| |
Image & Identity
Image & Identity >> Focus: Image & Identity Reports >> Summer 2004
The central mission of National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) is to promote the best of Italian American culture and heritage. This is done through our many programs that are centered upon youth and education; they include exchange, mentoring, leadership, scholarship, grants, and public policy. Serving as a resource to the public, NIAF provides information and educational materials on Italian American history and culture to the public and strives to highlight the numerous contributions of Italian Americans to the United States.
NIAF also aspires to promote a positive image of Italian Americans throughout the United States and in Italy. This includes our continued monitoring of the depictions of Italian Americans in media sources including film, television, and print and responding to negative and stereotypical depictions of Italian Americans where appropriate.
Fighting the Negative
-
Throughout 2004, NIAF's primary focus relating to the battle against harmful stereotyping has been through our active participation in the National Coalition Against Racial, Religious and Ethnic Stereotyping (CARRES). This is a national coalition founded by NIAF in conjunction with the Columbus Citizens Foundation, the Order Sons of Italy in America (OSIA), and UNICO National in response to the DreamWorks film Shark Tale. These founding members are joined by a wide array of organizations representing diverse constituencies that include Arab Americans, Polish Americans, the National Conference of Community and Justice, and the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations.
Shark Tale, which will be released in October 2004, has been described as "a gangster comedy" featuring sharks with Italian names as mafia characters that belong to the "Five Families." It is particularly harmful because it is being marketed to children and promises to perpetuate negative stereotypes of Italian Americans to another generation of Americans. Appeals have been made to DreamWorks, the company owned by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffin, to remove the film's stereotypical components. To date, only one character in the film has been altered.
While this film is not yet complete and has not yet been viewed in its entirety, CARRES believes our concerns are valid based upon the promotional information available on the Shark Tale website and through what was viewed at the Shark Tale presentation at the TriBeca Film Festival in New York City, which was held in May. An advanced screening of the film was requested by CARRES but to date will not be given by DreamWorks.
CARRES has hired the Hill & Knowlton Public Relations Agency (H&K) to develop a communication and public relations strategy to counter the harmful effects of Shark Tale. This plan includes broadening the coalition, asking the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) to give the film an R rating, contacting elected officials at all levels, and writing Shark Tale's corporate marketing partners, which include Coca-Cola, Burger King, General Mills, Krispy Kreme, Great Clips, HP, and Hasbro Toys. In addition to the work of Hill & Knowlton, a CARRES task force that includes the leadership and key staffers of the four major Italian American organizations has been assembled. This task force holds weekly conference calls to share developments and to discuss strategies.
-
Aside from the ongoing Shark Tale campaign, other issues concerning the image of Italian Americans warrant mention. This includes the A&E network's reality television show, Growing Up Gotti. NIAF was inundated with letters and emails from concerned individuals who were alarmed by the show's unflattering depiction of Italian Americans. NIAF's Chairman Frank Guarini, along with the leaders of other Italian American organizations, wrote A&E Television Networks expressing their concern. Mr. Guarini noted that the program clearly reinforces a negative and demeaning image of Italian Americans and sends a harmful message throughout the nation. This correspondence included a request for a meeting with officials from the station to ensure that this type of show not be included in future programming and that greater balance relating to the portrayal of Italian Americans be provided. This meeting is scheduled for September 2004.
-
"No Wonder People Think Caravaggio is a Guy on the Sopranos" was the theme of The Americans for the Arts advertisement that appeared in The New York Times. Connecting the cable program The Sopranos and incorporating the phrase "Fuhgedaboudit" with the great Italian Baroque artist Caravaggio in an effort to advance art education, was perceived as insensitive by many in the Italian American community. Our concerns were hastily dismissed by officials from The Americans for the Arts who contended that the advertisement was not intended to offend Italian Americans and was even applauded by some Italian American organizations. We are still waiting to hear which Italian American organization applauded such an advertisement.
-
Nationally syndicated cartoonist Pat Oliphant drew a cartoon featuring Vice President Dick Cheney and Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia on a hunting expedition. In making his point relating to the appropriateness of Scalia's personal relationship with Cheney, Oliphant simultaneously leveled an unnecessary and defaming attack upon Scalia's ethnicity. The cartoon featured Cheney dressed in customary hunting apparel with shotgun in hand while Scalia was depicted with all the nuances of the stereotypical mobster. He is dressed in a pin-strip suit with his hair slicked back and a five o'clock shadow, holding a machine gun. Even the caption was written with the style of the clichéd wiseguy vernacular. Oliphant blatantly targeted Scalia's ethnicity. We asked why Scalia's ethnicity was interjected into this topic of discussion. We also questioned were it Justices Clarence Thomas or Ruth Bader Ginsburg, would Oliphant have tapped into the stereotypical imagery associated with their ethnic, religious, or racial backgrounds? Any reasonable person would think not. This assault on Scalia's Italian heritage was clearly not appropriate. Moreover, it should be noted that it was not this cartoonist's first foray into Italian or Italian American bashing. A disappointing side note to this episode was The Washington Post's failure to publish a "letter to the editor" co-authored by leadership of NIAF, OSIA, and UNICO where we expressed our dismay over the cartoon that the paper published.
