The Situation

Robert Viscusi (January 20, 2010)
'Guido' is a phenomenon that demands attention. If Italian American social advance were as real, as secure, and as substantial as many Italian Americans believe it to be (I am among these believers), then it would seem not only not harmful, but indeed positively beneficial and necessary, to examine, to discuss, and to reflect upon the power of such a new word. As to the youths of Jersey Shore, they are playing grotesques, like all minstrel-show caricatures. They are amusing—indeed, more so than most clowns with sad eyes. They have clearly found their moment and clearly touched a nerve. To the term Italian American, which has carried so many strings of dollar bills and ropes of sausage, they have added a new chain of fetishes – a tanning bed, a tube of gel, an old summer thong bearing the legend “I Love the Situation.”
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Jersey Shore is an MTV reality show that follows eight housemates, aged 22 through 29, spending their summer living together in a house in Seaside Heights, New Jersey. Young adults simultaneously trying and refusing to grow up, they live a life characterized by self-contradiction and cross purposes. As is so often the case in reality television, the mating rituals of consumerist society, brutal and even grotesque, are placed on view, as are the prepackaged sensitivity rituals among the participants, who try to sympathize with one another’s wounds even as they conspire to objectify, sexualize, and humiliate one another and themselves as well, pretty much all day and all night, sometimes even when sleeping.

All of this is predictable enough. Reality TV, with its mingling of the minstrel show and the slave market, has been the most popular form of TV in the United States for the past 10 years – Survivor, American Idol, America’s Next Top Model, to use only the most obvious examples, have been steady favorites, continually generating conversation at water coolers and on talk shows. 

Jersey Shore belongsto that world of conversation. Why do people talk about it?

First and foremost, the characters are notable for the rituals of self-care that define them.

 Jersey Shore's 'Guido' Outrage (CBS)

Determined, even obsessive, rituals of self-presentation belong to the slave-market aspect of the show, a feature it shares with many other popular forms of spectacle – modeling contests, talent competitions, beauty pageants – where the performers burnish their secondary sexual characteristics, hoping to attract prizes or at least buyers. Snooki, for example, dresses like a showgirl, and JWoww displays the perfect domes of her enhanced bosoms, but both occasionally profess their desires to make careers, not as hookers or showgirls, but as wives of Guidos. As Snooki puts it, “My ultimate dream is to move to Jersey, find a nice juiced hot tanned guy and live my life.”[1]

There is something incredibly old-fashioned about the ambitions of these souped-up young bodies. And that brings us to the other, more controversial aspect of the series, its minstrel-show representation of Italian Americans. Here is the most provocative statement of the theme, uttered by DJ Pauly D:

There are viewers whose response to this kind of statement has the eyeblink speed of a conditioned reflex. There have been two levels of protest.

O&A with "Jersey Shore" star "The Situation" Snook the Night

The first is very general, and very familiar in nature. Many Italian American organizations have joined this protest. Andrè DiMino, president of UNICO National, says the show “sends the wrong message.” “This type of programming represents a direct affront and attack by MTV on the character of Italian Americans, the fourth-largest ethnic group in America.”[3] The Order Sons of Italy in America and the National Italian American Foundation have taken similar positions, calling on MTV to take the show off the air. This response is hardly surprising; nor, in the general marketplace of ethnic stereotypes, is it out of place. Italian American civic organizations, devoted to supporting the social advance of Italian Americans, must respond this way when anyone presents the identity Italian American in a way that causes it to lose what they perceive as social value and/or prestige. In the days of The Godfather and The Sopranos, these organizations took similar positions. 

The protest has the character of a class defense. Italian Americans are rising in the world. Doctors, lawyers, writers, professors, Supreme Court Justices, the Speaker of the House, corporation presidents and CEOs—pillars of respectability abound. Jersey Shore, though it does not feature gangsters, ignores all this move in the direction of quiet refinement. Rather, it brings the meaning of the expression Italian American back to the world of the working-class, where beauty is all on the surface, and long-range consequences, so beloved of the upwardly-mobile, have nothing to do with it. The stars of Jersey Shore are not interested in delayed gratification. Their position is made firmly clear by Snooki, speaking on the Wendy Williams Show:

I felt like eating ham and drinking water. Ham.  "Hair 101" (The Daily News)

