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C-SPAN To Air NIAF Sopranos/Stereotype Panel
SAT - JUNE 2- CSPAN to air NIAF Sopranos/Stereotype Panal
C-Span will air the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) Panel
"The Sopranos and Other Stereotypes: How Harmful are They?"
Featuring Dr. Joseph V. Scelsa, et.al.
On June 2nd at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m on the East Coast and at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m on the West Coast
(Check your TV Listings)C-Span will televise the panel discussion sponsored by NIAF that occurred in New York May 15.
The panelists were: Camille Paglia, James Wolcott (Vanity Fair), Bill Tonelli (Rolling Stone), Dr. Joe Scelsa, Dr. Elizabeth Messina (a psychologist) and Ted Grippo of AIDA.
Some of you may want to record the session, to replay and discuss at the next meeting of your organization, in addition to advising all your members so they might also view it in person.
Critique
NIAF is to be commended for not only sponsoring the Panel, but particularly for having it televised. (since wisdom dispensed in a vacuum, is a treasure unable to be appreciated)The panelists were: Camille Paglia, James Wolcott (Vanity Fair), Bill Tonelli (Rolling Stone), Dr. Joe Scelsa, Dr. Elizabeth Messina (a psychologist) and Ted Grippo of AIDA.
In my humble opinion, Scelsa, Messina, and Paglia were Brilliant! Grippo in his assigned roll of explaining the AIDA suit was Excellent. I missed Walcott, and Tonelli was....an embarrassment to himself and the program. I defy anyone to recite any statement that Tonelli made, that made any sense, except that he did say numerous times, to his credit, that he may be wrong in his opinion.
Dr. Scelsa very effectively cited the disasterous effect and examples of I-A Negative Sterotyping in the educational system, (both student and faculty), in the political arena, and in the business and employment fields, as a result of other peoples negative image of Italian Americans created by the Media.
Dr. Messina, as a Psychologist was very convincing in her explanation and illustrations of the ravaging effect that I-A Negative Stereotyping had on young Italian American's self esteem, and the all too frequent pronounced self destructive effect it had many I-A youth, and the otherwise more subtle life-long corrosive effect it had the remaining.
Camille Paglia was as usual, most forthright in unequivocally condemning the Media, for not only it's indifference to the racial/ethnic assault on Italian Americans, but the Media's apparent intentional complicity in that assault.
Paglia further castigated the Media for it's Hypocrisy in being justifiably empathic to other racial/ethnic profiling, and blind to the Media's pervasive despoiling of the Italian American community and it's culture.
During the following Question Period, a number of members of the audience participated, some did us proud. However, One man droned on inconclusively and embarrassingly.
Another, an attorney, inappropriately raised the "red herrings" of free speech and government censorship. This attorney incredulously was apparently unaware that defamation is not a protected form of free speech, and showed little concern for the revilement the I-A community was being subjected to, rivaled by none.
This "officer of justice" was also oblivious to the fact that the Italian American Community was not looking for censorship, but "self restraint" by the Media. The SAME restraint the Media shows toward other groups.
Unfortunately, the Panel was suprised by this question, and was able to give only a partially satisfactory answer.
The third audience member was a respected writer who naively felt that the community was spending too much time on fighting defamation, and should spend more time getting his books published and made into movies, not recognizing that the community, like some actors has been virtually "typecast", and that the ONLY Italian stories in the minds of the Film and TV chieftains... are Mafia stories.
Again, on the Whole, it was a Great Leap Forward.
Not only several outstanding Panelists, but a pouring forth of an abbondanza of "pearls of wisdom".
Also encouraging was the comment of an audience member who echoed my sentiments so strongly that I could hardly keep my seat. I paraphrase what he said: It gave him hope to see the Major Italian American Organizations "working together", recognizing the strength in Unity, and that it took the 'Sopranos' to do it!
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