difficult to find, but if you are making the rounds of the Manhattan club dungheap this weekend, I want you to focus on some guidos because I'd like to share this with you.

What I want you to scan the room for are guidos talking on their cell phones. You'll be doing this because I want you to notice the stance. The Official Guido Cell Phone Stance.

He also offers photos of what "normal" people look like on their cell phones, in contrast to what a "Guido" looks like.

This kind of stupid, insensitivity only to helps perpetuate stereotypes. There's no reason for it, other than prejudice. Either that or The Doorman is just an insensitive dolt. Either way, there's no call for this kind of thinking, let alone a need to write about it.

Gratuitous Mafia Comment of the Week

2006-05-15T11:15:00.000-04:00

And the winner is...Arianna Huffington. The liberal blogger on CNN's "Reliable Sources" yesterday compared New York Post publisher and News Corp. owner Rupert Murdoch to Tony Soprano. She was talking about Murdoch's support for Hillary Clinton. Murdoch, a staunch conservative and a Republican, has publicly backed Hillary Clinton, a Democrat and a liberal.

Here's what Ms. Huffington had to say on CNN:

No, I think it's a question about power and access, and that's what this alliance is about. I mean, after all, Rupert Murdoch is the Tony Soprano of the right-wing media machine, and the idea that Hillary Clinton, who famously coined the phrase the vast right wing conspiracy, is now aligning herself with him is really very emblematic of who she is as a candidate, a triangulating, calculating, stand for nothing, try to please everybody candidate who cannot win.

You can read the full transcript here.

Now Rupert Murdoch is a lot of things. And you can disagree with his politics and his style of journalism, but to my knowledge he has never had anyone murdered. To equate him with Tony Soprano (a fictional Mafioso, but a gangster nonetheless and the embodiment of all things corrupt in most people's eyes) is gratuitous and inappropriate.

I think Ms. Huffington was trying to make the point that Mr. Murdoch is the "boss of all bosses" when it comes to right-wing journalism and politics. If this is the case, then her analogy does not hold up. Tony Soprano is not the "boss of all bosses," he's just the Capo Regime of New Jersey. If she wanted to be correct, she should have equated Mr. Murdoch with John "Johnny Sack" Sacramoni, the boss of the New York family Tony Soprano is associated with.

Still, invoking Tony Soprano sells papers (or in this case, blogs). But her analogy was wrong and gratuitous.

"Bonasera, Bonasera. What Have I Ever Done to Make You Treat Me So Disrespectfully?"

2006-05-09T14:25:00.000-04:00

Chris Thilk, who writes about the marketing and promotion of movies on his blog Movie Marketing Madness, has a recent post about his joining MySpace, the online social web phenomenon.

To illustrate his point that he's a bit older than the teenagers and twentysomethings that frequent MySpace, but he joined because the movie studios that he writes about are making greater use of the online community so he figured he'd better be involved or risk missing out on some good stories, he uses a scene from The Godfather as a metaphor.

Here's how he starts his piece:

I feel like I've caved, kind of like Bonasera at the beginning of The Godfather. I need the help, and I realize what a resource having the help of such a powerful man is. That comes with knowing that one day I will be called upon to do a service for him, one that I might not be ready for.

You can read the entire piece (it's short) here.

I'm not really sure how I feel about this. On the one hand, it's not overly offensive. I understand he's reaching for a metaphor to explain his use of the MySpace service–which he normally wouldn't utilize unless he felt it was absolutely necessary. But on the other hand, I'm troubled by the fact that he had to reach back to The Godfather for this metaphor, which really has nothing to do with his situation. It's gratuitouss. It's not necessary. He could have eliminated the entire paragraph and still gotten his idea across.

At least he didn't sat they "made him an offer he couldn't refuse."

Thank goodness for small favors.

Father Greeley is No Sopranos Fan

2006-05-05T15:08:00.000-04:00

Father Andrew M. Greeley, an author and a columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times, is no fan of The Sopranos. In fact, he plainly stated as much in his column today on suntimes.com, the newspaper's online site.

According to the good Father, today's column on The Sopranos was inspired by an editorial in The New York Times. However, he failed to mention that the editorial ran on March 19–fully six weeks ago–when The Sopranos' season started.

