Anyone following current politics has probably heard the phrase “Great Replacement Theory.” Put forth by French author Renaud Camus in 2010, the theory posits that Europeans–both in Europe and here in America–are being not-so-subtly replaced by non-white groups such as immigrants and Muslims. The perpetrators of this alleged plot are an amorphous group of wealthy and self-loathing “global elites” following a secret blueprint. To what end, even its critics do not know, hence the theory’s popularity amongst conspiracy-prone individuals and political parties here and abroad.
(Note: The logic behind much of this theory is familiar to those of us fighting the mafia smear: the media takes a small reality —”mafia” criminals — and then mythologizes them out of all proportion.)
The Great Replacement Theory is usually seen in negative terms — xenophobic, illogical, etc. But what if it was used in reverse for positive purposes, particularly in Hollywood? Hear me out.
Tinsel Town, as our Institute documented in our 2015 Film Research Study (www.italic.org), has caricatured Italian Americans mercilessly for over a century; basically, since the film medium began. From 1905’s The Italian to 2024’s Alto Knights (in which Robert De Niro plays two different gangsters, Frank Costello and Vito Genovese), the industry has portrayed Italian men as ruthless, violent killers and Italian women as either their mothers or enablers. For variety’s sake, Hollywood occasionally tosses Italian buffoons to audiences (e.g. Joe Pesce and Marisa Tomei in My Cousin Vinny). But dignity, complexity, and diversity? Even in 2023, these do not apply to us.
Many activists foolishly thought that Hollywood’s recent commitment to ending ethnic, racial, religious, and sexual stereotypes of the past would also include Italian Americans. Yet we still remain at the bottom of the media image barrel. Southern rednecks (Hillbilly Elegy) and gypsies (Latcho Drom) are treated with more respect. So if we can’t rely on Hollywood, then what?
play non-Italian characters in the new film, The Holdovers
Which gets me back to the Great Replacement Theory. What if this mindset were reversed — that is, what if Italian American actors with some Hollywood clout could do a “make-over” of their roles?
I thought about this while watching the new movie The Holdovers by director Alexander Payne. It’s about a curmudgeonly professor at a wealthy, private, all-boys’ New England high school who gets stuck babysitting five of them on campus during Christmas Break. The professor is played by Paul Giamatti. His antagonist, an angry school rebel, is played by newcomer Dominick Sessa.
Note that both actors are Italian American. Yet note that they both play Anglo (WASP) roles. What if Giamatti had insisted that his character’s name be Italianized? Ditto the young actor’s? Would it have been considered too weird to “replace” Anglo surnamed characters in such an elite setting?
Well, consider Giamatti’s lineage: His father was A. Bart Giamatti (1938-1989), the English professor who became Yale president and, later, the Commissioner of Major League Baseball.
As for the rebellious student: What about Mario Savio, who led the Free Speech Movement on Berkeley campus in the 1960s? Amazingly, Savio grew up a stutterer and became one of the most eloquent social protest voices of his generation.
To answer my own question: No, it wouldn’t be weird — but only to Hollywood, which deals with caricatures, not reality. The idea of Italians in academia seems positively Martian to them.
Interestingly, this “positive replacement theory” has been done in the past.
In 2002, when actor Joe Mantegna was hired to play a Supreme Court judge on the TV series First Monday, he asked the writer to change his character’s name to an Italian one (Novelli). Mantegna did so to reflect the reality of Antonin Scalia’s appointment to the court by President Reagan in 1986. This reality became doubly underscored in 2005 with the appointment of yet another Italian American judge to the Supreme Court (Samuel Alito).
In 2012, the characters in the film version of Silver Linings Playbook had their surnames changed from Peoples to Solitano at the behest of director David O. Russell and actor Bradley Cooper, both Italian on their mother’s side. It even forced De Niro to play a rare, positive Italian American male.
Alas, these wee victories are way too far and few between. But, they’re a start. Until Italian American business leaders, Italian Americans in the arts, and Italian Americans themselves, suddenly wake up and smell the cappuccino of genuine Italic pride, this is the best we can do.
And if people still have issues with the term “Replacement Theory,” let’s call it the “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive” Theory, after the famous 1944 song by Johnny Mercer and Harold Arlen.
Let’s start singing, all together now: “You’ve got to/ac-cent-tchu-ate the positive/eliminate the negative/and latch on to the affirmative/don’t mess with Mister In-Between…” -BDC
I don’t know about replacement theory as such. Still, from academia….now not so fashionable, I recall John Ciardi….he used to have a program on educational radio, called, “All About Words” He had many accomplishments, along with several books, poetry, and a translation of Dante’s Commedia. I recall catching some of his radio programming, just to hear his scholarly discussion, commanding voice, and diction. Then during one program, he read in Italian…it was a memorable experience…the cadence and intonations were an art form, true to his poetic bent, …and brought the language to life. To this day I recall his radio programming. This was all before political correctness et al, he just did his thing, and “walked the talk”…and provided me with what I consider, “a standard” in the use of both English and Italian. While I may never have a delivery such as Ciardi he remains for me the gold standard in terms of communication skills, as well as an academic role model–who happened to be an Italian American from around Boston-way…..
John Ciardi was, and remains, an excellent role model whom too few people know.
Similarly, people associate Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsburg with the Beat literary movement of the 1950s but forgot the three Italian Americans who also greatly contributed to it: Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Gregory Corso and Diane Di Prima.
Then there was author and translator Frances Winwar, whose birth name was Francesca Vinciguerra. And don’t forget the late author Helen Barolini. And so on.
The idea of Italian Americans in rarefied settings isn’t as rare as people think.
On the other hand, positive “Italian” characters are always played by non ethnic Italians.
Think about movies about Ancient Rome. Roman emperors and gladiators are always played by all-American actors (because they are all strong and virtuous). I am pretty sure most people around the world do not associate Ancient Romans to Italians.
Recently, an Italian actor has complained that, in the recent movie Ferrari, Enzo Ferrari has been played by Adam Driver and not by an Italian actor. The Italian producer defended his choice by saying that he needed the best possible actor. If the producer had been American, he would have most likely casted an Italian American and make Enzo look like a gangster or an obnoxious Italian man.
True about the Romans on film; I’ve actually met people who really do think that the Romans spoke with beautiful English accents. Not kidding.
Same regarding Italians on film. That Italian producer isn’t being honest; he really chose Driver because he knows an “American” actor will help the film financially.
And yes, an American producer would have made sure that the movie Enzo had sulfurs of smoke emanating behind him when he walked.
A new movie, “Cabrini”, will be released in March 2024. It tells the story of Saint Mother Cabrini and her life devoted to Italian immigrants in the U.S. at the turn of the 20th century. Its director also directed the very well received recent movie “Sound of Freedom”. This movie should definitely break the mold of what we typically get from the entertainment media.