Cultural Representation of Italians in the Media - Essay Example

?Introduction Stereotyping is the process of portraying an entire group of people by characteristics that are exaggerated and not representative of every member of the group. For instance, blacks like fried chicken and watermelon, the men are in prison, the women are having too many babies, and they are all uneducated. Jews are cheap and greedy. Irish people are drunk. These are all very negative stereotypes that have been perpetuated by the media. Italians are another group that has been victimized by stereotyping. To society, Italians are low class, loud, stupid, promiscuous and violent. Alternatively, they are momma’s boys. They all have names like Pauly and Joey, and eat spaghetti every night. Of course, this is not the case – Italians are just as nuanced as anybody else. Some may fit the stereotype, and most probably do not. Nonetheless, the cultural portrayals of Italians have been largely negative, and there is no place where this is more evident than the television show Jersey Shore. The show is based upon 10 Italian-Americans living in a house on the Jersey Shore in the first season, and Miami Beach in the second season, and centers around the exploits of the “Guidos” and “Guidettes” in the house. The girls are high maintenance, crass, vain and drunk. The boys are perpetually tanned, with blow-out hair, muscular, crass, vain and drunk. They all hook up with random people, and say cuss words every other word. They are all apparently low class, and, with the exception of one of the boys, uneducated. In short, the show takes every negative stereotype of the Italian American and adds a few more. And, unfortunately for the Italian Americans in society, the show is a huge hit. Basic Concepts – Collective Identity, Culture and Cultural Sociology To understand why Jersey Shore is so offensive to Italian-Americans, one must understand the basics of culture, identity and ethnic identity. These are all basic concepts that ties in why television shows that feature stereotypes are harmful to targeted groups. The first concept that needs to be understood is that of culture, as television shows, such as Jersey Shore would be considered to be a part of our popular culture. Culture refers to the way that individuals make sense of their world, and a way to individuals to find meaning (Cushman, 1996, p. 7). Events that occur in the individual’s world are thus interpreted through the culture of the individual, and this is one way that individuals understand the modern world. The social world is what provides the basis for an individual’s culture, specifically the concrete experiences experienced by this individual. Culture is reflexive, in that people make culture, and culture makes the individual. This is how both individual and collective identities are formed. (Cushman, 1996, p. 7). A person’s life is shaped by culture because culture imposes inherent patterns that are formed by communal life, logic and narrative, and discourse and language. In this way, culture forms the self, as the growth of the self is dependent upon external images and social bonds (Bruner, 1990, p. 42). The internal thoughts, feelings and states of consciousness that an individual has is externalized and shared by concrete representations of culture and are formed into cultural objects, which includes television programs (Cushman, 1996, p. 90). Moreover, culture helps frame the individual’s experiences and acts, because these are realized by the individual when he or she participates in culture’s symbolic systems (Bruner, 1990, p. 33). Culture is how individual meaning becomes communal and public (Bruner, 1990, p. 34). Moreover, there is proof that television series, among other cultural objects, impact the culture because culture is learned, not innate. This was shown by the studies done by Eisenhart (1995). Eisenhart set out to find out what aspects of a given culture influences individuals, and why this would be so (Eisenhart, 1995, p. 4). Eisenhart posited that there would be different ways of transmitting culture, including the fax theory, which states that culture is learned automatically; the theory that an individual will reject the culture or modify it, which means which would explain how countercultures are formed, and would also explain why individuals reject cultural norms; that one learns individually, and is not influenced by culture, and this would discount the influence of society and culture on the individual; and that individuals change the culture around them through their own cognitive constructions (Eisenhart, 1995, pp. 4-5), Eisenhart set to research how individuals organize culture in her study. Eisenhart examined two individuals, Marty and Dave,over the course of four months. Marty and Dave were co-workers, and the purpose of the study was to learn how they assimilated and organized culture. Eisenhart noted that Marty, a woman who