Italian Mafia Image
The Italian mafia has been a prominent theme in the media for centuries, where much of the movies within the U.S. motion picture industry that involve Italians, have storylines that are based on mobsters and the mafia. Movies such as The Godfather, Goodfellas, Taxi Driver, and more recent works such as HBO’s hit The Sopranos, glorify Italian men and women by their flashy lifestyles and relations to organized criminal activities. Movies of such sort have reached such popular success because they appeal to the public and, unfortunately, many Italian American citizens embrace these accusations and consider them part of their heritage, thus reinforcing the narratives made by the movie industry.
It was not until the 1930’s with the release of Little Cesar and Scarface that the stereotype was created and linked Italian Americans with the gangster image. With the introduction of these films one can clearly see that with the changing image of the gangster, the American perception towards Italian Americans was changing as well. These “new” characters were no longer drunk illiterates, these Italians dressed in fancy suits, spoke better English; in a sense, they were following the American dream. Then in 1972 came the first of a trilogy that would change the image of Italian Americans forever. The Godfather (1972), based on Mario Puzo’s novel was the hit success of the great American director Ford Francis Coppola. His work was such a success for the public that it won three Oscar nominations out of the ten categories it was voted for. The American people were literally obsessed with the violent, vulgar and classic gangster films. Many critics argue, with merit, that The Godfather was the first film that really started the storytelling and portrayal of Italian Americans, where the film established a permanent connection in the minds of Americans between the mafia and Italian Americans.
This storyline continued with Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas (1990), which showed the mafia in New York in an extremely realistic way. Based on the life of real mobster Henry Hill, it shows the process of going from a nonentity to a success in the mafia organization. The film depicts brutal murder scenes, vulgar language, and vile treatment of women. However, a particularly different element is that it also shows the consequences of being too wrapped up in the mafia life and what it is like to become “the rat.” This film showed a much less glorified portrayal of the mafia, and yet, it appealed greatly to society. The most recent of Hollywood’s award winning creation evoking the mafia is HBO’s hit series The Sopranos first airing in 1999. The show takes great inspiration from Scorsese’s work and Coppola’s masterpiece, where characters in the show are often viewed idolizing Mafiosi from these directors respective films, reciting lines, copying stunts, and even comparing themselves. This idolization showed that Italian Americans not only identify themselves with these gangsters but also look up to them. Tony Soprano, the protagonist of the show, is of Italian American descent and part of the mafia. Besides his connection to the gangster life, he lives in a typical residential neighborhood for the average white American male, he is a family man just like everyone else. In the book Tony Soprano’s America, David Simon, states that “the viewer is always reminded that the one thing that stands Tony Soprano apart from the rest of society is that he is mobster. The TV series successfully brought the mafia to the 21st Century, renewed the use of “mafia” as a household word, and took one step further in fusing the image of Italians and Italian Americans.” The media has led to this image of Italian immigrants as gangsters, and this stereotype is still very much alive today. However, it is noticeable that there does not seem to be as much controversial propaganda to the use of this negative connotation against Italian Americans as stereotypical use against other ethnic groups.
In addition to the examples that are set for male characters, there are also a particular set of storytlines for Italian American women in these movies where the mafia wives are depicted as enabling and looking the other way in their husband’s business affair. The mother in The Godfather plays the role of the housewife, Carmela Corleone never reacts to the actions of her husband and sons, and is always turning a blind eye. She is shown caring for her grandchildren and providing the family with a traditional Italian meal. She is essentially the stereotypical enabling Italian mother and wife in the mafia family. Most of the women in these movies are unemployed house makers who take the events as part of the package of marrying a mob. The show The Sopranos is not the only example of the Italian American being represented in more recent TV production. Characters like Arthur “the Fonz” Fonzarelli from Happy Days, Tony the taxi driver of Taxi, and Joey the all around dimwit of Friends all represent demeaning images of Italian Americans. They all appear to be uneducated womanizers, and yet most may not even realize the message they are sending about the Italian American male.
In 2002, The Italic institute of America conducted a study to analyze the movie industry and its relation to Italian-American based movies and the post Godfather movie industry. Their studies showed that out of the 1233 movies made about Italian Americans, 69% of them present Italian-American characters under a negative light, against 31% that show Italian-Americans as good human beings. Moreover, out of the movies made since the sound era that deal with mob characters, 88% were revolved around fictional characters, 293 of which came out after The Godfather.
