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The Legacy of the Mafia Minstel Show
After my Grandfather died in the late 1960's, my Grandmother came to live with us for a short time. It was a wonderful way to learn about my heritage and I got to listen to her stories about when my Father was growing up in San Francisco. I remember a story she told me about when my Dad was around eight years old, about the same time Little Caesar was in the movie theaters. One day he came home from school and told my Grandmother that some kid at school told him that all Italians were cutthroats. My Grandmother got very upset and told him to ignore comments like that, that all it did was reveal the ignorance of the person making that remark, and to always take pride in who you are and your Italian heritage. My Dad looked at my Grandmother and very innocently asked her, "Ma, what's a cutthroat?"
Zoom forward around 70 years. My daughter comes homes from school, about the same time The Sopranos was released on HBO, complaining that some kids at school were teasing her and calling her "Mafia Girl." I wish I could say that things have gotten better for Italian Americans and how they are portrayed in popular television and film in the last 70 years, but unfortunately I think it has actually gotten worse. What I call the Mafia Minstrel Show, actors in olive skin face playing mobster for the benefit of those people who lust for violence and racism, is now as insidious as lice. Thanks to our friends at HBO, the Mafia Minstrel Show has been legitimized as a mainstream genre, not unlike westerns or love stories. So why has the Mafia Minstrel Show survived for the past 70 years? It is very simple, IT MAKES MONEY!!!!! I remember reading the obituary for Mario Puzo. It listed the sales of his books, his wonderful novel about Italian American immigrants, The Fortunate Pilgrim, had sold maybe 10,000 copies and The Godfather, a novel that featured the Mafia Minstrel Show, had sold 15 million copies. Mario Puzo, a man who admitted he had never known a gangster before he wrote The Godfather, obviously was given a lot of cash to write a novel about the Mafia Minstrel Show.
"Where I came from, in order to be down you had to be 'in'" (Shakur, 226). This quote, taken from Sanyika Shakur's (aka Monster Kody Scott) Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member relates the mind set of those growing up the concrete jungle of South Central L.A. This powerful account of the triumph of the human spirit over insurmountable odds brings the reader into the daily battles for survival. His story starts at the beginning of his gang life (being initiated at age 11), moves through his teen years (mostly spent in various correctional facilities) and ends up with his transformation in a member of the New Afrikan Independence Movement.
John Gotti John Gotti: The American Mobster This is a story about a New York mobster, who was the Godfather of the Gambino Family. Today he is serving a life sentence in Marion Federal Penitentiary on 43 counts of racketeering, multiple murders, loan sharking, gambling, and even jury tampering. John Gotti was born October 27, 1940 in the Bronx. John Gotti had 12 other brothers and sisters.
Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member, is an autobiography detailing the criminal and personal life of Kody Scott. The book tells the story of how and why Kody Scott got involved in gang life, what happened during his time as a gang member, and how his life changed after his incarceration. It gives great insight into the inner workings of gangs in America, and shows how tough life is for the people who choose to be a part of it. Shakur greatly details his early years, his time as one of the leaders on the streets, and his transformation in prison.
This story takes place in the South somewhere around the 1940’s or 50’s; thereby, providing the reader with a plot rich in historical, cultural, and social aspects. Throughout the narrative, many other places are mentioned and the characters’ insights on them are explained, thus an emotional attachment to places like Tennessee and Georgia are evident. However, the importance relies on what each character’s emotions and reactions reveal about themselves and about the society at that time. In “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” Flannery O’Connor uses symbolism and diction to contrast the good and evil nature of humans through a hypocritical, morally-driven old lady and a criminal that embraces his evil acts by placing the blame on society.
Love, lust and infatuation all beguile the senses of the characters in this dreamy and whimsical work of Shakespeare, and leads them to act in outlandish ways, which throughly amuses the reader. True love does prevail in the end for Hermia and Lysander, and the initial charm of infatuation ends up proving to have happy consequence for Helena and Demetrius as well. Even when at first the reader thinks that, in theory, the effects the potion will wear off and Lysander will once again reject Helena, Oberon places a blessings on all the couples that they should live happily ever after.
One would assume education and an affluent life style will become a shield of protection. Social status has been the safety net or “go to” protection for African American people for years back, but at some point, your safety net ends where your skin begins. No matter how rich or established a person is the fact will remain that they are black. Ta- Neihsi Coates describes his growing up the ghettos of Baltimore. One of the things he emphasizes is his highest priority as a child was the protection of his body. Then he goes on to describe how his wife grew up in a more affluent and privileged lifestyle, a lifestyle that granted the opportunity of worrying about things other than self-protection. We also have situations similar to
From its very existence the Mafia has always been feared and respected. They are respected for the power that they posses to do what they want whenever and with whomever they please. Also the Mafia is respected for the money that they poses and the ability to get it by all means possible. They are feared by people knowing that the Mafia would not hesitate to kill someone if need be. "The roots of the mafia go way back to Sicily where their history is ancient and bloody" ( Cummings and Volkman 3).
