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Focus: Image & Identity
home >> Image & Identity >> Focus: Image & Identity Reports >> Fall 2002
Fighting the Negative
NIAF has recently responded to several media items including radio and television advertisements, television programs, newspaper columns, and even cartoons, which were perceived as offensive and/or unflattering to Italian Americans. These items demonstrated the media’s “usual” proclivity for stereotyping Italian Americans as criminals, the association of Italian Americans with organized crime, the stereotyping of Italian Americans as buffoons, and the portrayal of Italian Americans as uneducated, crude, and/or excitable. The impact of these stereotypes was reflected in a Zogby survey of U.S. teenagers taken last year where 44 percent of the respondents identified Italian Americans as the most likely to play a crime boss or gang member in a movie or on television. Moreover, the overall findings of this study suggest that teens learn the less admirable aspects of their heritage from the entertainment industry’s stereotyping and that teens' perceptions of other ethnic, religious, and racial groups are shaped by the entertainment industry’s stereotypes.
The item which roused the greatest turmoil was the beginning of a new season of The Sopranos program on HBO. NIAF Chairman Frank Guarini immediately issued a statement which reaffirmed NIAF’s “disappointment that the show’s success is on the backs of Italian Americans who continue to be stereotyped and portrayed negatively in this fictional series.” Both NIAF President Joseph Cerrell and NIAF Executive Director John Salamone did several media interviews and made statements reiterating the Chairman’s statement.
NIAF’s Executive Director will meet with HBO executives in November to discuss the network’s programming choices and its incessant use of negative depictions of Italian Americans. NIAF will propose that:
- HBO place a disclaimer either before or after airing an episode of The Sopranos saying that this program is fictional and its characters in no way resemble the estimated 25 million Americans of Italian descent who are honest and law-abiding people. In addition, the disclaimer should convey that the program is not intended to defame any particular ethnic group.
- HBO should provide NIAF with an open line of communication where NIAF could make programming suggestions. Through this dialogue, NIAF would encourage more balanced portrayals of Italian Americans in HBO programming. NIAF would have a means through which it could refer scripts and projects that positively portray Italian Americans.
- HBO celebrate Italian American Heritage Month (October) by showing films and programs that positively portray Italian Americans and accurately reflect the Italian American experience. HBO, in addition to other stations, celebrates African American History Month in February and Hispanic Heritage month each fall.
- HBO arrange public service announcements where prominent Italian Americans talk about the positive aspects of their heritage.
Emphasizing the Positive
Outside of the HBO initiative, NIAF believes that a proactive measure to curb the defamation and discrimination of Italian Americans is through the promotion of the best of Italian American culture and heritage. Italian Americans are a highly accomplished and educated group. We need to share this with others. As you are aware, the promotion of the best of Italian American culture and heritage is being accomplished through NIAF’s grants and cultural/educational programs, however, more work needs to be done.
A new initiative in promoting the best of Italian American culture and heritage is by institutionalizing it at American colleges and universities. This can be achieved through the teaching of courses in Italian American history and literature and the developing of programs in Italian Americans Studies. Young people need to be taught the real Italian American experience. The media has severely distorted what it means to be Italian American. Negative stereotyping and images are fueled through ignorance and misunderstanding of Italian Americans. How many times have we watched with bewilderment a movie or commercial with an offensive and demeaning Italian American stereotype and turned to our wives and husbands and said, “We’re not anything like that.” Let’s not only educate ourselves but the public as well.
In an effort to promote the study of Italian American courses at American colleges and universities, NIAF held a conference on May 30 in New York City to discuss this topic. Assembling a panel of professors, writers, journalists, and a college president, NIAF first tackled this topic. NIAF then continued this dialogue with a conference on October 26 in Washington, DC. Moderated by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, the conference featured another impressive panel that addressed the issue. Aside from sponsoring conferences and encouraging discussion in this area, the NIAF Grants program has awarded a number of grants to schools which have either developed or are developing Italian American Studies courses and programs. This impressive list of schools includes the City University of New York, SUNY Stony Brook, Montclair State University, Central Connecticut State University, and the University of Minnesota at Morris.
The institutionalization of Italian American Studies in American colleges and universities will be a long and difficult process; however, it is definitely an objective that is achievable. Open any college catalog and notice the number of courses offered in African American history, Jewish Studies, and Latino Studies. Our goal is to have Italian Americans Studies courses listed alongside these other courses.
Proud Americans, Proud Italian Americans
The finding of the 2000 Census reaffirmed what many of us already knew, that Italian Americans are a group that continues to maintain a strong ethnic identity. According to the 2000 Census, an increased number of people are identifying themselves as simply “American” rather than as a member of a specific ethnic group. This was especially evident with individuals of European decent with the one notable exception, Americans of Italian ancestry. While other European groups including German, Irish, English, and Polish, witnessed their numbers decline significantly since the 1990 Census, the number of people reporting to be Americans of Italian decent in the 2000 Census increased by seven percent.
Italian Americans continue to embrace their heritage and culture. As Chairman Guarini noted, “Organizations like NIAF are thriving because ethnicity remains vitally important to the Italian American community.” This was echoed by NIAF President Cerrell who stated, “Italian Americans are a highly visible group of professionals in business, politics, sports, entertainment, and the arts, who continue to contribute a great deal to the U.S. while never forgetting their heritage.”
Together let’s spread the good news of what Italian Americans are doing.
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