To which the leaders of Italian American organizations might reply, “Fine. Enjoy yourselves. Just understand that you are defaming a brand-name that we share with you.” And of course they are right. The entry of Italian Americans into elite social groups has not kept pace with their academic and economic achievements. For example, 4.6 percent of college professors are Italian American, a portion close to the Italian American presence (5.6 percent) in the general population. But the Italian American presence in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the leading elite intellectual group in the nation, is 1.3 percent, a figure suggestive of the unspoken barriers and diminished value that still attaches to their shared identification.[5]

What shall we make of problems like this? The John D. Calandra Italian American Institute of the City University of New York, whose mission and goals include “heightening awareness, fostering higher education, and conducting research to deepen understanding of Italian Americans’ culture and heritage,” announced a lecture and discussion on “Guido: An Italian-American Youth Style” for Thursday, January 21, 2010, to be led by Donald Tricarico, a sociologist and author who has studied this subculture, and by Johnny DeCarlo, a self-identified Guido.  It would seem appropriate to have a serious discussion of something that many Italian Americans see as a serious threat to their social advance.

But no.

Instead, this event brings us to the second level of protest. A wide variety of persons has protested the presentation of this colloquium. Arthur Piccolo, writing on i-italy.org, takes the line that the very term Guido is so offensive that it ought never to be uttered, much less studied and discussed, by an Italian American, not even a scholar trained to analyze social facts. Piccolo gets so angry about this that he writes, “Meet Dr. Donald Tricarico who regardless of his ancestry does not deserve to be called an Italian American.” [6] Piccolo, like many others, attributes a peculiar negative power to the word.

Meet the Cast 'Jersey Shore' Cast Reacts to Snooki Getting Punched in the Face (ET)

It is not easy to disagree with him, but it is also necessary to do so. For the word Guido has a complex meaning, and to read it as having a simple valence, negative or positive, is to miss the eloquence of the phenomenon it represents. Guido is a word in process of transvaluation, according to Donald Tricarico. "Guido is a slur, but Italian kids have embraced it just as black kids have embraced the N word. In the same way that radical gays call themselves queer."[7] 

In fact, the entire ensemble of Guido behaviors presents Italian American culture in a funhouse mirror, with meanings distorted and turned upside down. The emphasis on virginity and female virtue in the traditional Italian American family recurs here in the caricature of maternal abundance in the florid display of copious mammaries and child-bearing hips. Angelina says, "I have real boobs.  I have a nice, fat ass." [8] Given her name, it is not difficult to see her as advertising herself as a candidate for Italian American wedlock and motherhood.

Is it too far-fetched to see in this working-class culture a powerful force of nostalgic (i.e, home-seeking) behavior, Southern Italians who seek out their ancestral and stereotypical darkness with tanning beds in their rooms, into which they lay themselves down like Orpheus descending into the Underworld, farmers’ grandchildren who exaggerate their fertility with their grotesque miming of sexuality, twenty-first century breeding partners still looking for simple fidelity to an ethnic identity that, in practice, they often do not know how to achieve. Two of the most feverish mate-hunters among them, Snooki and Pauly D, spend much of their time pursuing partners who are, respectively, Irish and Israeli. Guido, with its double value, positive and negative, is a term flexible enough to represent an Italian American identity that both is and isn’t something in particular.

The level of linguistic inventiveness and of cultural improvisation present here is evident not only in the words but in the stunning remarks that emerge from the characters’ mouths.

 

It is the wit of people living in a borderland, negotiating the need to seem certain even when nothing can be ascertained.

This is a phenomenon that demands attention. If Italian American social advance were as real, as secure, and as substantial as many Italian Americans believe it to be (I am among these believers), then it would seem not only not harmful, but indeed positively beneficial and necessary, to examine, to discuss, and to reflect upon the power of such a new word. Are we mature enough, sensible enough, secure enough in our sense of our own inheritance, to engage in such reflection? I want merely to point out that the achievement of high social and intellectual status in the United States requires that we look firmly at the things we most instinctively dislike and fear about our selves, both internally and externally.

Internally, we need to ask, have we really distanced ourselves from our working-class roots so little that the very signs of these roots, appearing on a television show, must enrage and disgust us? And if so, why?