...s Goodfellas, The Godfather and Casino put Italians in the spotlight of the common Anti-Heroes of cinema. However, there are still prejudice assumptions being slandered against the Italians today. Reality shows such as Jersey Shore have defined Italians for other races, and greatly insults the Italian-American community. The oppression Italians have had to deal with throughout decades are not as publicized as others, but it has happened, and even continues to happen today.
People in Sicily believed that they could not trust the country’s police service, so they created their own organized protection that later evolved into the Mafia. Later on, the group engaged in organized crime and formed the Sicilian mafia. They came from Sicily to America during the mid 1800s due to bad conditions in Sicily where almost everyone was below the poverty line. Giuseppe Esposito and six other Sicilian members were the first to leave and fled to New York after they killed the chancellor and vice chancellor of Sicily. Then on the five main Sicilian mafia families were created and the majority of the mafia came to America in the early 20th century.
The Mafia is a secret criminal organization that has great economic and political control over large parts of Sicilian society and operates both criminal and legitimate enterprises in the United States. It is believed to have started during Sicily's late Middle Ages, beginning as separate bonds of strong-arm enforcers hired by local landowners. It eventually evolved into a network of independent groups governing in rural areas. With the Sicilian immigration of the late 19th century, the Mafia began to operate in several large United States cities. During the period of Prohibition it monopolized the trade in bootleg liquor and controlled loan sharking, gambling, and prostitution. Competing Mafia families established mutually recognized territories, reaching agreement by negotiation or by intimidation. By the mid-1930 the Mafia had taken on the institutionalized structure that is now typical of organized crime in the United States.
The Morality of Birth control originally surfaced as a pamphlet in 1918, which questioned the morality of denying knowledge surrounding a drug which could prevent pregnancy women. In 1913 Margaret Sanger worked as a nurse in a New York. There Sanger watched one woman fall ill from a household abortion. The doctor told this women to avoid pregnancy she should “have her husband sleep on the roof” (Richmond Edu, Par. 7). A few months later Sanger found the same women dead after a second self-inflicted abortion. This horrendous event pushed Sanger to advocate a right she believed all woman should have.
During much of the play, Helena relentlessly chases Demetrius, giving him love no matter how many times he spurns her. While in pursuit of him in the woods, where he tells her that he will never reciprocate her feelings, she tells him, “I am your spaniel; and, Demetrius,/The more you beat me, I will fawn on you” (II.i.203-204). She is so desperate to win him over that she lowers her own status, calling herself his dog; no matter how many times he may abuse her, she will always adore him. Out of love, Helena is willing to swallow her pride to prove her devotion to him. More evidence of Helena’s blind love towards Demetrius can be found in her overlooking the flaws in Demetrius’ character. For example, he proves himself to be quite insensitive towards Helena: when they are in the woods, he says he will “leave [her] to the mercy of the wild beasts” (II.i.228) if she doesn’t stop following him. He also says to her, “…I am sick when I do look on thee” (II.i.212). Lastly, he threatens her, saying “…if thou follow me, do not believe/But I shall do thee mischief in the wood” (II.i.237). Helena acknowledges this aspect of his character, though choos...
For example the release of The Godfather, while considered by many to be one of the best movies of all time, also created a host of prejudice and negative stereotypes. Italian Americans gained a reputation for organized crime and were often associated by the public as mobsters. This paradox was greatly supported by the movie, The Godfather (Fordham). The success of this movie innately resulted in other films and shows that encouraged the negative stereotypes of Italian Americans in regards to the mafia and organized crime. Italian American fought these stereotypes back with media releases that romanticize Italian culture. For example, movies that involve large family dynamics that create, “deep-seated nostalgia for the ‘old neighborhood’” and enhance the appreciation for Italian culture and combat negative stereotypes
In this play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, true love plays a huge role in the play.
When presented with the question, “What does your Italian Heritage mean to you?” one particular idea exceeds the rest. The overarching notion of family in an Italian household is overwhelmingly present. In any heritage, family and love are two of the most concrete phenomenons that exist among people; however, these ideas are stronger as well as more prominent in an Italian lifestyle. To me, family transcends above everything. My grandmother, Nonna, is an immigrant from Parghelia, Italy. She traveled to this country when she was only eighteen, having lived her entire life submerged in an Italian atmosphere. Once settled in America, my Nonna made a promise to herself never to lose her Italian culture and values. She speaks to all four of her