had suffered a miscarriage, was planning on having a child and pressured her new job to be more family-friendly. Eisenhart saw this as Marty exerting her individual cognitive construction to change the culture around her. This, to Eisenhart, was similar to the protest songs in Nepali women that were geared towards creating a disturbance and get their way (Eisenhart, 1995, p. 17). Moreover, Eisenhart saw that the stories that Marty and Dave told changed the culture by affecting how newcomers to their organization were treated, as well as enabling some newcomer experiences and disabling others. In this way, Eisenhart concluded that culture is not readily learned, as through a fax machine, nor is it innate, like with a jazz player, but, rather, is transmitted and shaped through stories (Eisenhart, 1995, p. 20). Therefore, the stories that are played out on shows like Jersey Shore is one way to transmit culture, and, since this transmission of culture consists of harmful stereotypes, the culture that is being transmitted by this show and others like it will impact the Italian-American culture and society in a negative way. Related to the concept of culture is the concept of cultural sociology. Cultural sociology is the study of how the content of culturally significant objects, such as television programs, impacts society. Cultural sociology basically expands contemporary sociology to determine this impact (Eyerman & McCormick, 2006, p. 2). To a cultural sociologist, art, including popular art such as television shows, is put into context by viewing society’s prisms, in that these prisms affect how these television shows are received by the general audience (Zolberg, 1990, p. 8). Social reality is defined by these cultural representations, and these cultural representations are considered to be an interpretation of society’s realism (Sherwood, 2006, p. 100). To a cultural sociologist, cultural representations, such as television shows, are symbolic of societal values (Witkin, 1995, p. 30). Therefore, television shows, such as Jersey Shore are viewed through the prism of ideologies, political institutions and “other extra-aesthetic considerations” (Zolberg, 1990, p. 8). While the above explains how culture shapes a person’s identity and self, and how cultural representations and objects are related to society, another key concept that must be understood is that of collective identity and ethnic identity. Collective identity refers to a specific criteria that binds a group, so that the group becomes an example of collectivity (Jenkins, 2004, p. 80). According to Emile Durkheim, a collective conscience is what binds a collectivity, and ethnicity would be considered to be an example of a collectivity (Durkheim, 1972, p. 5). The collective conscience is made up of four dimensions. The first dimension is the volume, and this looks at the individual’s attitudes and beliefs, and how much these attitudes and believes are identical to the other individuals who are a part of the collective. In this way, each individual is a microcosm of the collective, in that the values and beliefs of the collective exist in each individual. The second dimension is intensity, and this refers to how much the collective consciousness influences the values and beliefs of the individual. The more influence the collective consciousness has over the individuals in the collective, the higher the intensity. Rigidity is the next dimension, and this refers to how the collective defines the proscribed and prescribed social practices and beliefs of the groups. The rules are open to interpretation when the volume and intensity is lower, while this is just the opposite when the volume and intensity is higher. The fourth dimension refers to upon what the collective conscience is based upon. (Durkheim, 1972, p. 6). A subset of collective identity theory is that ethnic identity theory. An ethnic group is “a reference group called upon by people who share a common history and culture, who may be identifiable because they share similar physical features and values and who, through the process of interacting with each other and establishing boundaries with others, identify themselves as being a member of that group” (Smith, 1991, p. 181). In other words, ethnic identity theory encompasses what it means to be white, black, Italian, Jewish, Irish, Chicano, etc. (White & Burke, 1987, p. 311). How one feels to be a part of the identified ethnic group, which includes the beliefs, symbols and values of the group, is the basis for ethnic identity theory (Smith, 1991, p. 182). One develops his or her ethnic identity over time, as the individual comes to terms with his or her ethnicity (Smith, 1991, p. 182). Ethnic identity is learned from one’s family and community, and is developed from shared religion, culture, language and geography between individuals who are connected by proximity, loyalty and kinship (Chavez & Guido-DiBrito, 1999, p. 