Externally, we need to ask, do we need to be responsive and responsible to every person that tries to define our relationship with our inherited identities? If I am Italian American, is it not within my power to write about that in my own way, in terms that no one else needs to use or accept?

As to the youths of Jersey Shore, they are playing grotesques, like all minstrel-show caricatures. They are amusing—indeed, more so than most clowns with sad eyes. They have clearly found their moment and clearly touched a nerve.  To the term Italian American, which has carried so many strings of dollar bills and ropes of sausage, they have added a new chain of fetishes – a tanning bed, a tube of gel, an old summer thong bearing the legend “I Love the Situation.”

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on Anonymous (not verified) wrote

Another Self-Hating Italian

Professor Viscusi- You speak of how Italian Americans should have an introspective look at the word Guido. I feel that the timing for this introspection is either ill-timed and/or diabolically calculated. You were once my professor at Brooklyn College, and you made it very apparent that you disagreed wholly with traditional concepts of Italian identity. People with a contrary opinion to yours ( Richard Gambino being one of them) were dismissed outright, and not given a second thought. You are now doing the same thing with another popular point of view- this time one belonging to all of the major Italian organizations. What we just lived through with the Jersey Shore was an attempt at a unified "Italian front." All of the Italian American organizations spoke as one, and were able to effectively mobilize their bases. It seemed as if for a moment, the sheer number of Italian Americans would come together and accomplish a lofty goal: send a message to the media that they deserve better. However, with the passage of time, you and the Italian 'illuminati' set on your way to dissolve that unity. By simply asking the question above, "... have we really distanced ourselves from our working-class roots so little that the very signs of these roots, appearing on a television show, must enrage and disgust us? And if so, why." you essentially trivialized Italian disdain for MTV's use of this word by equating hatred for it with being a member of the working class. There are two things wrong with that statement 1) Any individual, regardless of class or education, knows when he is being insulted and mocked and 2) When did being 'working class' come to have negative connotations? Forgive me for asking, but did your ancestors come here as Italian royalty or as workers seeking a better life? By making your statement, you come off as being above your humble roots. It should be as clear as day as to why Italians are enraged by "Guido"- its derogatory and hate filled. You found one other 'researcher' who claims Italians embraced the word like the black community did with the n-word. If this embracing truly did take place, why is it that every major Italian organization failed to receive the memo? Why were all of their members infuriated? Can millions of Italians be wrong? If there is anything that deserves introspection, it is these questions. If you want to make this an academic debate, why not ask the question, " Why is it, that in the year 2010, with decades of tolerance preached in America, is it still acceptable to ruin the Italian image in the media?" Then, if you would like to point fingers at your own kind, you can then be introspective and ask, " What is lacking in the Italian community that they fail to have an organized voice?" The answer to that last question is simple. It is individuals like you who demand to know why Guido is offensive, or self professed "Cugines" like Johnny DeCarlo, that are the hands that cover the mouth of the Italian community. You both know full well why these words are insulting and infuriating; you are just seizing this opportunity to further your own agendas and beliefs.
on Lisa Marie Paolucci (not verified) wrote