-
The PBS series, The Medici, Godfathers of the Renaissance, through its linkage of the Medici to the mafia, was especially disappointing. PBS missed a real opportunity to tell an important story of a powerful family of pre-unified Italy. Instead of approaching the subject matter in a serious and studious manner, the PBS series instead opted to tap into a fascination of popular American culture - the mafia. By playing the mafia card and linking the Medici with the mafia, PBS advanced an assumption which suggested that there is a continuity of criminality within the Italian people, and that criminality is a component of the Italian character. We argued that such an assumption was careless at best and maliciously demeaning at worst. Moreover, the series had the effect of detracting from the larger framework of Italian and Italian American contributions to world civilization and reducing a major national ethnic group to images of innate criminals. In what could have been a valuable historical resource was instead a tainted program with overtones that were clearly defaming to all Italian people.
Highlighting the Positive of Our Culture and Educating
- NIAF is pleased to announce our partnering with the Splendor of Florence Festival in New York City this fall. An eleven-day festival of cultural, educational, culinary, and musical events centered around distinguished Florentine artisans. It will give visitors an opportunity to visit the magnificent city of Florence without ever leaving New York City. Beginning in September 2004, this special festival promises to foster a broader appreciation of both Renaissance culture and modern Italian culture to Americans. For more information see www.splendorofflorence.com
- NIAF is also partnering with the Restoring Ancient Stabiae (RAS) Foundation on the United States tour of the In Stabiano: Exploring the Ancient Seaside Villas of the Roman Elite exhibition. The RAS Foundation has a mission to transform the 150-acre archaeological site of ancient Stabiae into the world's largest and most unique Archaeological Park. The site is located only three miles from Pompeii and will feature museums, theaters, lodging, and an International Study Center. This exciting project offers wide opportunities for the Italian American community including educational exchange programs and heightened interest in Italy's cultural heritage here in the US. For more information see www.stabiae.org
- October and Italian American Heritage Month is quickly approaching. Once again NIAF will celebrate this important month with a series of events and activities in select cities around the nation including New York City, San Francisco, St. Louis, and Pittsburgh. This includes offering free Italian language classes and free walking tours of Italian neighborhoods and sites of interest. Check www.niaf.org for regular updates.
- The NIAF Teach the Teachers program was brought to Montclair State University where it assembled high school teachers in two days of seminars and workshops that focused on Italian American Studies. It is the intention of this program that the information gained in these sessions will be incorporated into curriculums where these high school teachers work. A second installment of this program will be brought to Rhode Island this fall.
- Let us not forget that educating our Youth needs to remain our focus and will advance our efforts to promote a positive image the furthest. This year NIAF brought together hundreds of young Italian Americans through its youth programs including the Gift of Discovery, Students to Leaders, Graduates to Leaders, and the annual Youth Retreat. Additionally, a plethora of scholarships were awarded including those for Lago del Bosco, the Italian language and culture immersion camp at the Language Villages of Concordia College in Minnesota.
Valuable Conferences
- NIAF is pleased to be a sponsor of "Real Stories: Discrimination and Defamation in the History of Italian Americans," an upcoming conference at Seton Hall University on December 4, 2004. Hosted by the Charles and Joan Alberto Italian Studies Institute of Seton Hall University, this will be a day-long conference on discrimination and defamation in the history of Italian Americans. Organized jointly by the Anti-Bias Committee of UNICO, this conference will be the first major academic conference, organized on a national scale, to be devoted specifically to the theme of discrimination against Italian Americans. There will be panel discussions involving prominent historians, politicians, entertainers, media critics, and representatives of the major Italian American organizations that respond to discrimination and defamation. The program will also include the showing of a historical documentary and book exhibits. The conference will be free and open to the public. For additional information and sponsorship opportunities, please contact Dr. William J. Connell at (973) 275-2928 or connelwi@shu.edu
- NIAF will again this year be a sponsor of the annual American Italian Historical Association (AIHA) conference. The topic of this year's conference is Italian Americans Before the Mass Migration: We've Always Been Here. The 37th installment of this conference, it will be held at the Governor Calvert House in Annapolis, Maryland on November 4-6. Information is available from Professor Frank Alduino at fwalduino@aacc.edu.
- NIAF's 28th annual convention weekend will feature the second installment of the Milestones of the Italian American Experience conference. Building upon the Milestones timeline that was launched on the NIAF website in 2003 (see www.niaf.org/milestones), this conference highlights important moments in Italian American history. This year's special guest is Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia who will be discussing his appointment in 1986 as the first Italian American on the nation's highest court, which certainly qualifies as a milestone of the Italian American Experience. Free and open to the public, it will be held on Saturday, October 16 from 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. in the Jefferson Room of the Hilton Washington & Towers, Washington, DC. For more information contact jmarino@niaf.org.
We welcome your thoughts. Please send comments to:
John Marino
Manager, Research and Cultural Affairs
National Italian American Foundation
1860 19th Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20009
Direct: (202) 939 - 3115
email: jmarino@niaf.org
Help NIAF by enrolling to receive this free report via email. This reduces costs and increases efficiency at NIAF. To begin receiving the e-version of Focus: Image and Identity, please send an email to jmarino@niaf.org with your name and email address. Thank you!
|
|
|
