I have noticed many stereotypes or generalizations about Italian Americans in the media, which is the culture I grew up in because of my Italian mother and her close-knit family.
The most prevalent sweeping generalization I observe in the media is that most, if not all, Italian American families have connections to the mob or organized crime.
Other stereotypes about Italians include speaking with their hands and being loud or passionate. While these portrayals can reflect certain truths, they do not reinforce the association of Italians with dangerous criminals in popular media.
Many of these representations are largely inaccurate. However, TV shows like The Sopranos, which focus on crime families, offer one of the most authentic depictions of Italian American culture, including its slang, dialect, family dynamics, and values.
Associating Italian American families with organized crime glosses over the experience and perspective of most Italian-Americans, as less than 0.0025% are involved in organized crime. So, yes, someone’s perspective or story, as well as information and context, is missing.
I believe that these generalized portrayals also include implied biases of Italian Americans, as Italian migrants became victims of prejudice and discrimination. Migrants from the Mediterranean were labeled carpetbaggers and dagos, viewed as inferior beings here only to take advantage of America’s opportunities.
While The Sopranos is much more complex than just a show about the Italian mafia, its depiction of mafia activity is one of the few inaccuracies regarding Italian American life.
The Sopranos shares stories of Italian migrants facing discrimination and, with hard work and determination, becoming successful and able to provide for their families.
In this clip, Tony Soprano brings his daughter to the church where her great-grandfather worked with his brother alongside a team of other stone and marble workers after migrating from Italy.
He voices his admiration for the work done by his grandfather, showing his pride in being the grandson of an Italian migrant. This is an accurate and positive portrayal of Italian Americans, unlike other moments in the show.
Tony Soprano eventually becomes the boss of his crime family, exhibiting traits of narcissism and even sociopathy as he does anything necessary to earn more money for himself and his family.
In this clip, his daughter asks if he is in the mafia due to his strange behavior during her college visit trip. What she doesn’t know is that while she was taking tours on campus, her father was tying up loose ends of unfinished mafia business.
While this is a lot less relatable to Italian Americans, the personalities and attitudes depicted in characters often resemble someone familiar. A phrase or word our grandfather used a lot, or the personality of our grandmothers being reflected through the elderly Italian women on the show.
Inaccurate portrayals only push the idea that Italians are disruptive, violent, aggressive, and money-hungry, which are the same sentiments that negatively affected my ancestors and extended family.
However, the portrayal of Italians as mafia-related criminals no longer holds the ramifications it once did. Mob movies are now classics of American cinema, which reflects that while the stereotype is still around, it is no longer as harmful as it once was.
This causes me to believe that these depictions are more positive than negative, as it is a way to reclaim a negative stereotype or idea forced upon a group of people. While not every storyline is accurate or relatable to Italian Americans, other aspects of the show and its characters are.
Representation is something many take for granted. To find a show that reminds me of Sunday dinners at my grandmother’s house, including common phrases used to reprimand and quiet the kids, I feel grateful for the experience and opportunity to relive those moments again.
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