Far From Self-Hatred

Something is wrong here, and it's not Dr. Viscusi's very insightful (and very necessary) analysis of the responses to Jersey Shore. Personally, I typically try very hard to avoid conversations about this show because a minority of individuals have made themselves aware of all of the issues actually surrounding this. This is much more then determining whether or not the word "guido" is offensive. I feel the need to address some of your points because I see your response as, in part, a lack of understanding of what you read: Dr. Viscusi did not write that all Italian Americans embraced the word guido, nor was he suggesting that the entirety of the black community had embraced the word nigger. But there are groups scattered throughout this country who really do call themselves guidos and promote the view of Italian Americans as guidos in a much more striking and influential way than a show like the Jersey Shore. I grew up on the borderline of Bensonhurst and Gravesend, and annually attended (and still do) the 18th avenue feast. I attended a high school where Pauly D's spiked hair was ubiquitous--this is just a few years ag0--and where Italian American girls with parents and grandparents from Southern Italy spent much more time on their physical appearance than on studying (even for Italian class, where many did very poorly!). (However, there was also a group of Italian American girls who went on to earn full scholarships to college, earn Master's degrees, MDs, and JDs.) Everyone is aware of the fact that there are people who call themselves guidos with glee , and naturally, the scholar cannot simply toss this aside, pointing out the offensiveness of the word guido; rather, it is the rare scholar of Italian American culture who must necessarily look deeper into the matter. Dr. Viscusi did not criticize the Italian American organizations; rather he pointed out that they acted in precisely the way they are supposed to act. And working class having negative connotations? Viscusi simply pointed out the way things were when Italian immigrants settled in places like East Harlem, Red Hook, and Bensonhurst, and began to build and move toward goals that were both new (as living in a new country would call for) as well as in keeping with the thousands of years of culture from which they had come. No, not all new Americans of Italian descent fluffed up their hair and emphasized their breasts--but a great deal did. And these people were of the working class. Of course Viscusi does not think that working class Italians are "beneath" him. Where did you get that from? Viscusi has spent a great part of his life educating the working class of New York City--individuals from all different backgrounds--and encouraging them to work at what makes them happy, whether that is being a neurosurgeon or a teacher. Perhaps the majority of the time, he taught young people who came from families where they were among the first to earn college degrees, and did so with great struggle (in terms of overcoming parents' wishes for them, financial obstacles, and even images of what they themselves could or couldn't do). As a former student of Viscusi's as well, I know this. And what could you possibly mean by Viscusi disagreeing "wholly" with the traditional concepts of Italian identity? I am not sure where to go with that because it is unclear whether you mean the way Italian Americans look at themselves, or the way they look at portrayals of them in media, or the way non-Italian Americans perceive Italian Americans. None of these, though, can be described as "traditional." Perhaps you mean "stereotypical" or "prejudicial?" Again, I am unsure because I don't understand what you mean. The reason why the Italian American community cannot have an organized voice on this matter is that there is no united community. If there are people who proudly call themselves guidos, then it is not the scholar of Italian American culture that is interfering with the unity of this nonexistent community. We need to look at this issue from all angles because Italian Americans look from all angles. And no, we cannot silence a TV show because it features individuals who were picked out of a larger group of people who live in a similar manner. We need to promote scholarship and the working out of more complicated views. This cannot be said enough: negative views of Italian Americans will not be wiped out by calling attention to and then demanding the erasure of shows like Jersey Shore. It is the kind of work that this website typically promotes and that scholars like Viscusi produce in which alternate images of Italian Americans are produced. There is a sense of empowerment that comes with knowing that Italian American professors are weighing in on "the situation"; this makes me, personally, feel proud.
on Greg (not verified) wrote

I agree, but...

While I agree with you, much the way I did with the individual above, I feel it important to restate my initial point: this discussion is ill timed. No one paid attention when Italian groups railed against The Sopranos, nor did they care when Rev. Wright demeaned us. But, as soon as someone started calling Italians Guidos, the world was watching. And to their credit, Italian organizations came together to fight back against this media portrayal. For quite some time, it appeared as though this movement was gaining traction. But, lo and behold, the Italian American community HAD to start to fight itself, as it is best known to do. How did it begin to fight itself? Well, the individual above me wanted to make it crystal clear that the people on Jersey Shore aren't Italians, while he is. That may be great for purposes of a discussion between Italians, but it is little more than 'fisseria' for people not of Italian descent or origin. And, believe me he is not the only one with this opinion. Views like his make us all have a pissing match on who is 'more Italian'- while MTV continues to air the program and be extremely unapologetic about its liberal use of the word. The second way the community fights itself is that, groups like this are furthering the myth that MTV is utilizing to excuse its use of the word. MTV came out and said Guido is a lifestyle and here comes the Calandra institute to say there is truth to that. Why is that wrong of the Calandra institute? Because it completely undermines the effort of the Italian American organizations. For once, Calandra should have held its tongue and let the organizations do their job. Instead, it seems, the Calandra Institute just wants to make headlines. The discussion of Guido should come after the issue of it use by MTV is resolved. Lastly, I don't know about you personally, but I know I would be extremely insulted if someone were to call me a Guido. It is a term that was created to marginalize Italians. If the word has changed at all, it came to encompass all people acting like low-class Italians. The Italian part never left the meaning of the word.
on Anonymous (not verified) wrote

