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Download Free PDF"The Guinea as Gangster Hero: The Complex Representation of Italian Americans in THE SOPRANOS" Frank P Tomasulo, Ph.D.

2011, The Essential “Sopranos” Reader, edited by David Lavery, Doug Howard, and Paul Levinson (Lexington: University of Kentucky Press, 2011), 196-207.

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Abstract

AI

This paper analyzes the representation of Italian Americans in the television series The Sopranos, arguing that the series perpetuates fixed ethnic stereotypes rather than presenting a nuanced view of Italian identity. Through an examination of character traits attributed to Italian American characters, the work highlights issues of ingrained prejudice, violence, and dimwittedness, ultimately depicting these individuals as embodying a reified national character. The conclusion posits that The Sopranos serves as a complex reflection of American cultural anxieties and desires regarding morality and identity.

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Key takeaways

AI

1. The Sopranos critiques postmodern capitalism and reflects societal dysfunction across ethnicities.
2. It portrays Italian Americans through a lens of ingrained racism, sexism, and violence.
3. The series employs stereotypes, depicting Italian men as inherently bigoted and violent.
4. Despite some positive characters, the overarching narrative reaffirms negative ethnic tropes.
5. Tony Soprano symbolizes a tragic antihero, embodying the complexities of American identity.

Related papers

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This article examines the portrayal of Italian Americans in American media. The Order Sons of Italy in America (OSIA), the largest and longest-established national organization for men and women of Italian heritage in the USA, denounces the entertainment industry for damaging the collective reputation of Italian Americans. Particularly, the OSIA charges Coppola's trilogy The Godfather with being "the principal agent responsible" for promulgating a discriminatory ethnic stereotype that all Italians are criminals, while accusing the series The Sopranos of having reinforced this notion. Yet, the authors of these works of fiction, both Italian Americans, maintain that exploring their own ethnic identities led them to utilize the Mafia as a metaphor for American society. We will see that, not only it is unjust to accuse a movie trilogy to be the "the principal agent responsible" for such stereotype, but I would submit that The Godfather has helped to mitigate the negative image of the Mafioso existing in American cinema long before Coppola's films, turning it into a liminal figure conveying a positive impression formerly missing. An examination of early American gangster movie stereotyping and scholarship on Italian American studies will substantiate the claim that neither The Godfather nor The Sopranos have truly damaged the image of Italians in America. Paradoxically, the Italian-as-a-gangster stereotype has helped Italian Americans to break out of the margins. As Gardaphé put it, The Sopranos was for the new millennium what Dallas was for the 1980s, showing that Italian Americans have finally achieved integration in America.

downloadDownload free PDFView PDFchevron_rightSaving the World Today: Tony Soprano and the Parody of American HeroismCharles J Stivale

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This essay, originally a conference presentation at the Univ. of Melbourne 2005 conference "Holy Men In Tights!" on superheroes, studies Tony Soprano's struggle between the two families in his gangster existence. The online publication, Refractory, is no longer available.

downloadDownload free PDFView PDFchevron_rightMade Men and Constructed Masculinities: Viewing the Father-Son Relationship in The SopranosKatarina Gregersdotter

inter-disciplinary.net

In this paper we aim to discuss the father-son relationship in the TV-series Sopranos, from a gender -and class perspective. Aspects of masculinity and class as seen represented in the characters of Anthony Soprano and Anthony "A.J." Soprano will be discussed. The father -Anthony/Tony -and his son A.J. -can be seen as critical investigations of the emotional and often violent limitations of two separate masculinities. The father, born into the Italian-American working class, grows up to become a made man (a Mafioso) like his own father. His money makes his own family settle in the upper middle class. His own son thus grows up in a different class -with different views on and ideas about what a man should be. The show depicts constant clashes and negotiations between the two men in their mutual efforts to understand and get closer to the other. The negotiations involve what Sara Ahmed would call a push and pull relationship: they push against each other and pull away for various, contradictory reasons that involve for example, issues that involve the concept of masculinity and various forms of capital. This paper looks closer at some of the instances where the series depicts contemporary masculine ideals that simply are not working out. We argue that the series show the difficulties with adapting to a strict gender regime and that it will lead to depression, violence, self-loathing, and anxiety.

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Volumes have been dedicated to the originality of The Sopranos, and although the creative freedom afforded by HBO has been most clearly evidenced by the show's linguistic and visual transgression (foul language, brutality, and sex have often been noted as its defining traits) 1 it is at a different level that The Sopranos has claimed its genuine uniqueness: at the level of generic structure. As its creator David Chase has often reiterated, the show has always tried 'to run away from what was done […] to run away from what people are doing.' 2 Unpredictability lies at the very core of a show that has fostered unparalleled viewers' expectations, mostly because it spun its narrative at an unsteady pace, marked by increasingly shorter seasons often separated by long hiatuses.

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Through the use of dream sequences and non-linear temporalities, The Sopranos illustrates the primary tension between Italian cultural roots and assimilation into American culture that ultimately defines a contemporary diasporic consciousness of Italian Americans today. To be Italian-American is to be caught between strong links to the homeland and morality, tempered a persistent lack of economic opportunity in the United States post-immigration. This lack of opportunity frames the diasporic struggle. How does a white body become “American” when immigrants must start at a disadvantage, through Tony, we see this as not being “white enough.” He longs a return to Italy for a simplicity that never was, perhaps he knows that deep down, yet in the end he remains ambivalent. Has he assimilated? Can anyone ever assimilate?

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FAQs

AI

What complex identity representations are evident in The Sopranos?add

The show reflects a multifaceted vision of ethnicity, portraying Italian Americans with both positive and negative traits. Despite progress in ethnic representation, it reifies stereotypes of criminality and prejudice within Italian identity.

How does The Sopranos address issues of racism and sexism?add

The series showcases prevalent racism through derogatory language, particularly towards African Americans, and displays misogynistic attitudes towards women. Tony Soprano embodies these traits, reflecting broader socio-cultural biases inherent in Italian American identity.

What does the portrayal of violence in The Sopranos reveal about Italian Americans?add

The series depicts violence as a common method of conflict resolution among Italian characters, suggesting it stems from their ethnic identity. Episodes illustrate brutal confrontations, reinforcing the stereotype of impulsive aggression linked to Italian heritage.

How does The Sopranos handle the theme of sexuality?add

The characterization of Vito Spatafore illustrates the tension between Italian American masculinity and homosexual identity, highlighting internalized homophobia. Although Vito's relationships prompt initial sympathy, his violent actions underscore the show's critique of intolerance.

What insights does The Sopranos provide about socio-economic conditions in America?add

The show critiques postmodern capitalist anxieties through characters like Tony Soprano, who struggles with work-life balance and marital issues. It reflects the pervasive dysfunction of modern relationships while embedding these themes within Italian American context.

Frank P Tomasulo, Ph.D.Independent Scholar, AdjunctaddFollowmailMessage

Frank P. Tomasulo has taught on-line graduate seminars in cinema history and genre for National University and UCLA Extension. In recent years, he's taught in-person film and television studies courses at Hofstra University, Pace University, Sarah Lawrence College, and City College of New York. Before that, he was a full-time tenured faculty member at Ithaca College; U. of California, Santa Cruz; Georgia State University; Southern Methodist University; and Florida State University. Tomasulo was Chair of three academic departments at Georgia State U., Southern Methodist U., and Florida State U. He is probably best known as Editor-in-Chief of both CINEMA JOURNAL and JOURNAL OF FILM AND VIDEO.

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