Anyway, Father Greeley's thesis in his column is that The Sopranos glorifies violence (which it does) and is essentially The Godfather with cursing.

Father Greeley is a good writer. But I don't agree with him on this one. Much of what he says about the show is true (that it is violent and glorifies criminals). However, many of those things are what attracts people to the show.

Where he goes off track, I think, is here:

Moreover, it stereotypes Italian Americans, bigotry which many Americans seem to enjoy. The Soprano family, it is implied, is a typical Italian American with high regard for the virtue of their wives and daughters and no hesitation about wanton murder.

The Sopranos does not stereotype all Italians. If anything, it stereotypes Mafiosi. And I do not think it depicts a "typical Italian-American" family. It depicts an Italian-American Mafia family. Maybe not a typical one, but it comes pretty close.

And then there's this:

Yeah, well, just imagine a similar series about African-American or Jewish criminals. Fuhgeddaboudit!

The good Father comes pretty close here to perpetuating stereotypes of his own. I'm getting pretty sick of having to read "Fuhgeddaboudit!" in nearly every article about Italian-Americans. As an Italian-American myself, I have ample opportunity to mingle with IAs, and not one of them has ever uttered that word. I think it's time we exorcised this word from the lexicon once and for all. I find that word more offensive than all the episodes of The Sopranos combined.

Sopranos Coming to a Video Game System Near You

2006-05-04T21:03:00.000-04:00

THQ Inc., a California-based maker of video games, says it is producing a video game based on The Sopranos TV series.

According to the company, The Sopranos game will feature the voices and likenesses of most of the main characters from the show. The game is being developed with HBO and The Sopranos creator David Chase.

"...[T]he game will evoke the atmosphere, action and conflicts that are the cornerstone of the hit show, which has found worldwide success as one of HBO's premier original programs," THQ says. "The game is backed by key members of the all-star cast who will lend their voices and likenesses, including James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano."

The company describes the game this way:

A mob war is brewing as Philadelphia's and New Jersey's most powerful families are about to collide. As the illegitimate son of "Big Pussy," you have been born into the organization and are now being given an opportunity to demonstrate your loyalty to Tony Soprano. As a soldier you must earn money on collections, protect your turf through intimidation, and gain admiration within your own family to move up in the ranks of the organization. Carry out orders from Paulie, Silvio, Christopher and Tony in familiar locations such as the Bada Bing!, Nuovo Vesuvio's and Satriale's.

Sounds like they have a winner on their hands with this one, doesn't it? Unfortunately, they probably will.

James Gandolfini Gets 'Whacked' in the Press

2006-05-04T13:53:00.000-04:00

I was reading about James Gandolfini's scooter accident in New York City the other day and noticed something "fishy" about the news coverage. If you haven't heard, Gandolfini (a.k.a. The Sopranos' Tony Soprano) was hit by a taxi while riding his Vespa scooter in the city. He wasn't hurt.

Anyway, I did a Google search for news on the accident and was struck (sorry, bad pun) by the fact that a good percentage of the headlines used the word "whacked" to describe what happen to Gandolfini. In a very unscientific survey, I found 25 articles about the accident and five of them (that's a total of one-fifth for the mathematically challenged, like myself) had "whacked" in the headline.

Here are some examples:

"Sopranos" star whacked by NYC cab - Boston Herald
'TONY SOPRANO' WHACKED BY HACK - New York Post
Cab whacks 'Sopranos' Gandolfini - SouthFlorida.com
Cab whacks 'Sopranos' Gandolfini - New York Newsday
Cab whacks 'Sopranos' Gandolfini - Orlando Sentinel

The fact that the headline from three different newspapers is identical is another matter altogether. I guess it's natural–given the tendencies of the tabloids–to refer to the accident as Gandolfini being "whacked." After all, he plays a mob boss on TV. But, come on. Just because he's Italian-American and plays a Mafioso on TV does not make this kind of stereotypical wordplay acceptable.

Maybe if the copy editors at these newspapers showed a little imagination, instead of reverting to their tried and true patterns, things would be different. Let's hope they wake up one day and realize that this is unacceptable.