Dear anonymous hater,

Personally, I don't really want to grace your superficial response with another response. However, I feel it is my duty as an Italian American and as a budding linguist to clarify a misunderstanding you seem to be having with Professor Viscusi's article. Whenever a word re-enters the social sphere we need to understand all phenomena surrounding it. Therefore, If i understand correctly,Viscusi is simply doing what scholars and other analytical people do which is try to negotiate terms. I don't think he's personally insulting the working class integrity of our forefathers nor do I think he's ignoring certain negative connotations surrounding the term 'guido.' What he is doing is exploring a new arena. Basta cosi. My question for most Italian Americans is this, rather than trying to define terms from a disconnected American perspective, ask yourself this: When was the last time I actually visited the mother country? Can I speak the language? Do I embrace the arts and culture of my people? Do I know the number of movements occurring at this moment in Italy today? In my opinion, the "Jersey Shore question" is a question of misplacement of terms and what it is to be Italian-American. The characters on that show are actually hyper-American in that they embrace the culture of excess and superficiality that has been steeped into our culture through vessels such as MTV. They embrace stereotypes placed upon Italian Americans by people who never understood what it truly meant to be Italian-American in the first place. The only connection with being Italian that they have is that they so happen to be of Italian decent. Aside from that they are culturally part of another movement altogether that doesn't know culturally specific boundaries such as "Italian American" you might have heard about it, it's called Capitalism (with roots in consumerism, materialism and egotism).
on Greg (not verified) wrote

Dear Condescension:

First, let me thank you for 'gracing me' with your response. One would think that my discussion was disrespectful in some way or that it departed from the academic nature of the article based on your response. Nothing could be further from the truth. I believe in looking at this situation in an academic manner- but I believe the timing of the analysis is unbelievably poor. Allow me to pose an academic question to you: We make distinctions from what real Italians are in our own community. You listed a wide array of necessary characteristics (visited Italy, speak the language, know the intricacies of the culture, etc) that I agree with. However, do you think that the public at large makes a distinction between Italians and simply 'people of Italian descent'? Do you think some middle America individual who has never met an Italian is going to know the difference between Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino and you? The answer to both of these questions is 'Absolutely not.' The reason for this is two fold, and they are interrelated- the media and Italians themselves. The media is propagating a endless barrage of stereotypes against Italian Americans. There is o question about it- Italians are disproportionately portrayed negatively compared to other ethnic groups. This fact should elicit the question, Why? It is because we are 'easy pickings.' Italians fail to have one voice on a consistent basis. There is no single authority that says 'don't portray us this way.' As a result, the media tells the masses " This is what we think Italians are" and the masses follow suit. This media fiasco is fed by Italians and their community. If there is a group of 10 Italians screaming "You can't call us Guido on TV!" there is sure to be another group of 10 Italians screaming " Guido isn't a slur, its a lifestyle". MTV proved this point gloriously. Moreover, the Italian community has this wonderful quirk- factions within it are eager to declare who is and isn't Italian. Just as you stated above, a distinction must be made and the distinction in your mind is to distance yourself from people of the Jersey Shore's ilk. That may be great for your self esteem, but it does bring me back to my initial point. Average Americans do not care what you think is Italian. All they are concerned about is the vowel at the end of your name, which makes you a Guido just like Snookie. So, fight all you want with other Italians about all of the qualifiers you placed on being a true Italian-you'll drown out the voice of the Italian American organizations, who for once, came together for a mutual cause. MTV is banking on it. Just an aside, the timing of this discussion about 'What is Guido?' is absolutely horrendous. At a time where the word is being used to demean Italians on a massive level, this group wants to philosophize over its connotations, and go so far as to say Italians embraced it as African American embraced the n-word. Do you not see how other non-Italians and the media would view this as weakness that they could exploit? They can exploit us because there is no continuity of thought within our community. Still don't believe me on the whole continuity thing? NIAF, UNICO and OSIA are rallying together that this word is hate filled and this group is having a 'colloquium' on Guido, featuring a man who describes himself as a 'Cugine.' That's academic by Calandra standards? No, that's a three ring circus, by anyone's standards. I'm surprised the Gotti boys weren't invited. Thanks for the condescension, by the way. It always amazes me that people who wish to talk about things in a sophisticated manner resort to talking down to the other person. Have I heard of capitalism? No, gee-golly, what's that? Is that when you go back to something you wrote and capitalize some words?
on Anonymous (not verified) wrote

Rhetorical Device?

