One Italian-American, hold the Italian

Sunday, December 05, 2004


Apparently, Robert de Niro is one of the most despicable Italian-Americans in history. His movie roles perpetuate Mob stereotypes, you see.


Not the writers who came up with the stories. Not the directors or producers. Just as the vast majority of the moviegoing public blames Tom Cruise if the Last Samurai was horrible, the Sons blame Robert de Niro. You go after the face. You go after the person that the public will recognize.

I actually have to take a second out here and express a small amount of happiness that the Last Samurai came around: it did give thousands of people the opportunity to be idiots: "We're supposed to believe that Tom Cruise plays a Japansese guy? What other crap is Hollywood going to force down our throats next!?" They all get a Silver Way to Go award.


So what does the Sons of Italy's complaint boil down to?



Those movies make us look bad.


No Italian-American out there actually does like brewing up giant vats of spaghetti, none of them ever say fuhgeddaboutit, no Italian-American matriarch is overweight, and no ripped-up Son of Sicily ever tried to strong-arm anybody else.


It seems pretty telling, though, when Italians are essentially calling Italian-Americans' anti-stereotyping crusade bunk. That's the actual country Italy. They're even more Italian than Italian-American groups.

The highlighting quote: "Our history has good and bad bits. You cannot just deny the past. And after all, it is only cinema."

The Sons could learn a lot from that dude. They're not going to get anybody to change their perception of Italian-Americans by yelling "That's not fair!" You should see from watching the news that emphatically denying whatever tarnished past you might have gets you less credibility, if anything.


I was at a Whole Foods a while ago, waiting for my turn in the meat line (mmmm... smoked ham). I happened to glance to my right just as a ripped-up black guy with giant dreds sauntered up to a decorative barrel full of prepackaged cornbread. His eyes illuminated with delight; he pulled his ridiculously attractive (also black) girlfriend over and exclaimed, "Awww, corn-breeEEEeezy!"

Oh, SNAP! A black dude that likes cornbread! A stereotype in real life! The most amazing this was that I didn't think he was a dumbass!


A more clear-cut perspective: How about a Caucasian-American group singling out negative portrayals of white slave owners in Civil War-era films? "They're always portrayed as uncaring and cruel taskmasters who beat their slaves unmercifully and didn't treat them as human beings when the plain fact is that the vast majority of slave owners cared deeply about their slaves."

The obvious response: Hey, white guys, it happened.


The only way the Sons of Italy could have any credibility in this argument of theirs is if they also stumped to erase negative portrayals of cops, politicians, rich people, and drunks in film, too. There are always gonna be dirty cops in movies; there will always be Italian Mafiosi, too.


Your crusade against mob stereotyping did achieve something, however- now Italian-Americans are known for being mobsters and whiners.


At the bottom of the National Italian American Foundation Stereotyping 2001 list: "A thumbs down to Robert de Niro, who appeared in the film Out on my Feet about boxer Vinnie Curto, who was also involved in organized crime."

Seriously... an Italian named Vinnie? How overdone is THAT?

But wait... de Niro's an Honoree in your Hall of Fame? Pick one, guys.



And dude... Robert Davi? That guy plays even MORE knikky thugs than de Niro does!






No, I don't know what "knikky" means.

posted by Scotty 2-shots at 8:13 PM