So was the inevitable reply of Felix Unger from Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple when responding to yet another mess created by his roommate, Oscar Madison. And so is this my reply to the annual Academy Awards ceremony, which managed to be doubly insulting to well-informed Italian Americans.
Believe it or not, Will Smith’s now-infamous ‘slap-heard-round-the-world’ has an Italian connection, of sorts. In the 1998 film, Enemy of the State, Smith plays an affable, educated lawyer who refers to corrupt labor union officials as “Guido motherf–kers.” He later comically corrects himself: “The proper term is Italian Americans!” I recall seeing this film in a theater at the time. The audience giggled derisively at both lines.
Bottom line: Italian Americans are a joke.
But the ultimate joke – and insult – was the standing ovation given to Francis Ford Coppola (82), Al Pacino (81) and Robert DeNiro (78) when they came on-stage after a montage tribute to The Godfather. Just as the mainstream media can’t get enough of regular, old-school mobsters, dragging these by-now senior citizens out for perp walks in their Depends, so Hollywood can’t help itself by applauding people they now safely consider “artists.”
But do you know who Hollywood also considered “great artists” back-in-the-day? In 1915, it was D.W. Griffith for his civil war masterpiece Birth of a Nation. In 1934, it was Leni Riefenstahl for her documentary, Triumph of the Will. Today, those two undeniably fine works now come with caveats – Birth for treating the Ku Klux Klan as conquering heroes (while also caricaturing African Americans in the process), and Triumph for glorifying Nazis.
And yet, doesn’t The Godfather lionize Don Vito Corleone and the mafia, too? Sure does. The trick is that Mario Puzo and Coppola “humanized” such real-life thugs by making them a loving “eye-talian” family.
Thus, the Big Lie of The Godfather: Italians + crime = Italian culture. And it doesn’t come with any caveats. It is accepted as not just the truth, but The Truth. If you doubt this, ask any Godfather lover – whether Italian or non-Italian – if he or she can name five famous Italian American historical figures. More often than not, they can’t. Even Joe DiMaggio is a stretch. They do, however, know the entire family tree of the fictional Corleones, as well as endless symbolism or trivia from the movie. Examples: Oranges in a scene foreshadow death, and yes, that was a real horse’s-head in that bedroom scene. Eww!
Lovers of the film also fail to note that the stereotypes of The Godfather are now institutionalized, everything from Italians-as-gangsters to Italian women as mob-wives. In sum, thanks to that film, Italian American actors, writers and filmmakers who want to divert from the mafia stereotype are either frustrated, mocked, or just plain ignored. That standing ovation at the Oscar show is a double-edged sword, not so much a salute but a way of further entrenching – and anointing – the stereotypes; basically, Hollywood was saying, ‘This is it, you Italians, this is your culture. Stay in your lane and we will treat you like artists!’ Indeed, actor Stanley Tucci, when trying to fund his 1996 film Big Night, was told by studio execs to “put a mob guy” in the film.
THAT is the legacy of The Godfather! Imagine telling Steven Spielberg to “put a shyster” in every film he makes. Ditto Spike Lee and crack dealers.
Finally, Italian Americans who love The Godfather are also usually people who prattle constantly about “giving back” to the community. They join local Italian American social groups, volunteer at St. Joseph’s Day tables, and donate monies to causes, all in the name of “promoting Italian culture.”
Question: Has Coppola, Pacino, or De Niro ever “given back,” in any serious way, to the very culture which nurtured their talents? With the sole, piddling exception of Pacino, who played the heroic real-life cop Frank Serpico in a 1973 film, I don’t see any examples.
Coppola invested his millions in other (non-Italian-themed) movies, as well as a proposed film studio that went bust. His only forays into italianità were a winery in Napa Valley and a hotel in southern Italy, both of which only benefitted him.
As for DeNiro: The year after he was honored by an Italian American cultural group, he made the animated film Shark Tale, where he played a mafia shark. When questioned by an Italian reporter as to why he perpetuated a mob stereotype to children, he called activists “a bunch of stronzi” (assholes).
Though one certainly shouldn’t take a cue from Will Smith and do likewise, doesn’t Hollywood also deserve a smack upside the head?
And regarding the Unholy Trio who took their Godfather bows: They may be artists, but aren’t they also “Guido Motherf–kers”?
According to Hollywood – speaking through Will Smith in 1998 – that’s how all Italian surnamed people in America are viewed. The industry’s applause for The Godfather is as haunting as Nino Rota’s theme song from the film itself. Doubters need to “take note!” -BDC
Bill, you are correct in so many ways, but tell me and us all what more to do. Many of us might not have even seen the entire trilogy, or care to. Just last week at a LI University there was a program re The Godfather, and Newsday did the same day after day focus stories on it and its success. In other words it is a systemic and constant PR-ing of the “greatness” of the movie, but as I said to folks last week one might admit to artistic talent but the MESSAGE IS BAD! And I also recall when a good number of us went and watched that disgusting Shark Tale piece, and wrote to DeNiro and then even suggested that the Republic of Italy NOT give him a coveted recognition. we tried! But it just does not end with what good Italian Americans must put up with…we are and have been one of the only ethnic groups in America so marked for continued harm to our great achievements, oftentimes “clouded” over by what “they” think of us! Keep up the good work!
