Posted on 01/05/2004 5:30:33 AM PST by Land_of_Lincoln_John
Dona DeSanctis is fine with the occasional Mafia movie or, as she puts it, a TV ad "where a big, fat Italian woman is doing somersaults in a field just because the spaghetti sauce comes in a jar."
But DeSanctis, deputy executive director of the Order Sons of Italy in Washington, D.C., finds nothing funny about "Shark Tale," a DreamWorks animated feature set for release in October. DeSanctis' organization is collaborating with Italian-American activists in Chicago and across the nation who are angered by the movie's sharks -- big-nosed, brutish-looking wiseguys with names such as "Don Brizzi" and "Don Lino." Robert DeNiro and Martin Scorsese are among the Hollywood celebrities doing the voice-overs.
It's bad enough that almost every Italian-American movie character these days has mob ties, but DreamWorks has sunk to new, briny depths in targeting children with the depiction of Italian-Americans as bottom-feeding thugs, the activists say.
"This is what you are going to show kids -- evil, vicious, killer shark characters with Italian names?" says Bill Dal Cerro, a spokesman for the Midwest chapter of the Italic Institute of America in Chicago.
The Italic Institute is using its Web site (www.italic.org) to lay out its case. "It worked for [presidential candidate] Howard Dean," Dal Cerro says. "Maybe it will work for us."
Ultimately, Dal Cerro, DeSanctis and others want the shark characters "de-Italianized" before the film's release. A letter-writing campaign is just getting under way.
A DreamWorks representative this week said it's too early to criticize a movie that neither he nor "Shark Tale" critics have seen.
"So at this point, the concern is based on a lack of information on their part and it's premature," said the representative, Mike Costello. "We ask that they withhold judging the film until they have seen it. The movie is about the importance of being honest. The main character is played by Will Smith, and his character tells a lie in the movie; and it's about the trouble that that causes for him."
But the anti-"Shark Tale" crowd say they've gotten enough of a preview on various Web sites to decide it's time to act.
Enrico J. Mirabelli, a Chicago attorney for the American Italian Defense Association, said his organization is mulling the possibility of a lawsuit. Two years ago, AIDA sued HBO and "The Sopranos" on the grounds that the show's portrayal of Italian-Americans is so offensive that it violates the "individual dignity" clause of the Illinois Constitution.
A Cook County judge later tossed out the lawsuit.
"We want to be creative and original," said Mirabelli, talking about a possible lawsuit against DreamWorks. "In all civil rights movements, there are a lot of setbacks. We are not deterred."
But isn't this protest thing going a bit far? After all, the 16 million or so people who identified themselves as Italian Americans in the 2000 Census can't claim a heritage of mistreatment similar to that of Jewish people or African Americans.
Perhaps not, but that's no excuse for making Italians and Italian Americans the butt of a never-ending grubby joke, Dal Cerro said.
"When people say, 'You don't have a sense of humor,' I remind them that 16th century Italians invented improvisational comedy," Dal Cerro said.
Besides, the damage done by such stereotypes is real, some Italian Americans say.
Mirabelli is frequently asked, sometimes seriously, whether he's connected to the mob.
"We've seen an upsurge in the use of Italian epithets like 'wop' and 'dago,' " said Dal Cerro. "I've seen 12-year-olds say that to other 12-year-olds and teenagers. These are words our grandparents fought to get rid of, and now they're coming back."
And both Dal Cerro and Mirabelli say the constant depiction of Italian Americans as wiseguys doesn't give youngsters an opportunity to learn about important Italian-American accomplishments.
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"You lookin' at me? What, do I amuse you or something?!?"
Two of the worst 'Uncle Doms' in Hollywood. Can you imagine Danny Glover and Denzel Washington playing Step-en-Fetchit characters?
Italian-Americans and Catholics--the only reliable, bankable stereotypes that are tolerated.
Because, if they gave evil, vicious, killer shark characters Arabic names that would humiliate the ROP. Whereas, Italians are Catholic and therefore fair game for the politically correct gang.
I love it when they "de-Italianize" famous Italian people.....for example there was a commercial for a photocopier some years ago in which Leonardo Da Vinci spoke with an English accent!!!
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