"Have I heard of capitalism? No, gee-golly, what's that? Is that when you go back to something you wrote and capitalize some words?" Perhaps condescension if you'd like to read it as such. Mainly just Rhetorical device...
on Greg (not verified) wrote

Don't even

Rhetorical? I think not. Don't belittle my intelligence. The line about capitalism fell in nicely with the underhanded opening comment about how I was being 'graced' with a response. Defend it all you like. The fact of the matter is I had a contrary, yet well thought out and respectful, opinion and that opinion was deemed 'superficial.' I apologize for not thinking like you. Perhaps I should learn how to act from the Gotti Boys and Johnny DeCarlo. Then, we can have a serious discussion. Do you see what literary device I used there? Maybe you've heard of a little something called 'patronizing.'
on Greg (not verified) wrote

Another Self-Hating Italian

Professor Viscusi- You speak of how Italian Americans should have an introspective look at the word Guido. I feel that the timing for this introspection is either ill-timed and/or diabolically calculated. You were once my professor at Brooklyn College, and you made it very apparent that you disagreed wholly with traditional concepts of Italian identity. People with a contrary opinion to yours ( Richard Gambino being one of them) were dismissed outright, and not given a second thought. You are now doing the same thing with another popular point of view- this time one belonging to all of the major Italian organizations. What we just lived through with the Jersey Shore was an attempt at a unified "Italian front." All of the Italian American organizations spoke as one, and were able to effectively mobilize their bases. It seemed as if for a moment, the sheer number of Italian Americans would come together and accomplish a lofty goal: send a message to the media that they deserve better. However, with the passage of time, you and the Italian 'illuminati' set on your way to dissolve that unity. By simply asking the question above, "... have we really distanced ourselves from our working-class roots so little that the very signs of these roots, appearing on a television show, must enrage and disgust us? And if so, why." you essentially trivialized Italian disdain for MTV's use of this word by equating hatred for it with being a member of the working class. There are two things wrong with that statement 1) Any individual, regardless of class or education, knows when he is being insulted and mocked and 2) When did being 'working class' come to have negative connotations? Forgive me for asking, but did your ancestors come here as Italian royalty or as workers seeking a better life? By making your statement, you come off as being above your humble roots. It should be as clear as day as to why Italians are enraged by "Guido"- its derogatory and hate filled. You found one other 'researcher' who claims Italians embraced the word like the black community did with the n-word. If this embracing truly did take place, why is it that every major Italian organization failed to receive the memo? Why were all of their members infuriated? Can millions of Italians be wrong? If there is anything that deserves introspection, it is these questions. If you want to make this an academic debate, why not ask the question, " Why is it, that in the year 2010, with decades of tolerance preached in America, is it still acceptable to ruin the Italian image in the media?" Then, if you would like to point fingers at your own kind, you can then be introspective and ask, " What is lacking in the Italian community that they fail to have an organized voice?" The answer to that last question is simple. It is individuals like you who demand to know why Guido is offensive, or self professed "Cugines" like Johnny DeCarlo, that are the hands that cover the mouth of the Italian community. You both know full well why these words are insulting and infuriating; you are just seizing this opportunity to further your own agendas and beliefs.
on Rico (not verified) wrote

Ill reasoning of academics is no excuse for media hate speech

Academic sell outs are concentrating on the ill perceived nature of the G-word subculture and missing the constant in your face negativity aspect of media portraits without normalcy or balance. The obnoxious acting out and the violence that is encouraged as part of so called reality TV is there to make the kids look bad so we can laugh at them. Olive skin and voweled surnames suffer and are ostracized in society because of shows like this. And there have been many many for the last century. Statistical surveys on what Americans thinks about Italians due to the media reveal that they suffer due to constant lowbrow imagery. Anyone regardless of public status who defends dreck like this is no less misguided than a Jew who defends Nazi propaganda. Fascism is alive and well in America in guise of a media that uses negative stereotype hate speech and calls it reality TV. This is not your daddy's 4th estate. How come America's most beloved TV family, The Waltons, were part Italian yet it was never focused on or celebrated in 9 years plus of the show? Meanwhile, this dreck is paraded up front and center as an accepted caricature cross to bear for 25 million of us. Amos and Andy for Little Italy whose great minds and thinkers can only defend it while they thank God they made it in life despite media obstacles. Give someone a lofty job or a high position in society and they'd sell out their own mother to not rock the boat. Orwellian times such as these are shameful. Guidos exist. But positive Italian identites remain unseen because Hollywood is blind to fair balance and will only exploit the poor soul, the lowlife or black hat.
on Frank (not verified) wrote