40). Ethnic identity has been summarized as a) how one perceives differences between one’s ethnic group and other ethnic groups; b) how attached one is to one’s ethnic group, and how proud one is to be a part of the ethnic group; and c) how one perceives others prejudices and discrimination against one’s ethnic group (Niemann et al., 1999, p. 49). Some social scientists believe that the biological dimension is most important in defining ethnic identity, while others feel that the social dimensions are most important (Chavez & Guido-DiBrito, 1999, p. 40). Uba (1994) states that there are three aspects of ethnic identity. The first is that one is conscious of one’s ethnic group, which entails knowledge of the customs and beliefs of the group; the second is that one adopts one’s ethnic identity, which means that one consciously incorporates the beliefs, values, patterns and behaviour of the ethnic group into one’s own personality; and third is the adhibition of ethnic identity, which is the “unconscious and contextually based inability to invoke a behaviour grounded in an ethnic identity schema within a particular context” (Yeh & Hwang, 2000, p. 421). Therefore, the process of collective and ethnic identity theory describe how individuals come to terms with ethnicities, as well as how individuals who are a part of a collective bond to one another through conveying the norms and rules of the collective to individual members. Ethnic identity theory explains how one identifies with one’s ethnic group, and how proud that person is to be a part of that group. Ethnic identity theory also explains how an individual perceives the prejudices and biases against that group. Cultural theory explains how culture impacts the self and collectivity by introducing cultural objects that are used by collectives to further form a kind of collective bond between the members of the group. Cultural sociological theory explains how society is influenced by culture. Put these theories together, and the implications of negative and harmful stereotypes of an ethnicity become clear. If collectives are formed by introducing rules and norms to the members of the collectives, and these rules and norms are the basis for the collectivity, and, if culture is one way that these collectivities receive their norms and rules, then it stands to reason that television can impact how a collective feels about their group. Moreover, cultural sociology explains the impact that culture has on society. If a cultural object such as a television program portrays harmful stereotypes, then society will be influenced by this stereotype, and this is one phenomenon that can be explained by cultural sociological precepts. Therefore, television programs influence not just the members of the collective, which includes collectives based upon ethnic identities, but society as a whole. The member of the ethnic group feels shame upon seeing cultural objects, such as television shows, that demean their ethnicity. Society sees the stereotypes and buys into the stereotype, due to the mediation of cultural sociology theory. Stereotypes therefore not only demean the race in question, but also harms society, because they cause society to believe that all Italians act like the idiots of Jersey Shore. The Basics of Anti-Italianism The self-described “Guidos” of the Jersey Shore are just the latest in a long line of stereotypes that have been perpetuated about Italians. Peter Bondanella, author of Hollywood Italians, states that the Hollywood depictions of Italian-Americans have concentrated on three basictypes of Italians – the “Palooka,” which refers to Italian prize-fighters; the “Romeo,” which means Italian lovers; and “Wise Guys,” which refers to Italian gangsters (Bondanella, 2004). Bondanella explains that Hollywood Italians are quite different from actual Italians, because they are more ethnic than their real-life counterparts, and that they are “frequently presented as gangsters, prizefighters, Latin lovers and poor emigrants – not corporation presidents, mayors, or college professors (Bondanella, 2004, p. 12). These stereotypes may either be based upon religious, ethnic or racial prejudice. These stereotypes are also, according to Bondanella, not entirely negative, as they provide some of Hollywood’s most moving narratives and “some of its most original personalities” (Bondanella, 2004, p. 12). Bondanella traced the common belief that Americans hold about the relationship between Italians and the Mafia to an incident that occurred in New Orleans in 1891. This incident concerned a group of eleven Italian Americans who were acquitted of murder, and this led to “America’s largest lynching” (Bondanella, 2004, p. 18). The fact that these Italians were acquitted of murder caused a tremendous backlash in the American public, and sowed the seeds for the connection between Italians and the Mafia – “the connection between Italians and the Mafia so indelibly