I am more inclined to see the MEDIA as the Principle Culprit, and would like 
to see ALL our attentions focused on the MEDIA. With that said however, the 
Italic Institute
of America (ICA) makes several good points.

First, ICA , notes that other Ethnic Media Celebrities, rather than sell 
their souls in Portrayals that "denigrate" their ethnic community, instead 
assure their Media Projects or Portrayals "elevate" their ethnic communities, 
and financially contribute to their communities.

Secondly, ICA, vividly points out that Hollywood whines "FREE SPEECH" when 
they are justifiably criticized for I-A Negative Stereotyping, and yet are 
quick 
to "CENSOR" a satirical cartoon of their Hollywood personalities. Rank 
Hypocrites!!!!           
==============================================
CLICK ON FOR CARTOON
http://www.italic.org/sucker.htm 

ITALIC INSTITUTE OF AMERICA....... Press Release!!

HOLLYWOOD'S VARIETY MAGAZINE 
REJECTS CONTROVERSIAL AD

First Amendment Nixed

New York: A satirical cartoon created by the Italic Institute of America, 
that pokes fun at famous Italian American actors and filmmakers, was rejected 
as an advertisement in Weekly Variety, Hollywood's show-business bible. The 
cartoon is now being viewed across the country via the Internet.

Titled The Last Sucker (or "Leonardo Dines with the Goombahs"), the cartoon 
recreates Leonardo Da Vinci's famous painting, The Last Supper. In place of 
Jesus, Leonardo himself sits at the head of the banquet table. After Da Vinci 
declares that "all" of his disciples will betray Italian culture, his twelve 
dinner companions deny their responsibility in creating derogatory film and 
television images of their ethnic community. 

VIEW THE CARTOON AT OUR WEBSITE  (italic.org) "NEWS FLASH".

Leonardo's disciples include caricatures of Dan Castellaneta (the voice of 
TV's Homer Simpson); singer Jerry Vale (hawking his CD "Mob Hits"); the late 
Godfather author Mario Puzo; filmmakers Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford 
Coppola; HBO's The Sopranos star James Gandolfini and the show's creator, 
David Chase (nee DeCesare); and actors Joe Pesci, Robert De Niro, Chazz 
Palminteri, Danny Aiello and Mira Sorvino (a star of racist movie Summer of 
Sam and the forthcoming female mobster comedy Wisegirls).

"We've obviously hit the glass ceiling in the First Amendment says John 
Mancini, Chairman of the Institute. "The message is very clear: It's okay to 
stereotype an entire group of Americans, but it's not okay for those same 
Americans to fight back, even in a light-hearted way. To put it in layman's 
terms: Hollywood big shots can dish it out, but they can't take it. Yet, 
these are the same people who constantly trumpet the First Amendment. 

When Americans of Italian origin complained that there was too much negative 
media, we were told that we were 'too sensitive'. When we complained that 
it's been going on for 30 years, we were told to face reality, that Italian 
American crime families still exist. When we pointed out that the media 
shaped people's perceptions, we were told that the American public knows the 
difference between fantasy and reality, even though research studies show 
otherwise. Now they expect us to believe this propaganda is 'art'. The bottom 
line is that Italic defamation is a profit center in Hollywood." 

"The 'stars' in the cartoon have turned Italian culture into a laughingstock 
and have seriously eroded our political equality in America," says Anthony 
Cardillo, Chairman of the Institute's Advisory Council. "One Italian American 
U.S. presidential contender (Mario Cuomo) and four vice presidential 
contenders (John Pastore, Peter Rodino, Joseph Alioto, Geraldine Ferraro) 
have been adversely affected by media images of our culture over the years. 
Hollywood 'artists' have used their stature to weave mobster and moron images 
into the very fabric of our heritage. 

Cardillo lists the following examples: "Singer Jerry Vale promotes beautiful 
Italian songs by equating them with violent movies. Dan Castellaneta allows 
his cartoon character, Homer Simpson, to comment on the stupidity of 
Italians. Francis Ford Coppola paints the Italian immigrant experience as a 
mob epic. And David Chase turns Italian mothers into murderers. What kind of 
messages are being sent out to our fellow Americans, especially our own 
children, regarding Italian culture?"

Unlike African Americans like Bill Cosby and Oprah Winfrey, Hispanic 
Americans like Edward James Olmos and Jewish Americans like Steven Spielberg, 
who contribute their own time and money toward their respective communities, 
John Mancini notes that the Italian Americans in the cartoon simply "take the 
money and run". Asks Mancini, "What, exactly, is their definition of ethnic 
pride? We think it's a legitimate question. Humor is one way of asking it. 
What have they contributed financially to the culture that bore them? Are 
there Coppola Italian study programs, any Scorsese university chairs in 
Italian civilization, any Mario Puzo cultural centers?"

Hollywood and the New York Holocaust

Rosario Iaconis, Director of the Institute's Italic Way Magazine, cites the 
terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center in New York as a perfect example 
of how Hollywood fantasy has overtaken reality.