I’ve always been criticized for not appreciating any movies past the Reagan Administration, but I tune every year to this psycho-fest Oscars as the social anthropologist that I am, as it seems to reflect a particular zeitgeist of America. Speaking of zeitgeist failure, I despised the remake of West Side Story. I have never been a fan of Spielberg or his movies, but I watched in bits and pieces of West Side on the cable last week. In between the bits I had bicarbonate of soda. His use of cars from that era did not compensate for the total lack of authenticity this pre-JFK assassination masterwork originally conveyed. Even the high drive of the music was missing in the upbeat numbers. The E.T. alien would have made a more authentic Jet leader rather than this typically overly-tall, lanky Millennial raised on video games. The 1961 opening shots oozed the heat, humidity and atmosphere I so remember as a child, filmed on the future Lincoln Center. The outdoor shots in this “copy” had none of the grit of that time and of course the filming pace was unmistakably 21st Century and jarring. We can always count on the Oscars for Italian bashing in these PC times, and in a sea of waxed sensitivity to every sexual and “minority” ? (are they?) group we continued from the Greenbook defamation with the revolting equation of Mafia=Italian culture on the 50th Anniversary of The Godfather. It was truly repulsive for me to watch this disingenuous, laudatory acclamation. After Will Smith had a physical and vulgar confrontation with Chris Rock, deleted by the 7 second delay in video and audio, Will later accepted his reward in the most protracted, watery, messianic style that was unsettling and for me, angering to watch. The Cleavage Carpet ceremony ranged from tawdry to ridiculous. They looked either nude or like sloppily placed curtains. The only semblance of class was last years Korean winner Youn-yuh Jung. Dragging Lisa Minelli out in a wheelchair and not in her usual high energy was unnerving. Hans Zimmer, who I also don’t appreciate, has become the Meryl Streep of music awards. It seems there is no room for another musical scorer. He won and was conveniently absent. Wanda Sykes could have just carried out the role of hostess by herself with her raw, earthy humor. Playing off the other 2 was just sophomoric. Until next year’s rant, thanks for reading.
As I have noted previously, Robert DeNiro is not even Italian-American! He is only of 25% Italian heritage, so what does he care? He has made a fortune depicting Italian-Americans as “I hear things” low lives. BTW, for some glaring examples of anti-Italian-American bias, I can refer you to the end of Act One of Herb Gardner’s hit Broadway play Conversations With My Father from the early 1990’s and to the entire Brooklyn Three crime trilogy of Brooklyn College English professor and Park Slope resident (now deceased) Thomas Boyle. Of course, the late film critic Gene Siskel’s favorite film was Saturday Night Fever, about which the less said the better.
What people failed to understand is that the Godfather has actually caused significant harm to Italians around the world (not just jokes!). Please read this article on what happened to an Italian family in Australia.
https://www.smh.com.au/culture/movies/it-was-terrifying-50-years-after-the-godfather-an-italian-stereotype-still-burns-20220221-p59ybd.html
It never ends, in part because of the ignorance of Italian American directors, actors and members of the Italian American community. In spite of the evidence of the harm these movies have done, they don’t believe it. They say lighten up! No not me, I know these movies portray a small minority of our community. While many groups can’t be touched, we are not one of them and that is a horrible shame!
Frankly, this year was not that bad. The Oscar’s Best Picture (Coda) is about an Italian family (Rossi).I have not watched the movie but it appears that there is no reference to crime.
Even the official Apple release says “Set in Gloucester, Massachusetts, the film introduces the world to the hard-working Italian fishing family of four, three of whom are deaf.”
However, no ethic Italian actors in the cast.
I hope the movie is safe for Italian families.
I happened to recently watch CODA. Basically, it is Rocky for deaf people.
In short, a “feel-good” movie but with a subtle yet huge difference: Rocky wasn’t designed to improve the depth or scope of the Italian American film image.
CODA‘s clear goals were two-fold: to cast actual deaf actors in the roles, and to hem a conventional storyline showing how they triumph despite their disabilities.
That’s it. (BTW: The only fresh element in the film is British teenager Emilia Jones,
a speaking actress who signs. She holds the film together admirably.)
And I foolishly hoped that the family being named “Rossi” might have had some significance, too. Just think of the long, storied tradition of Italian American fishing families, stretching from the Northeast to the West Coast. Keep thinking!
Turns out there is absolutely zero reference to the family’s Italian background. Not even so much as a passing line, e.g., “My grandfather was a fisherman from Sicily.”
Bottom line: If a film is positive, no ethnicity; if negative, they become “eye-talian.”
If you think about it, it is peculiar they did not mention the Italian fishing industry and traditions at all. Many Italian fishermen immigrated to the U.S. bringing their trade and entrepreneurship. At the Hoboken Italian Festival in New jersey, they still reenact the “Blessing of the Fleet” in the Hudson River. Hoboken was in fact a popular destination among fishermen from Puglia.
When it comes to crime, they always have a segment (in movies and TV shows) that goes back to the “old country”.
As far as Serpico, it is worth it to remember that it was produced by Italian producer Dino De Laurentis.
I doubt Hollywood-based studios would have produced it.