etched in the American imagination was born in the aftermath of the event dramatized in this film” (Bondanella, 2004, p. 19). The popular press that surrounded this event established the connection between Italians and the Mafia, and Hollywood, which finds its subject matter in the popular press, perpetuated the connection still further with its movies about Italian gangsters and wise guys (Bondanella, 2004, p. 19). Hollywood did not just depict Italians as gangsters, however. It also perpetuated the stereotype of the Italians as being controlled by passions and emotions (Bondanella, 2004, p. 21). The director D.W. Griffith helped disseminate these stereotypes of Italian gangsters and hotheads by producing movies that portrayed, in Italian Blood (1911) an Italian man as so hot-blooded and jealous of his wife that he almost murders his own children; in At the Altar, a jealous, vindictive and irrational Italian man who attempts revenge on a rival, simply because the rival is more successful in love; in In Life’s Cycle, a man who becomes a priest and his sister who produces an illegitimate child; in The Musketeers of Pig Alley, Italian gangsters (Bondanella, 2004, p. 21). Therefore, as seen through the eyes of D.W. Griffith, Italians are jealous, hot-blooded, vindictive, irrational, and promiscuous. They are also gangsters or priests. There does not seem to be a nuanced portrayal of an Italian in the bunch, but, then again, D.W. Griffith was not necessarily known for sympathetic and nuanced racial portrayals. Bondanella states that, in addition to the stereotype of the Italian prizefighter, lover, and gangsters, another Hollywood Italian stereotype concentrates on those who are lower class and with little education, and “the fact that over fifteen million Americans of Italian origin do not fit neatly into this kind of cultural ghetto has had little impact upon such representations” (Bondanella, 2004, p. 93). The stereotypes surrounding the prize fighters only serve to further the stereotype. These prize fighters are known as “Palookas,” which is defined as “an incompetent or easily defeated player...a tenth rater, a boxer without ability, a nobody” (Bondanella, 2004, p. 93). Rocky Balboa, the protagonist in the hugely successful Rocky franchise, is an embodiment of the Palooka and of the stereotypical Hollywood Italian, especially in the first movie. Rocky is a lower class, uneducated, and collects overdue debts for a Mafia loan shark. He is also considered, at least at the beginning of the film, a “mediocre Italian club fighter” (Bondanella, 2004, p. 119). On the other hand, the stereotype of the Italian lover does not necessarily rely upon the stereotype of Italians as low class and uneducated, but, rather, relies upon the stereotype of the Italian as the hot-blooded and emotional. Nobody embodied this stereotype quite like Rudolph Valentino in the early 1920s. Valentino was the archetypal “Latin Lover,” whose “name conjured up images of valentines and romance, much as the same last name decades later courage wealthy American women to associate the designer Valentino’s gowns with an exotic and romantic lifestyle” (Bondanella, 2004, p. 134). The hot-blooded and emotional stereotype is also a basis for the gangster stereotype, which is perhaps the most persistent Italian stereotype perpetuated by Hollywood (Bondanella, 2004, p. 175). Although the depiction of Italian gangsters, such as those depicted in The Sopranos television show is one basis for protests by those who are concerned about Italian media defamation, Cavallero (2004) argues that these protests are misguided. This is because the groups who protest the Italian Mafioso stereotype virtually ignore the other offensive Italian stereotypes that the media permeates through our society (Cavallero, 2004, p. 50). Cavallero also makes clear just how damaging the media portrayals of the Italian stereotype was to the Italians. Joe DiMaggio, considered a hero by many, was portrayed by the media as being different from other Italians. DiMaggio did not grease his hair with olive oil, using water instead. DiMaggio preferred chicken chow mein to spaghetti. DiMaggio spoke English without an accent. The implication was that DiMaggio was not your “typical” Italian, therefore the hero worship was acceptable. Frank Capra, an Italian-American director, survived a burst appendix, and the media attributed this to the fact that Capra, as a Sicilian, had grown accustomed to knife-fights, as all Sicilians apparently did (Cavallero, 2004, p. 52). Therefore, the media attempted to distance DiMaggio from his Italian roots, in an effort to deflect anti-Italianism so that the hero worship of the sports superstar would not be dampened. At the same time, the media perpetuated the Sicilian stereotype by stating that Capra survived his burst appendix because of the Sicilian tendency to get into knife fights. The implication is clear – aside from DiMaggio, Italians