"Italian Americans are Americans first, without question," he says. "That 
point was brought home powerfully during the World Trade Center tragedy. 
Consider the numerous Americans of Italian descent who immediately assumed 
leadership positions: Rudy Giuliani, the mayor of New York; Peter Vallone Sr, 
President of the New York City Council; Richard Grasso, head of the New York 
Stock Exchange; Peter Ganci, the Deputy Fire Chief who lost his life; as well 
as the hundreds of other police officers, firefighters and World Trade Center 
employees who performed individual acts of heroism. Not to mention Dr. 
Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health, a voice of calm and 
reason during the anthrax scare; as well as retired, four-star general 
Anthony Zinni, the current peace negotiator in the Middle East. These people 
are reality, not fantasy. They carry the true mantle of Italian culture."

Iaconis continues, "Look at movies and television shows, however, and what 
you see is the complete opposite: people with vowels at the end of their 
names who are boors, buffoons, bigots, bimbos or criminals--in short, 
dysfunctional Americans. The gap between our reality and Hollywood's fantasy 
is as wide as the Grand Canyon--a gap which widens with each new mobster 
movie. Hollywood's obsession with mobster mythology has permeated our culture 
by ignoring the likes of Osama bin Laden, the boss of all international crime 
bosses. Indeed, while the goons of al Qaeda were plotting the September 11th 
massacre, Tinseltown continued to perpetuate the Big Lie about Italian 
Americans. Even now, in the midst of anti-ethnic profiling, movies and series 
featuring Italic people as bad Americans are being churned out." 

Instead of depicting the real-life "monsters in our midst," notes Iaconis, 
"the entertainment industry puts all of its advertising resources behind 
hoary stereotypes of Italian Americans. HBO, for example, heavily promotes 
The Sopranos, a program which perpetuates the amoral, blood-thirsty image of 
Italians first popularized by so-called 'yellow journalists' over 100 years 
ago."

"Hollywood and the media," says Iaconis, "with the paid collaboration of some 
Italian American celebrities, continue to flood the American market with 
films, TV shows, books and news programs equating Italian culture with 
criminality. Hollywood's incessant smear campaign would have brought a smile 
to Senator Joe McCarthy's lips."

Bill Dal Cerro, the group's Midwest spokesman, says that the demonization of 
Italian culture is especially painful because so many Italian American actors 
and filmmakers willingly participate in it. There are three main reasons they 
do so, he notes: "Greed, low self-esteem or a lack of knowledge about their 
heritage. Instead of challenging the film industry, these actors cater to it. 
So much for playing tough guys." Concludes Dal Cerro, "If Hollywood wants to 
have its own version of Jim Crow laws--i.e., limiting Italian Americans to 
negative roles--that's one thing. But, our own people shouldn't be assisting 
such bigotry. That only deepens the defamation. It turns popular art into 
popular prejudice."

NOTE: After the September 11th bombings, Hollywood admirably pulled films 
portraying Arabs as terrorists. Films which stigmatize Italians as criminals, 
however, continue to be released and shown unabated: Badfellas, Corky Romano, 
Dinner Rush, Heist, Knockaround Guys, Mulholland Drive, Snipes. In 2002, six 
more are scheduled for release: This Thing of Ours, Wannabes, Big Trouble, 
Wisegirls, Analyze That, and The Gangs of New York. 
***
Copies of The Last Sucker cartoon, illustrated by James Bellora, are 
available by visiting the Institute's website (www.italic.org). Click on 
"NEWS FLASH," then scroll to the item marked "The Last Sucker"

In Case You are Unable To Decipher the Spoken Words of the Cartoon: 

Dan Castellaneta: Don, It's Only a Kid Show! It ain't Brainwashing...Is it 
Marge???
James Gandolfini: Yo! It's Art! I'm a stinking College Graduate!
David Chase:But I'll give Back to the Community! After I pay for this Supper. 
Right!
Joe Pesci: Fuggadaboutit! I Gotta Rat! Leo. Pass the GobbaGhoul!
Mario Puzo: Not ME Leo! I Sleep with the Worms!
Martin Scorcese: Don't Short Change Me! I've Got this Fetish for Low Lifes...
    Hey, Maybe I can Film This Supper
Leonard DaVinci: One of You will Betray Me...(ER) ALL of You will Betray Me!
Mira Sorvino:Leo, Didn't you know? Defamation is a Major Turn-On!
Francis Ford Coppola: I'm Proof of My Mafia Heritage! Just Don't callme 
Frankie! 
    My Wine has more Class than You!
Jerry Vale: That's Not Fair Leo! My Next Album Will Bring you to Tears! 
    "My Mafia Mamma"
Danny Aiello: Who cares! I'm half-Russian. At least they have Class!
Chazz Palminteri: Yo! Maybe we can do a Movie about you Leo. 
    Your Father a Wiseguy?
Robert De Niro: You Analyzing me Leo? I ain't no Rat! 
    I can't even carry on a Conversation.

WHO WE ARE:

Founded in New York in 1987, the Italic Institute of America is a non-profit, 
educational organization that promotes an appreciation of the Italian 
heritage through books, videos, a national magazine, The Italic Way, and a 
free children's language and culture program called AURORA (which means 
"first light" in Italian).

HOW TO SUPPORT US: 

Join the Institute as a General Member for $20 per annum or as a Core Council 
Member for $150. All donations are tax-exempt: 

Italic Institute of America
PO Box 818
Floral Park, NY 11001

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE       For more information,   
1 February 2002     contact Rosario Iaconis 
Telephone: 516-488-7400    
Fax 516-488-4889    
Email: ItalicOne@aol.com