Media Watch

The Italic Institute of America has excelled in low-cost mass media communications. Our small but effective staff of media watchers monitors an impressive array of periodicals, textbooks, movies, and television programs. Utilizing letter writing, press releases, telephone calls and even protest demonstrations our staff reacts quickly to call the public's attention to factoids and outright propaganda. Our success rate in getting published in major newspapers is growing.

The articles below are but a small sampling of the fight we are waging on behalf of the Italic people every day.

Of special note is our years-long study of Hollywood's treatment of the Italian mobster, "Image Research Project: Italian Culture on Film" (1928 - 2001), which surveyed Italian-related films and found that 69% portrayed Italians in a negative light.

Another project of the Institute centered on protesting Steven Spielberg's "Shark Tale" cartoon aimed at children. This pernicious stereotyped portrayal of Italian characters as mob figures was particularly appalling when contrasted with Spielberg's statements elsewhere about wanting to promote tolerance. See our summary of "Shark Tale" activities.

Please be sure to visit our sister web site, Stereotype This!, for informative articles and background information debunking myths about Italians and Italian Americans.