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It all began in the mid-1990s. Everyone at my job were mandated to attend “Cultural Diversity Training”. Everyone knows what that is. At the height of the politically correct 90s, the idea of “cultural sensitivity” and “tolerance” were the buzzwords. Personally, I didn’t want to have to go to these classes. I found the whole idea ridiculous because at the time, those who were chosen to teach this class were fellow employees, most of whom couldn’t point out their own nation on a map much less teach me or anyone else on how to be “sensitive” to other’s cultures. To be fair, it turned out the instructor for this class was reasonably qualified: a former teacher with a fairly good knowledge of history, etc, so when I showed up, I figured maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. Just get through the mandated three hours and be done with it.
As soon as this class began, I began to remember why I didn’t want to have any part of it. The first thing they made us do was draw a photo that represented what our “cultural background” was. Easy enough, I suppose, but it occurred to me that this exercise could actually do more harm than good. Sure enough, that is what happened. Once the “students” finished their drawings, they were asked to tack them up to the bulletin board at the back of the classroom, then each one would be discussed. I waited as the others in the class showed their drawings: The Irish drew shamrocks; the Germans drew bratwurst, a Chinese man drew chopsticks and a bowl of rice, one enterprising African-American employee drew a slave ship, and one fellow Italian-American employee drew a bowl of spaghetti and meatballs. I nearly got sick. Seriously? Spaghetti and meatballs? That’s all he could come up with to represent his background and heritage? Was ethnic foods the only thing these fellow employees could think of? It was at that moment that it occurred to me that this exercise in “Cultural Diversity” was only making the stereotypes even worse than it was forging some sort of “understanding”.
Since I was already in a rebellious state of mind, I chose to draw a picture of the New York skyline.
“That’s interesting”, the instructor said. “Why did you choose to draw that?”
“You said to draw a picture to depict where you were from. I did.”
“But you had to come from somewhere? Where were your parents born?”
“The Bronx”, I replied.
“How about your grandparents?”
“My grandparents were born in New York too. Well…my grandfather wasn’t. He was born overseas.”
The instructor seized on this. “Good. Good. Where was he born?”
“Africa”, I said.
The whole class whipped around and looked at me cross-eyed, particularly the African-Americans. They were confused. So was the instructor. I then decided to drop the rebelliousness and explain to them that I was of Sicilian background and that my grandfather was born in Tunisia, which is in North Africa and back when he was born, there was a substantial Sicilian population living there. He was Sicilian, I explained, but just born in Africa. I think it was at that precise moment where it occurred to me that I actually did have an interesting background, one that I never really looked into all that much. I always knew of my Italian/Sicilian background but never really paid much attention to it. After all, we were always taught that we were Americans who just happened to be of a certain ethnicity. I thought about this more as the weeks and months went on. It occurred to me that this isn’t exactly true. Culturally speaking, yes. Ethnically and genetically speaking, this wasn’t the case at all. After all, if a child of Nigerian parents was born in Norway and he spent his whole life there, he would not be Norwegian, would he?
So from that day forth I began to look more into my background, to where my family actually came from, who they were, what they did, why they came to America in the first place and I suddenly began to question the whole notion of what an “American” actually is. It turns out there are many different definitions, depending on who you ask. Apparently, that definition is in the eye of the beholder and this was the reason for a class like this to begin with. It occurred to me, many weeks and months later, that some Americans feel some others aren’t “real” Americans, no matter how much that person saw themselves. The more I became drawn and connected to where my family actually originated, the more and more I began to see how people of Italian and/or Sicilian background are actually viewed by many people in America. I have to say it was an eye opening experience and a very shocking one at that. The more and more I began to study and read about Italian and Italian-American culture, the more intrigued I became with the people and their accomplishments, even those who were in my own family. I read more Italian literature, studied Italian history and art and what I found was simply amazing to me, as it really should be. Then I gradually became more attuned to the stereotypes, the insults, the derogatory expressions, the “image” one has of Italian-Americans as a whole. It was a slow learning process, one that I never even thought of up until that point with any seriousness.