Mr Rico, you say Fascism is

Mr Rico, you say Fascism is alive and well in America? Fascists in Italy used to burn books they disapproved of, including those that portrayed Italy and Italians in terms that self-appointed elites disliked. Fascists wanted only positive images of the Nation and its People, to enhance the "image" of Italy in the world. Fascists did not like critical thought and despised the "ill reasoning of academics". And they shut down newspapers that did not follow their line! If you want to combat MTV's stereotypes without being "fascist", instead of asking for Jersey Shore to be closed, why don't you raise funds for different programs that depicts Italians and Italian Americans the way you like? That would be civilized pluralism. Shutting other people's mouths is not the answer.
on Greg (not verified) wrote

Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose.

Frank- Do me a favor, please. Go to an African American neighborhood and start calling everyone there your 'n-word.' Better yet, do it on television. Tell me which would happen faster, the Al Sharpton press conference or the beat down you would receive. My point being: freedom of speech is a privilege, not an absolute right. If you were truly 'free' to say whatever you chose, screaming fire in a crowded theater would be perfectly acceptable. However, screaming fire in a theater is socially irresponsible and an abuse of your 'freedom,' and you would be punished for doing such. Just because you can do something doesn't mean that you should. Your argument is that of a two year old who hits his head against a wall with the reason being 'because he can.' Well, of course he's right...but what kind of shallow, immature victory is that? People are telling 'pro-Guidos' to cool it because what they are doing is damaging and socially irresponsible. Only they would view that as someone 'shutting their mouths'
on Linda (not verified) wrote

The Situation is Denial

We are certainly slicing and dicing this Guido sub-culture. Given the mafia is perhaps a few thousand Italian Americans, these so-called Guidos must be a significantly lesser number. With nearly 18 million Italian Americans in this very large country of ours, to not comprehend the sincere concern of the larger population of Italian Americans in respect to the repetitive negative and misrepresentative images is simply denial, and a tad arrogant. I have read quite a few articles and posts and they are excellent and thought-provoking. In the end, however, it appears to be a somewhat insular view. I keep reading “Southern Italians, Bensonhurst, Guido, working class Italian roots, cugine”. Huh? Where is my Italian American heritage? My parents were born in Northern Italy and came as young children. My maternal grandparents settled in Manhattan and my father’s family settled in Northern NJ where I grew up. Obviously, the Italian immigrants were predominantly from the south, but there were also northerners. Granted my grandparents were not in as dire straights as many in the South but, nonetheless, they were poor and secured menial jobs to make a life for their family. We had many Northern Italian family friends and even more Southern Italian friends. Among them, interestingly enough, not one Guido or one Tony Soprano. They were honest, hardworking, fun loving, and family oriented. I remember going to see Saturday Night Fever. Although I detested Disco, I thought it was a good movie about a city kid with little opportunity and low self esteem who happened to be Italian. I pitied him. I did not, however, relate to the character as a cultural brother or anyone to aspire to. Instead of a limited Italian view and debating the “reality” of a handful of Guidos, we should move beyond Bensonhurst and focus on why our varied and beautiful heritage (including its flaws) nationwide is continually marginalized with a focus on the lowest and least admirable minorities. In this exceedingly PC era, MTV/Viacom have deliberately hijacked the Italian American culture to mock and spoof (you do know this “reality” show is not real and these kids are not Italians, right?), because we are the only, and I mean only, group that will allow them to get away with it. We are “easy” and those who actually believe MTV are simply producing an honest “reality” show, alarmingly “naïve”. With all due respect to the academic achievements of many here, no one cares about analyzing the Guido syndrome. I am 100% Italian American and I don’t know one Guido. It is simply called low class and not exclusive to the Italian American community. The more important question is why we keep allowing ourselves to be marginalized and misrepresented, and what we can do to correct it.
on Frank (not verified) wrote

