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NIAF Picks & Pans
home >> Image & Identity >> Picks & Pans >> Summer 2004
THUMBS UP TO:
The National Coalition Against Racial, Religious and Ethnic Stereotyping (CARRES)
THUMBS DOWN:
DreamWorks for their upcoming Shark Tale film
OVERVIEW
The National Coalition Against Racial, Religious and Ethnic Stereotyping (CARRES), is a national coalition founded in January 2004 by the nation's four leading Italian American organizations, the Columbus Citizens Foundation, NIAF, the Order Sons of Italy in America (OSIA), and UNICO National, in response to the DreamWorks upcoming Shark Tale film. These founding members are joined by more than 20 other groups that include Arab Americans, Polish Americans and the National Conference of Community and Justice, in a multi-ethnic activist coalition.
Initially, CARRES wrote DreamWorks, the company owned by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffin, expressing its concern about the film’s stereotypical components. The film is described as "a gangster comedy" featuring sharks as mafia characters with Italian names that belong to the “Five Families.” CARRES noted that Shark Tale is particularly harmful because it is being marketed to children and promises to perpetuate negative stereotypes of Italian Americans to another generation of Americans.
This was followed by a meeting of CARRES, led by NIAF President Joseph Cerrell, with DreamWorks officials in Los Angeles where the concerns of the coalition were voiced. Additional phone conversations and correspondences ensued; however, CARRES received no assurances that the movie would be altered to remove the stereotypical components.
In May, members of the CARRES coalition attended a Shark Tale promotional presentation, which was held at the TriBeca Film Festival in New York City. This presentation confirmed the coalition’s fears that the film would include elements that stereotyped Italian Americans, as well as other racial groups.
Later that month, the sincerity of the CARRES founding members was confirmed when they pooled their financial resources to hire Hill & Knowlton Public Relations Agency (H&K) in New York City to develop a communication and public relations strategy to counter the harmful effects of Shark Tale. This initiative is led by civil rights veteran Steven Aiello, senior counsel at H&K and long time NIAF board member, who is working pro bono on this campaign. He has implemented a strategy that involves contacting the presidents of the major teachers' unions, the Conference of Rabbis and other religious and ethnic organizations, and asking for their support. In addition, he has met with influential elected officials including the chairperson and other members of the Italian American Congressional Delegation and several U.S. Senators.
DreamWorks is pulling out all the stops for the promotion of this film including the formation of partnerships with Coca-Cola, Burger King, General Mills, Hasbro Toys and other corporations that will spread Shark Tale and its characters around the globe on cereal boxes, fast-food meals, soft drinks, snacks, action figures, games, posters, and more. In response, CARRES has contacted the CEOs of these corporate marketing partners informing them of the film’s stereotypes and the potential dangers of such a partnership.
While this film is not yet complete and has not yet been viewed in its entirety, CARRES believe our concerns are valid based upon the promotional information available on the Shark Tale website and through what was viewed at the recent Shark Tale presentation at the TriBeca Film Festival. The film premieres October 1 in the U.S. with worldwide releases scheduled for later in the month. Shark Tale will be on DVDs by early next year and plans for a Shark Tale II are already in the works.
If there is one silver lining in this campaign, it is the unprecedented cooperation and close working relationship that has developed among the major Italian American organizations. A task force that includes NIAF Chairman Frank Guarini and leadership from other major Italian American organizations has been assembled, which holds weekly conference calls to share developments and to discuss strategies.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Make your voice heard with a short letter to the opinion leaders and decision-makers below. Stress that Shark Tale will pass on damaging stereotypes of Italian Americans as violent gangsters to impressionable children. Keep your letter to one page. Be careful not to offend any other ethnic group to make your point!
Write to your local elementary school principal, urging him or her not to allow DreamWorks' curriculum to be used in the classroom.
Send a Letter to the Editor to your local daily and weekly newspapers.
Contact your U.S. Congressional Representative and two U.S. Senators, asking them to criticize Shark Tale from the floor of the House and Senate. [To contact your representative or senators, call 202/224-3121.]
Write to the CEOs of DreamWorks' marketing partnerships, telling them you will not buy any product of theirs that promotes Shark Tale. [See below.]
Shark Tale Marketing Partners
Brad Blum, CEO
Burger King Corporation
5505 Blue Lagoon Drive
Miami, FL 33126
Stephen W. Sanger, CEO
General Mills, Inc
P.O. Box 1113
Minneapolis, MN 55440-1113
Douglas N. Daft, CEO
The Coca-Cola Company
P.O. Box 1734
Atlanta, GA 30918
Scott Livengood, CEO
Krispy Kreme
P.O. Box 83
Winston-Salem, NC 27103
Rhoda Olsen
President and COO
Great Clips, Inc.
7700 France Ave, Suite 425
Minneapolis, MN 55435
Carleton S. (Carly) Fiorina
Chairman and CEO
HP
3000 Hanover Street
Palo Alto, CA 94304-1185
For more information on CARRES and the Shark Tale campaign, please contact: John Marino - jmarino@niaf.org.
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