The preceding is to lay the background to the latest controversy surrounding the Italian-American community and that is MTV’s latest hunk of garbage called “Jersey Shore”. For those who don’t know (and I can’t see how many don’t considering the hoopla surrounding it), the show depicts twenty-something Italian-Americans who pride themselves on being “Guidos”. Let me say first of all, I understand that every ethnic group has their stereotypes and they are stereotypes because they are so often true. That is the case with these clods in this show. I knew fellow Italian-Americans like this growing up in New York City. In fact, I always hated them precisely because they made us all look like buffoons. This show doesn’t help matters any nor do the Italian-Americans who embrace this image of themselves. It’s depressing, sad and quite unfortunate. But it’s the reality. Does this show depict your average Italian-American? No, of course not and any reasonable person understands this. The more ignorant of us think it does but those are the ones I had come across over the years who already have negative opinions about Italians. This show only serves to justify the nonsense they already think.
Many Italian-American organizations are hopping mad about this show and I don’t blame them, to tell you the truth. It makes me sick too but there is one difference in my thinking and the thinking of these organizations.
I contend that “Jersey Shore” does not depict Italian-American stupidity but purely and solely American stupidity.
There is a huge difference between the culture of Italians born and raised in Italy and those who were born and raised here in the United States. Yes, we are all of Italian background genetically and ethnically but enough generations have gone by for most of us where the “American” in “Italian-American” is truly pronounced. Though I do feel a strong connection to my background these days and it’s culture, the fact remains that I was born and raised here. An American, in a sense, an Italian genetically & ethnically, and American by culture who was raised to speak an Anglo-Saxon language. My family still has remnants of what is called “the old country”, in the food we eat, the religious background, the way we celebrate holidays, the family connections and interactions. But as the generations move forward (I’m 2nd Generation on one side, 3rd on the other), the less the “Italian-ness” is apparent as with my sister’s children who are essentially 4th generation Italian-Americans.
So as offensive and as idiotic this show may be and how these self-proclaimed “Guidos” like to see themselves, they are more influenced and effected by American culture than they are of Italian culture, like most Italian-Americans my age and younger. The crass consumerism, the lack of knowledge in anything but how to achieve the best tan, the boastful pride in being unintelligent, the eager quest to buy all the best and most expensive things, and most importantly, the way they treat one another, is purely an American phenomenon. These dopey kids are Americans who just happen to be of Italian descent. They do not represent Italians from Italy. They do not represent Italian-Americans who have some sense of the rich cultural history they come out of. You know, those Italian-Americans who are scientists, judges, lawyers, filmmakers, artists, writers, engineers, teachers, so on and and so forth.
While I would love nothing more to see this show disappear (as much as I am glad that other abominations such as “Growing up Gotti” disappeared), in my own mind and heart I know that this is not me, nor is this anyone in my family, nor is it any other intelligent Italian-American that I know. These are American buffoons doing typically stupid American things. It’s just a shame that this day in age there has to be this debate in the first place. But as long as any ethnic group embraces their own stereotypes the more and more of those who see themselves as “real Americans” have ammunition to build up their xenophobia and their prejudices. These dopey kids don’t help matters any and they all should be ashamed of themselves. But they learned this from somewhere, and the constant depiction of Italians as brainless, idiotic, anti-intellectual gangsters certainly doesn’t help. The question I ask is when is there ever going to be a show about Italians and Italian-Americans that depicts the majority; the majority that is well educated, proud, literate, creative, thoughtful and ambitious. Well, that doesn’t “sell” in America and the ruling classes in this culture have a stake in keeping all others they deem “questionable” Americans as clowns and buffoons. Italians have always been depicted negatively in this culture and for some it’s very important that it remains this way. After all, it wasn’t all that long ago that Italians weren’t even deemed “real” Americans in the first place.
So I say, “Basta!”---Enough! The first step in improving the image of Italian-Americans is not so much to get others to stop focusing on the negative stereotypes but to get Italian-Americans themselves to stop embracing it and perpetuating it. Unfortunately, the popularity of this show only makes me feel that we still have a very long way to go.
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I can relate well to what you are saying. Being mostly of Irish descent, people always expect that I would be a heavy drinker and unable to cook, neither of which are true. A friend of mine once told me that America is not so much a melting pot, as it is a salad bowl. I thought about that, and I still think she is right.