Tuesday,
April 11,
Sopranos- HBO's Sanctioned
Italian Animus a Green Light for Debasement and Disparagement
The
ANNOTICO Report
CJ
DeStefano
: "The subtle or unmistakable bigotry Italians encounter
daily is indeed systemic and should earn universal contumely!!"
None
of us recognizes any members of ANY of our Families, that HBO President Chris
Albrecht claims the Sopranos are about, even
while the show's creator David Chase (DeCesare)
admittedly was a child from
Therefore,
Chase's basis for the Soprano's was NOT Family, but
gangster movies and imagination !!!
Fantasy
begets More Bigotry.
DISTINZIONE
[ Distinzione: distinction;
non faccio~i, I don't discriminate ]
Renew
CJ
DeStefano
April 10, 2006
The other afternoon when the usual coterie of devoted Soprano's
viewers were discussing Anthony's recent tribulations, I allowed one of many
pet peeves to surface and promptly climbed onto a soapbox.
An
explanation ensued regarding how this program has systematically dismantled the
fine accomplishments of Italian-Americans and has succinctly placed us into a
one-dimensional realm of mobsters and thugs.
HBO's sanctioned Italian
animus has served as a green light for the debasement and disparagement of our
history and culture. At the conclusion of my diatribe a superior came forward
and agreed. Both John D. and I were comparing notes on family meals and
gatherings throughout our formative years.
For
example, we both agreed that never have the utterances of 'how you doin?' or expletive emplaced sentences permeated any of the
conversations throughout our respective families.
HBO President Chris Albrecht was quoted as saying that the
series' return was "really going to be like seeing old family members and
friends that you've missed." Although a nescient comment from a
perspective steeped in ignorance, it does illustrate HBO's view of our
heritage. Strange that nine of the nine executives on the Soprano's project do not seem to carry a last name synonymous
with the 'family' and their misrepresentations peddled weekly on the program.
It
seems tantamount to an only child from
The subtle or unmistakable bigotry we encounter daily is indeed systemic and
should earn universal contumely. For example, the recent appointment of Supreme
Court Justice Samuel Alito has given rise to yet
another bout of aspersions from our all too centrist media (please insert two
winks here). "...Alito "ha[d] been
nicknamed by the mainstream media 'Scalito' and that
repeated media usage of that nickname constituted a 'wave of racial
discrimination.' In fact, the nickname has been in news reports since at least
1992, when it was cited in a ! National Law Journal article, a reference to apparent similarities between
Alito and conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia" (MediaMatters.org).
One
can only imagine the outcry if Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg's name were to be
universally fused with Justice Stephen Breyer.
Besides the inundation of logorrhea regarding their party affiliation by our
centrist media (another couple of winks please), we would all be subject to
accusations of anti-Semitism.
Even the esteemed Borough President from
I can hear the voices in oblivion eructing a chorus of "what is the
harm?" and "loosen up." Maybe I am simply another nonconformist
dealing with my precept of Italian knight-errantry, in a futile attempt to slay
dragons of intolerance.
Or
quite possibly, the emperor is truly naked and the blight that others attempt
to cast over my heritage is undeserved, repugnant and requires stalwart
perseverance. With all due respect to Mr. Gandolfini,
I think I will stick with the latter.
CJ
DeStefano, a self-described ultraist, has written to
countless organizations, politicians, and celebrities in an unwavering attempt
to alter what he sees as a narrow and self-aggrandizing world view. He is a
regular contributor for several sites and can be contacted at greatleviathan@yahoo.com .
http://www.renewamerica.us/
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