all speak with a heavy accent, grease their hair with olive oil, and eat nothing but spaghetti. Sicilians are all violent. While Bondanella grouped the Hollywood Italian stereotypes into the groups of Palookas, Romeos and Wise Guys, Cavallero identified another Italian stereotype – that of the “fesso.” The “fesso” is the dumb sidekick to the gangster, who does not know what is going on. In the films that portray a character as a fesso, it is made clear that these fessos must rely upon others to make their way in the world. On the other hand, the dumb Anglo-Americans in this same film are portrayed as being able to make their own way in the world, without the assistance of others (Cavellero, 2004, p. 54). Cavallero states that the character of Joey Tribbiani of Friends is a modern-day fesso, as he “occasionally surprises his friends with an astute comment, but usually remaining clueless” (Cavallero, 2004, p. 57). Tricksters are another stereotype. As dumb as a fesso, tricksters are also unethical, manipulative, selfish and disloyal (Cavallero, 2004, p. 56). Cavallero holds up the character of George Costanza in Seinfeld as being a good example of a modern-day trickster (Cavallero, 2004, p. 57). Adding to the stereotypes - Jersey Shore As the above analysis indicates, Italians in the media have had a rough time of it. They are generally portrayed as overly emotional, promiscuous, stupid, low class, uneducated, and incompetent. These are generally the more positive portrayals of the Italian American, because the other stereotype portrays them as violent. Therefore, the portrayals of Italian Americans in the Jersey Shore are but the latest in a long, long line of anti-Italian portrayals in the media. And, while the Jersey Shore characters perpetuate certain stereotypes of Italians, such as the fesso stereotype, the promiscuous stereotype, the low class stereotype, and the overly emotional stereotype, it adds other new stereotypes into this list. These new stereotypes are that Italian men are vain, overly tanned, muscle heads, while Italian women have fake boobs, big hair, short skirts, and high maintenance. Both Italian men and women, according to Jersey Shore, are vain, loud, obnoxious, low-class, drunk and promiscuous. The show focuses on eight Italian-American individuals who share a house on the Jersey Shore in Season One, and a house in Miami Beach in Season Two. The characters are loud, drink heavily, and are sexually promiscuous. The women have big hair, breast enhancements and at least one, Snooki, tans so much that she is often accused of being “tanorexic.” The breakout stars of the show are The Situation, nee Michael Sorrentino and Snooki, nee Nicole Polizzi. Sorrentino was a former exotic dancer who is boastful and crude, and decidedly low class and uneducated. Sooki is just as much of a fesso as Sorrentino, and just as loud, crude and obnoxious. Her goal in life is to meet a “hot, juiced, tan guy and live my life.” She describes herself as having a loud mouth, and states that she is looking for a Guido. Snooki is also a major alcohol who cannot hold her alcohol. Pauly is another Guido in the house, who states that when Guidos stop, “their chrome keeps spinning,” which refers to the spinning hubcaps. Pauly is addicted to hair gel, and takes 25 minutes to do his hair, and states that he can get any girl he wants, even if she is with a boyfriend. Pauly, like Snooki, is addicted to tanning, even having a tanning booth in his own house. Vinny comes off better than many of the others. Unlike the other guys in the house, Vinny isn’t really a Guido, and feels that guys who have blow-outs, fake tans and muscles are not real Guidos. Vinny also avoids the low class, uneducated stereotype, as he graduated college. Unfortunately, Vinny, while not perpetuating the fesso, low-class stereotype, embodies another Italian stereotype, one that has heretofore not been mentioned, but is just as prevalent as any other Italian stereotype – that of the momma’s boy. In the first episode, he is seen leaving for the Jersey Shore while his mother cries, and professes that he has a hard time being away from home. Jwoww, nee Jenny, is another vain girl who states that “if you don’t know me, you hate me, and wish you were me.” Jwoww has obviously fake breasts, is tanned, and states that “after I have sex with a guy, I rip their heads off.” The girls hate on her because they can’t compare to her, or so she says, and she says that she sends the guys that she dates on a “roller coaster ride through hell.” Ronnie, like the other men in the house, is tanned and muscular. He says that he is not interested in love, but only in getting laid, and he takes his shirt off and the girls come to him, like a “fly comes to shit.” Angelina is decidedly vain, and describes herself as the Kim Kardashian of Jersey Shore. Angelina brags about her body, including her “nice, fat ass” and says “look at me, I’m hot.” She says that