With all due respect

With all due respect, you may not care "analyzing the Guido syndrome", but many others do. Plus: you may not know any Guidos, but many of us do. You are not obliged to read this magazine, if you don't like it. Nor are online magazines, university institutes, or TV stations obliged to focus on topics you deem worth of your attention. It's called freedom, a peculiar American value.
on Linda (not verified) wrote

With equal respect

With equal respect, so you are in favor of your freedom of speech but not mine? I never said I didn't like it and I certainly do not need you to tell me what I am obliged or not obliged to do. I was simply exercising, respectfully, my opinion. As you say, online magazines, et al, are not obligied to focus on topics I deem worthy....as well, I am not obliged to accept and agree with everything put before me. Or is that your versioin of freedom?
on Greg (not verified) wrote

Linda hit the nail on the head...

Linda- I completely agree with you- with just one caveat: I'm a southern Italian and I've always asked " Where is my Italian heritage?" All I ever heard of in my house from my parents and grandparents was the Roman Empire, Dante and the Rinascimento. If they wanted to change topics every so often, we spoke of Mazzei and Garibaldi. The friends I had grwoing up in Brooklyn all had similar upbringings. Did we eat sauce on Sundays and have several types of fish for Christmas? Absolutely. But, that's not stereotypical, that was borne of tradition. Where this concept came from, especially on this site, that Guido is a 'sub culture' that needs to be given equal representation is beyond me. Guido is a derogatory term that is used to demean Italians, not praise them. And anyone who has bore witness to Jersey Shore knows the audience is laughing AT THEM, not with them. Any self respecting Italian should realize that to use and promote the word Guido is just as foolish as African Americans who believe the n-word to be socially acceptable under certain pretexts. The n-word was created and utilized to foster 'otherness' qualities in Africans. Guido has a similar pedigree. I also agree with you one one other point- the 'introspection' of the word Guido is abhorrent. Rather than have our academics and professors say Guido is offensive, they wanted to analyze the word. To do so, they tapped on a self professed ' Cugine' to share his 'insight' on Guidodom. I suppose the Gotti boys were out of town. Unfortunately, the answer to your question (about our marginalization) is we marginalize ourselves. How an Italian could watch and defend Jersey Shore, or the actors' behavior is one of life's mysteries. And, with all due respect to Frank, he's the same type of person who would tell you to simply not watch Jersey Shore if it offends you rather than suggest you do something proactive about it. Here's a message Frank: You seem to want your opinion lauded, yet you want everyone else to 'fall in line' and accept what is given to them. Many of us weren't born apathetic.
on Linda (not verified) wrote

And I with you..

Thanks Greg, and I agree with you. I’m sure I don't have to explain but.... my reference to Southern Italians/Bensonhurst is in reply to frequent usage by authors & posters on this site, not any preconceived bias on my end. I mean, some make it appear that Italians came only through the port of Bensonhurst rather than Ellis Island, and I was making an effort to be more inclusive in highlighting that there is a broader Italian America. Anyway, yes, we had the same discussions, along with very passionate (read: heated) debates on who was the best composer, Verdi or Puccini (it was Emiglia-Romagna vs Lombardia and they loved to debate!) And don't get my nonno started on Meucci! How I wish he could have lived to see Meucci finally credited in 2002. As to Sunday sauce, we had it as well although more frequently with cacciatore con polenta. I married a Neapolitan so I still make Sunday sauce and I also now benefit from his family's Feasts of the Seven Fishes which we still celebrate. How lucky we were, Greg, to grow up Italian. It is unfortunate that the Italian American’s extraordinarily powerful passion and commitment to La Famiglia never really extended to the Italian community. There are historical reasons for this, but a whole other discussion. For this discussion, I am not a militant and certainly do not believe in censorship. What many just don’t get is that this is not a case of freedom of expression or a reality show about the Guido culture. It is blatant bias and fabricated crap - MTV/Viacom are manipulating and encouraging these kids (Ronnie Ortiz, JWow Farley, Jolie Pivarnick) to lie and misrepresent (or fake) their ethnicity for 15 minutes of fame. You want to put out a trash show about uneducated, low class, clubbing American youth, go right ahead MTV. You kidnap my culture and fabricate a show with imposters posing as Italian American cartoon characters --Basta, now there will be hell to pay.