Italian American Culture in Media

For this assignment, we will be studying Caucasian and Italian American Cultures.

There are four screenings for this assignment:

All in the Family
Emily in Paris
Goodfellas
The Wedding Planner
Read the associated chapters, articles and watch the associated films/sitcoms. I suggest starting in the order of which the films are listed above. Respond to all the questions within your four page paper. The four page paper is due Monday, October 17, 2022 at 11:59pm.
Caucasian American Culture in Media
Read Chapter 54.
View the t.v. sitcom “All in the Family” – 1-2 episodes

1. Identify any stereotypes that you may have noticed throughout the sitcom.

2. Are these stereotypes common in media for the Caucasian Culture?  Do you think Caucasian portrayal in the media has evolved?  If so, how?

3. What do you think of Archie Bunker?  Do you think he’s a bigot?

4. What kind of image does he portray in the Caucasian Culture? Positive or negative?

5. What do you think of Archie & Mike’s relationship?

6. What do you think of Archie & Lionel Jefferson’s relationship?

7. How do you think this sitcom impacted the overall American Culture in the media?

View the Netflix series “Emily in Paris” 1-2 episodes

1. Identify any Caucasian American stereotypes that you may have noticed throughout the series.

2. What do you think of Emily?

3. Do you think her lifestyle is realistic?  Is her lifestyle representative of Caucasian American women?

4. What do you think of her choice of love interests in the series?

5. How do you think character impacted the perception of overall American Culture?
6. What do you think about how she’s navigating French/Eurpoean Culture?

Italian  American Culture in Media
No Readings for this culture.
View the films “Goodfellas and The Wedding Planner”.
1.      Identify any stereotypes that you may have noticed throughout the films.  Consider, are all cultural stereotypes necessarily negative?
2.      Are these stereotypes common in media for the Italian American Culture?  Do you think Italian American portrayal in the media has evolved?  If so, how?
In Goodfellas:
3. What do you think of Henry?
4. What do you think of Henry and Karen’s relationship?
5. Do you think the depiction of this film encompasses Italian American Culture?
Read the article entitled “Andy Garcia: I’m Not a Latino Actor”
In The Wedding Planner:
1. Identify any stereotypes that you may have noticed throughout the film whether it be in regards to Italian American Culture or another culture.

2. Jennifer Lopez is portraying a woman of Italian descent, why do you think she would choose a role like this?

3. How do you think other Latin Americans feel about Lopez’ portrayal?

4. Do you think the story of The Wedding Planner could have been told to include a Latina?

5. Can you think of another film or actor where a character (in that film) was portrayed in another culture other than that actor’s own culture?

6. Can you think of other cultures where it might be easy to pass as Caucasian on film or in person?