she doesn’t go out looking for guys, but that they come to her. All of the characters in the first episode state that they are excited to move into the house because of all the sex and action that will be in the house. The men considered themselves to be “Guidos” which refers to low class Italian men who are obsessed with tanning and having muscles. The women are “Guidettes,” which refers to women who club it up, have big hair, tan obsessively, wear scanty clothing, wear tons of makeup, and have fake breasts. Both the Guidos and the Guidettes are loud, obnoxious, vain, drink and cuss a lot. Their entire lives in the house revolve around drinking and hooking up with random people that they meet in bars. The women in the house criticize the boys for bringing home skanks, and profess love for their boyfriends back home, while grinding on random guys at the bar. Yet the kids say grace around the dinner table, which means that they still have a little bit of the Italian Catholic inside each of them. In short, Jersey Shore takes every offensive stereotype about Italians and adds a few more. The only stereotype that isn’t touched upon is the gangster stereotype, as none of the guys are shown to be gangsters or criminals. Nonetheless, the stereotype of the highly emotional, low class, loud-mouthed, stupid, promiscuous Italian is highly prevalent in the series, and each person embodies these stereotypes in one way or another. Thus, Jersey Shore continues the tradition of portraying Italians in a highly negative light, which will add to society’s already negative view of Italians. Conclusion Television portrayals of races, not just Italians, are destructive to these individual races. This is because these are cultural symbols that inform members of the portrayed race about their ethnicity, and these portrayals contribute to one’s ethnic identity. These portrayals may therefore be a source of shame to the targeted ethnic group. Moreover, the portrayals are damaging because they color society’s view of the group. Italians have had a particularly difficult time, in that Hollywood has typically portrayed them in a light that is negative. They are portrayed as stupid, low class, loud, violent, overly emotional, and promiscuous. The television show Jersey Shore, capitalizes on these stereotypes by portraying the Italians living in this house, the so-called “Guidos and Guidettes,” as drunk, loud, promiscuous and vain. The men are meatheads, the women have big hair and are high maintenance, everybody gets up in everybody else’s face, they all hook up with random people. In short, the show will only serve to perpetuate the stereotypes that Italians have to face, and will cause people to believe that this how Italians really are. In reality, of course, Italians are not all like these people, and they are not all like how Hollywood has typically portrayed them. They are doctors and lawyers, Supreme Court Justices and veterinarians. They are in every profession, and not all of them are loud or momma’s boys. However, one would not know that if the only exposure one has with Italians is through Jersey Shore. Sources Used Peter Bondanella, Hollywood Italians (New York: The Continuum International Publishing Group, Inc., 2004). Jan Bruner, Actual Minds, Possible Worlds (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986). Jan Bruner, Acts of Meaning (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1990). Jonathan Cavallero, J. “Gangsters, Tricksters, Fessos and Sopranos.” Journal of Popular Film and Television 32(2) (2004): 50-65. Alicia Chavez & Florence Guido-DiBrito. “Racial and Ethnic Identity and Development.” New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education 94 (1999): 39-47. Thomas Cushman, Notes from Underground: Rock Music Counterculture in Russia (New York, NY: State University of New York Press, 1995). Emile Durkheim, Selected Writings (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1972). Margaret Eisenhart, M. “The Fax, the Jazz Player, and the Self-Story Teller: How Do People Organize Culture?” Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 26(1) (1995): 3-26. Richard Jenkins, Social Identity (New York: Routledge, 2004). Yolanda Niemann, Andrea Romero, Jorge Arrelando & Victor Rodriguez, “What Does It Mean To Be ‘Mexican’? Social Construction of an Ethnic Identity.” Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 31(1) (1999): 47-60. Elsie Smith, “Ethnic Identity Development: Toward the Development of a Theory Within the Context of Majority/Minority Status” Journal of Counseling & Development, 70(1991): 181-188. Clovis White & Peter Burke, “Ethnic Role Identity Among Black and White College Students: An Interactionist Approach.” Sociological Perspectives, 30(3)(1987): 310-331. Christine Yeh & Mary Hwang, “Interdependence in Ethnic Identity and Self: Implications for Theory and Practice. Journal of Counseling and Development, 78 (2009): 420-427. Read More