Sopranos and the Perpetuated Mafiosi Image Essay -- essays research pa

The Sopranos and the Perpetuated Mafiosi ImageA life of organized crime, visualise cars, machine guns, beautiful women, money, power and family these be the images that have perpetuated the companionships of Italian-Americans with the Mafia in film and television for decades. It is in this traditional Godfather fashion that the HBO hit serial publication The Sopranos continues to perpetuate this stereotypical image into the 21st century. From classic films exchangeable The Godfather and Goodfellas, to miniseries events like Bella Mafia and The Last Don, to the dramatic series The Sopranos, Italian-Americans have traditionally been pictured as gangsters and mobsters and have been seen living the lives of organized criminals. Italian-Americans and the Mafia have traditionally been linked in popular culture and The Sopranos is no exception. "Its undeniable that the ascendant pop-culture images of Italian-Americans have been the mobster and the related, anti-working class stere otype of the boorish gavone" (De Stefano 32). Textually, Tony Soprano is right this. He is an Italian-American, living in a suburban New tee shirt town, the head of the local Mafia family. He is anything but working class, as he is continually portrayed as the mobster dealing with "business." He is involved in murders, blackmail, illegal gambling and racketeering. Inter-textually, there are ghost references to Mafia popular culture. Tony and his gang regularly recite lines from The Godfather and refer to separately other as "Donnie Brasco." Tonys relationship with his therapist parallels that of the satiric Mafia film, snap This and comments are made to that effect. These inter-textual references draw attention to the traditional Mafia portrayals in film and television and acknowledge the existence of this stereotypical depiction of Italian-Americans in visual media. The producers of The Sopranos go as far as to include comedic extra-textual references, dis place upon the social commentary of ethnic stereotyping. When Tonys therapist and her family make a crisp over dinner to the "20 million Italian-Americans" who have nothing to do with organized crime, we see here a representation of the opposition by Italian-Americans to the Mafia-stereotype. Sub-textually, the covert commentary within the series runs deep. Running between the lines are sub-plots dealing with family val... ...hus associates people of such ethnic descent with crime and corruption. Those in opposition of the show see it as " a buffoonish extravaganza of (these) people" and "an ethnic minstrel show" (Showalter 42). In line with traditional representations of Italian-Americans in visual media, the Sopranos continues a portrayal of Mafiosi and glamorized lives of crime and power. Yet, this fresh take out on and old image successfully creates a window to the possible lifestyle of a modern-day Mafia family. While this series presents a look at only a microcosm of contemporary society, it perpetuates the stereotypical association of Italian-Americans as sensationalized Mafiosi and glorifies the lifestyle of organized criminals in the 21st century. BIBLIOGRAPHYAuster, Albert. "The Sopranos the gangster redux." tv set Quarterly 31 4 (Winter, 2001) 34-8. De Stefeno, George. "Ungood Fellas." The Nation 270 5 (Feb. 7, 2000) 31-3. Golway, Terry. "Life in the 90s." America 180 10 (March 27, 1999) 6.Showalter, Elaine. "Mob Scene." American Prospect 11 8 (Feb. 28, 2000) 42-3 . The Sopranos. Chase, David. HBO. 1999-2002.