Here We Go Again

2006-05-04T12:25:00.000-04:00

A California-based film company called Clear Cut Film Technology Studios (formerly Trans-Global Holdings) is developing several television and film projects with, you guessed it, mafia themes.

According to a company press release, these projects are in the works:

MAFIA FILES: a 12-Episode TV Series

This made for TV series will take you through a walk through time with real Mafia Dons illustrating real events that took place over time. These episodes will answer questions that have lurked in our minds over time, for example,"Who really killed Kennedy"/"What happened to Jimmy Hoffa". The real question is, can people handle the truth.

And then there's this one:

TRACK EM & WACK EM: A Reality TV Show and Possible Video Game

The object of this TV Show will be to have contestants traveling from point A to Point B without getting whacked. Each successful round will yield points. At the end of the season the contestant with the highest points gets to enter "The Competition" in Las Vegas.

It's hard to tell from the description if the last one has a mafia theme, but the use of the term "whacked" is suspect. Still, it sounds horrible just the same.

They also have something in development called "Sal and His Pals," but there's no information about it in the press release or on the company's web site.

All I can say to this is, Ugh!

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

2006-05-03T15:22:00.000-04:00

In the scheme of things, this is not over-the-top offensive, but it does show how the negative stereotypes and cliches about our culture are pervasive.

The Herald Democrat in Texas has a column on its online site called "Good Morning" wherein columnist Ken Studer gets to write about basically whatever he wants. In this column he writes about his wife's "full Italian" aunts coming to visit for a week from Detroit and how all they want to do is eat.

This is how he starts off the article:

We just survived a week-long visit from two of my wife's full Italian aunts from Detroit. I was ready to put myself in a witness protection program just so they couldn't find me to make me eat more food.

Then there's this:

That Saturday we had more than 30 people for dinner. The majority of them were Italian and that was quite an adventure. People were eating, screaming, laughing, babies crying and food being carried through the house like they were putting out a fire. It was a scene from the Godfather movie.

The mob jokes and references are not what's so offensive about this piece. It's the cliches and ignorance that offends.

The problem, as I see it is that this piece was written by a mediocre writer who thought it would be quaint to write about his wife's "full Italian" aunts for his yokel Texas audience who think the height of Italian culture is Domino's Pizza.

How to Succeed in Business–and Perpetuate Negative Stereotypes

2006-05-01T15:30:00.000-04:00

A new book is in production called "The Mafia Guide to Succeeding in Business," which the company promoting it says "shows how entrepreneurs can learn valuable business lessons from the Mafia." I kid you not. You can't make this stuff up folks.

The book has a web site that acts as a teaser for the upcoming book. Though the site does not say who wrote the book or when it will come out, you can sign up to be notified when it's available.

The company promoting the book, Network Media of California, has sprinkled the web site with quotes and photos form The Godfather movies.

The "rules" supposedly are based on "a company associate's" lifelong friendship with a "reputed mob boss." The mob boss, someone named Louie, offers such words of wisdom as: "You don't have to be the best, you just have to be damn good" and "People are either with you or against you, there's no middle."

By trying to ride The Godfather's coattails this book just serves to perpetuate demeaning stereotypes. I'm going to go out on a limb here and make a bold prediction that this is one book that will not become a bestseller.

America's Greatest Banker was Italian-American

2006-04-27T15:54:00.000-04:00

One of the greatest bankers in American history was an Italian-American. Amadeo Peter Giannini. He was born in San Jose, California in 1870 and founded the Bank of Italy in 1904. Today the bank is better known as the Bank of America, once the largest bank in the U.S.

The Charlotte Sun-Herald has a good story about Giannini here. It was written to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the great San Francisco earthquake. The Bank of Italy was started in San Francisco, but has since moved to North Carolina.

The article is worth reading, as it highlights the accomplishments of one of history's great Italian-Americans. And there's not a stereotype anywhere in sight!

Practicing What We Preach

2006-04-25T15:57:00.001-04:00

Sometimes I think we're our own worst enemies when it comes to battling stereotypes. It's not so much the negative portrayals that are a problem, it's the ignorance that comes along with it.