Goodfellas video clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AI-VY5cC2jk
The Sopranos Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBdIcvv864I
It was not until the 1930’s with the release of Little Cesar and Scarface that the stereotype was created and linked Italian Americans with the gangster image. With the introduction of these films one can clearly see that with the changing image of the gangster, the American perception towards Italian Americans was changing as well. These “new” characters were no longer drunk illiterates, these Italians dressed in fancy suits, spoke better English; in a sense, they were following the American dream. Then in 1972 came the first of a trilogy that would change the image of Italian Americans forever. The Godfather (1972), based on Mario Puzo’s novel was the hit success of the great American director Ford Francis Coppola. His work was such a success for the public that it won three Oscar nominations out of the ten categories it was voted for. The American people were literally obsessed with the violent, vulgar and classic gangster films. Many critics argue, with merit, that The Godfather was the first film that really started the storytelling and portrayal of Italian Americans, where the film established a permanent connection in the minds of Americans between the mafia and Italian Americans.
This storyline continued with Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas (1990), which showed the mafia in New York in an extremely realistic way. Based on the life of real mobster Henry Hill, it shows the process of going from a nonentity to a success in the mafia organization. The film depicts brutal murder scenes, vulgar language, and vile treatment of women. However, a particularly different element is that it also shows the consequences of being too wrapped up in the mafia life and what it is like to become “the rat.” This film showed a much less glorified portrayal of the mafia, and yet, it appealed greatly to society. The most recent of Hollywood’s award winning creation evoking the mafia is HBO’s hit series The Sopranos first airing in 1999. The show takes great inspiration from Scorsese’s work and Coppola’s masterpiece, where characters in the show are often viewed idolizing Mafiosi from these directors respective films, reciting lines, copying stunts, and even comparing themselves. This idolization showed that Italian Americans not only identify themselves with these gangsters but also look up to them. Tony Soprano, the protagonist of the show, is of Italian American descent and part of the mafia. Besides his connection to the gangster life, he lives in a typical residential neighborhood for the average white American male, he is a family man just like everyone else. In the book Tony Soprano’s America, David Simon, states that “the viewer is always reminded that the one thing that stands Tony Soprano apart from the rest of society is that he is mobster. The TV series successfully brought the mafia to the 21st Century, renewed the use of “mafia” as a household word, and took one step further in fusing the image of Italians and Italian Americans.” The media has led to this image of Italian immigrants as gangsters, and this stereotype is still very much alive today. However, it is noticeable that there does not seem to be as much controversial propaganda to the use of this negative connotation against Italian Americans as stereotypical use against other ethnic groups.
In addition to the examples that are set for male characters, there are also a particular set of storytlines for Italian American women in these movies where the mafia wives are depicted as enabling and looking the other way in their husband’s business affair. The mother in The Godfather plays the role of the housewife, Carmela Corleone never reacts to the actions of her husband and sons, and is always turning a blind eye. She is shown caring for her grandchildren and providing the family with a traditional Italian meal. She is essentially the stereotypical enabling Italian mother and wife in the mafia family. Most of the women in these movies are unemployed house makers who take the events as part of the package of marrying a mob. The show The Sopranos is not the only example of the Italian American being represented in more recent TV production. Characters like Arthur “the Fonz” Fonzarelli from Happy Days, Tony the taxi driver of Taxi, and Joey the all around dimwit of Friends all represent demeaning images of Italian Americans. They all appear to be uneducated womanizers, and yet most may not even realize the message they are sending about the Italian American male.
In 2002, The Italic institute of America conducted a study to analyze the movie industry and its relation to Italian-American based movies and the post Godfather movie industry. Their studies showed that out of the 1233 movies made about Italian Americans, 69% of them present Italian-American characters under a negative light, against 31% that show Italian-Americans as good human beings. Moreover, out of the movies made since the sound era that deal with mob characters, 88% were revolved around fictional characters, 293 of which came out after The Godfather.
Goodfellas video clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AI-VY5cC2jk
The Sopranos Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBdIcvv864I