Italian American Stereotypes In Movies

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Media stereotypes are almost sometimes inevitable in the advertising, entertainment and news industries, because it helps the viewers to understand easier. Stereotypes are false accusations for a common understanding of a person or group of people usually relating, ethnicity or race, or gender. More often, the groups being stereotyped have little to say about how they are represented. Stereotypes can cause conflict and may make you judge people before you know them. Most stereotypes relating to Italians are negative. Examples of what Americans may say is Italians are “ overly interested in food”, “hot tempered and violent”, “talk with their hands”, they are ”associated with the mob” and "loud and obnoxious". Just because the Italian American …show more content…
He is enraged that his father is hospitalized and that the Corleone family is starting to be run out of New York by the rival gangs. Being the "hot tempered and violent" Italian-American that he is he has Tessio, the betrayer, and all of the other rival mob bosses assassinated. Michael, originally, was only associated with the mob because his family was running it. He tried to escape the mob, but he could not escape his destiny, which enhances the stereotype that Italian-Americans are associated with the mob. In Luciano Iorizzo's, "Italian American's and Organized Crime", he states, "Banditry and crime are not foreign concepts to Americans. Some immigrants certainly get rich illegally, but there is a problem when immigrants are marked as the origin of illegality, when criminal behavior is thought to be inherent to certain groups of people". Iorizzo is right in saying that some Italian immigrants became rich illegally, but crimes did not start happening when Italians came to America, crime was an issue beforehand. Italian-Americans were the criminals in the media, while the gangster genre was being developed and that is why they are portrayed as …show more content…
He becomes indebted to a loan shark, than threatens him. This eventually leads to Johnny Boy's death and Charlie and Teresa in a car crash. Throughout the move Johnny Boy becomes increasingly self-destructive and disrespectful of his creditors. He becomes like this in the movie because he is fulfilling the Italian-American "hot tempered and violent" stereotype. In Ben Lawton's, "The Mafia an the Movies, he talks about Casetti's theory, which is the image of Italian Americans in mainstream media is much like a river which eventually empties into the sea of public opinion. The mainstream has many tributaries, not all of the are negative, but the majority of negative due to bad timing and bad marketing. Positive characteristics such as hard work, honesty, family values, honer and pride, are overshadowed by the organized crime stereotype due to bad timing, bad
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