Thursday, December 06, 2007

American Students in Italy Create "Sin Seeking" Stereotype

The ANNOTICO Report

 

Italians have long had personal contact with the usual "Ugly American" Tourist, but now we have to add the "Sin Seeking American Student".

 

Since the Murder in Perugia of a British student, Meredith Kercher, with the chief Suspect her roommate, Amanda Knox, an American student,

the antics have been put in the Spotlight, which has been magnified with the Press now examining the YouTube, Face Page, and My Space pages of all the Foreign Students,  that have been very candid, shocking, and incriminating.


 Knox has been described in the press as "Man-hunter, insatiable in bed,""She lives only for pleasure," They suggest that Kurt Cobain, the singer for Nirvana who committed suicide in Seattle, may have been the inspiration for her "refined grunge" style and interest in drugs.

 

Ms. Knox has been called "una bugiarda" (liar), "LAmericana," or my personal favorite, "La Luciferina." Then there is that  unfortunate online name she gave herself: "Foxyknoxy."

 

Even worse, her image-destroying online postings, in which she appears to be inebriated, have become part of this media circus. Italians have gotten all too well acquainted with "la studentessa di Seattle" . Laughing about her constantly changing alibi, they now often refer to her just as "Amanda."

American college students already have to live down a stereotype of their own making. Hordes of them drunkenly parade " or literally pub crawl " past Renaissance masterpieces on the streets of Florence at 4 a.m., shouting clichis like "Ciao, bella!" and "La vita h bella!" Add in our often laughable pronunciation of Dantes beautiful language and our sinfully casual dress " the North Face fleece college uniform sharing the streets with Dolce & Gabbana-strutting Italian babes " and you can see why its an uphill struggle.

Now throw in the blue-eyed studentessa, a poster girl for college debauchery. To read the articles about Amanda Knox, you would think that all American students are hash-smoking party girls with little memory of their weekends.

 "Youre from Seattle?" people will say. "Isnt that where that "WILD" (slutty)  American student is from?"

 

Sounds a lot like; You're Italian? Are you connected to the Mafia???  

 

Junior (Year) Fear Abroad

New York Times

By Sophie Egan 

Op-Ed Contributor

December 5, 2007

Bologna, Italy

This city is a porticoed, often eerie and shadowy medieval place, the setting of many Italian mystery novels and even a John Grisham thriller. As a college student spending part of my junior year abroad, I havent always felt completely safe here. But then came news of the sexual assault and killing of a British student, Meredith Kercher, in Perugia. The police are holding her American roommate, Amanda Knox, and Ms. Knoxs Italian boyfriend as suspects. Now, this place seems to be a little wary of me.

Every day brings a new headline or television report about Amanda Knox. "Man-hunter, insatiable in bed," was the first line in an article in Corriere della Sera, Italys leading daily newspaper. "She lives only for pleasure," La Repubblica reported.

Not only is Perugia, like Bologna, a university city that is considered one of the premier places for language and culture study abroad, but Amanda is a girl my exact age, 20, from my hometown, Seattle. Because of her story, which has dominated the news in Europe, and not just in the tabloids, life as an American student abroad is not at all what I expected.

I came here imagining Id have to answer the numerous questions about the war, our unpopular president and our cultural exports that still dominate Italian television. Italians love to argue. And while I have had many late-night discussions about Americas failings, its been nothing like the storm of more personal attention that has come with Ms. Knoxs arrest.

A few days after the Nov. 1 murder, Corriere della Sera ran a story about Seattle that described it as known for rain, dark forests and a high number of serial killers. The paper even went so far as to suggest that Kurt Cobain, the singer for Nirvana who committed suicide in Seattle, may have been the inspiration for Amandas "refined grunge" style and interest in drugs.

I love my hometown. My tiny room here, which I am told was once part of the former servants quarters of a wealthy Emilia-Romagna merchant family, is plastered in pictures of Mount Rainier, Puget Sound and the Space Needle. Ive always been excited to tell people where I am from. At the beginning of the semester I would usually say, "Yeah, Im from Seattle. You know ... Starbucks? Nirvana? Boeing? Bill Gates?"

These dont get much reaction....

Since this murder, to be a college student from Seattle has become shorthand for something else. Ms. Knox has been called "una bugiarda" (liar), "LAmericana," or my personal favorite, "La Luciferina." Even worse, her image-destroying online postings, in which she appears to be inebriated, have become part of this media circus. Italians have gotten all too well acquainted with "la studentessa di Seattle" (thanks again for the great press). Laughing about her constantly changing alibi, they now often refer to her just as "Amanda."

And of course there was that unfortunate online name she gave herself: "Foxyknoxy."

So these days I am not exactly shouting the name of my hometown to bystanders in the piazza. "Youre from Seattle?" people will say. "Isnt that where that wild American student is from?" Anticipating the next question, I quickly add, "And no, I dont know her."

American college students already have to live down a stereotype of their own making. Hordes of them drunkenly parade " or literally pub crawl " past Renaissance masterpieces on the streets of Florence at 4 a.m., shouting clichis like "Ciao, bella!" and "La vita h bella!" Add in our often laughable pronunciation of Dantes beautiful language and our sinfully casual dress " the North Face fleece college uniform sharing the streets with Dolce & Gabbana-strutting Italian babes " and you can see why its an uphill struggle.

Its bad enough that the dollar is at a record low and that President Bush is about as popular here as Chinese food. Not to mention, Im always trying to explain that "The O.C." isnt real life and thats not how most people in the United States live.

Now throw in the blue-eyed studentessa, a poster girl for college debauchery. To read the articles about Amanda Knox, you would think that all American students are hash-smoking party girls with little memory of their weekends.

This makes the foreign immersion process so much more difficult. We college students come here to learn Italian, study new things, live on our own outside the American cocoon, experience the culture and form relationships with the people and the country. And Bologna should be the perfect place for this. Umberto Eco is a professor here, at what claims to be the worlds oldest university, and Prime Minister Romano Prodi lives down the street in a rather typical ochre-colored Bolognese house. Plus, a pizza margherita, at under three euros, is one of the most affordable eating pleasures in the world.

So, I havent given up. This country has far too much to offer for me to let an incident like this tarnish my experience. Sure, answering the question "Where are you from?" is a bit more awkward, but it certainly gets the conversations going. And after all, that is what I came here to do.

Sophie Egan is a junior at Stanford.

 

The ANNOTICO Reports Can be Viewed (and are Archived) on:

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