Sicilian Culture: The News & Views: Bustin' Some Knee Caps: The Diamondback, University of Maryland

Sicilian Culture

The People, The History, The Culture

The News & Views
Bustin' Some Knee Caps
The Diamondback, University of Maryland
By Dorothy Ramienski
March 13, 2001 - - COLLEGE PARK, MD. -- A few days ago I was reading The Washington Post and came upon an article about The Sopranos, which is apparently one of the highest rated shows on cable television. The article went on and on about the fact that the show was so great and provocative. I have seen The Sopranos and I must admit, as someone who is 50 percent Italian - American , I am not impressed.
The Sopranos is full of cursing and gratuitous violence and a lot of meaningless sex. If you watch the show, you will more than likely see a lot of guns and breasts -- not unlike many of the other "provocative" programs on HBO. The problem with The Sopranos is that it feeds into a negative Italian - American sentiment.
I know, I know -- whenever I bring up this topic with my friends they tell me that I am whining and that my argument has no real foundation. Well, I merely want to point out that there is something wrong with the assumption that all Italians are in the Mafia . The Italian side of my family came from Sicily, yet my mom has never owned a fur coat and my grandfather never had to "whack" anybody. I have never been in a high-speed car chase with the police and my dad doesn't smuggle guns and cocaine into our house. My point is that shows like The Sopranos and movies like Goodfellas and The Godfather merely perpetuate the anti-Italian stereotype that all Italians are involved with crime in some way.
I remember back to when I was in the ninth grade and I mentioned in class that I was partially Italian. Almost half of my classmates were like, "Cool! Is your mom, like, a Mob queen? Can I come over to your place and see your drugs? Why don't you drive a souped-up Beamer?" Well, we aren't in the Mob. My family came to this country 100 years ago because they were starving, not because they had to get away from Vinnie the Villain.
I can't stand ignorance and I hate it when my culture is associated with such nonsense. Yes, it is true that some Italians have been involved with organized crime, but there are also other ethnic gangs. Claiming that all Italians are part of some massive global domination crime ring is just as stupid as saying that all Russians are communist spies or that everyone who comes from Colombia is involved with drugs. These are ridiculous assumptions that the media perpetuate in order to make money. And there are a lot of people out there who believe this and therefore believe that I am in the Mafia .
I have no problem with making a movie about something that actually happened. I can come to grips with the fact that there was (and still is) a Mafia and that yes, it did start in Sicily. However, I can't understand why every Italian in Hollywood is portrayed as a gangster. Do we remember Da Vinci and Michelangelo? No, we remember Al Capone and John Gotti. Does anyone in this country know that October is supposedly Italian - American History Month? No, but everyone knows that Sicily is where the Mob began and all Italians from New York are gun-wielding gangsters.
There are a lot of positive aspects of Italian society that this country seems to forget. For one thing, Italians were the premier artists in Europe. Their renaissance began way before that of other European countries. They took ideas from the Middle East and spread them throughout Europe. Where do you think Europe acquired artistic perspective? And the use of the fork?
I am not claiming that Italians are perfect. They have had their historical problems just like everyone else. However, I believe it is ridiculous that a culture that has given so much to the world has to put up with such a stupid reputation.
Perhaps the media aren't completely to blame. I know that in my history classes in high school we talked about Italy for a week when we began the Renaissance. After that, Italy seemed to disappear, along with Africa and the Middle East. Maybe we should reexamine the ways in which we educate our children. Then possibly such stupid assumptions wouldn't have as much of a feeding ground where movies and television shows are concerned. Or maybe I am just asking for too much political correctness.
The point is, I am Sicilian and I am not in the Mob. My family has never had to defend our honor or shoot anyone. Shows like The Sopranos merely demonstrate that it is still OK in American society to discriminate against Italians and that affects me greatly. I am deeply insulted when people ask me if I partake in the Mafia . It is not okay to assume anything about a person merely because they have an Italian name.

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