Case in point: An Italian-American web portal called Virtual Italia features pages of books, music, news, features and other things pertaining to our culture. There's also a forum on the site with a bunch of categories. There's also a section for local forums for various cities, New York being one of them. In this forum, there's a post by NYnonna about John Gotti. Apparently there was a thread about Gotti and the Mafia a while back, which NYnonna read. It seems there were some posts about Gotti and his Mafiosi hoods and how they give Italian-Americans a bad name. Apparently NYnonna disagrees.

Here's some of what she has to say on the subject:

For the record John Gotti never killed anyone himself. What he may have told others to do is on their conscience.

Then there's this bit of nonsense:

I find it hard to believe an Italian would actually believe all the wasp bull about the " families" being bad people. They were people, doing what ever they had to do to take care of their own just as their forefathers did and ancestors in Italy did.

You can read the thread here.

It's ignorance like this that makes it hard for us to combat the negative stereotypes we find in the media. When people like NYnonna spout their uninformed garbage in public, it makes it that much harder for people to take our complaints seriously.

These people do not help our cause, they just help to reinforce the stereotype.

Paulie Walnuts to Push Netflix

2006-04-22T22:37:00.000-04:00

Online DVD rental company Netflix on Monday (April 24) plans to unveil a new 30-second television spot on broadcast and cable TV titled "Gangster," featuring The Soprano's star Tony (Paulie Walnuts) Sirico. In the spot, according to the company "Sirico portrays a gangster who comically 'encourages' a homeowner to sign up for Netflix. The homeowner's wife puts her two cents in, at her peril."

Check out the commercial:

Image is Everything

2006-04-21T21:28:00.000-04:00

According to the Italic Institute of America (IIA), there have been a total of 1,233 Italian-related films produced since "talkies" were invented in 1928, up until 2002 when their study was released. Of those films, 374, or 31%, portray Italians in a positive light and 859, or a whopping 69%, portray us in an unfavorable light.

The IIA study also points out that mob characters represent 40% of all the movies produced from 1928 to 2002. Interestingly, 88% of those mob characters are fictional. Only 12% are based on real gangsters.

And things have gotten worse since the release of The Godfather in 1972. The IIA says since that movie's release, more than 300 movies have been made featuring Italians as criminals.

According to the IIA:

Positive or complex portrayals of Italians are often treated fleetingly – i.e., as supporting characters. It is indeed rare to have a film featuring a complex, non-stereotypical Italian character as a main protagonist from start to finish (e.g., Al Pacino in 1973's "Serpico" or Meryl Streep in 1996's "The Bridges of Madison County").

The 40-page study is available from the IIA for $10. For a summary of its findings, click here.

Negative Portrayals of Italian-Americans in the Media Must End

2006-04-19T13:08:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the Italian-Americans Against Media Stereotypes blog, better known as IAAMS (not to be confused with the company that makes pet food, which by the way only has one “a”!).

On a regular basis, this blog will alert you to advertisements, statements, broadcasts, articles and anything else I can find that portray Italian-Americans (and Italians, too, for that matter) as buffoons, Mafiosi, idiots, morons and other negative stereotypes. The purpose of this blog is to point out these instances and hopefully enlighten you to the problem of negative media portrayals – if you’re motivated to write a letter or send an email to the offending party, all the better.

This blog is not about censorship. I do not advocate (as some groups out there do) that Italian-American actors who portray Mafiosi on TV and in the movies should be ashamed of themselves and never work again because of it. I will not demand that a particular television network pull a show or series off the air because it may portray Italian-Americans in a negative light. But I will point out that it is happening and you can either stop watching the show (which is the best course of action – if the ratings slide, the show will eventually be cancelled) or write a letter or send an email to the network’s president and let it be known that you don’t appreciate the negative portrayal. I’ll also point out any instances of positive portrayals of Italian-Americans in the media (though unfortunately, those posts probably will be few and far between).

I hope you find this blog entertaining, informative and maddening. Italian-Americans are one of the few ethnic groups left that the media feels are fair game for negative stereotyping (along with gays and blondes!). To borrow a phrase from the movie Network,“We’re mad as hell and not going to take it anymore.”

If you come across an instance of negative stereotyping in your local newspaper, a magazine, on TV, radio or the Internet, drop me an Email and let me know. I’ll be happy to blog about it and hopefully together we can help change the all-to-pervasive negative images of Italian-Americans in the media today.