Same-Sex Marriage Bill REJECTED in New York State Senate
UPDATE: City To Remove 14 Blocks Of Bike Lanes On Bedford Ave.
Hamster Rides The 4 Train
Bouncer Beatdown at Jay-Z's 40/40 Club
Obama's Afghanistan Plans: 30,000 More Troops, Withdraw By July 2011
New York fixture Robert De Niro may be granted Italian citizenship next month at the Venice Film Festival. The idea of De Niro becoming a citizen has drawn criticism from some Italian cultural groups. The Order Sons of Italy in America sent a letter to the Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, in an attempt to change his mind. They believe that De Niro's movies damage the "collective reputations of both Italians and Italian Americans."
Born in New York, De Niro started his own film festival - the Tribeca Film Festival - in 2002 to help the economy of Lower Manhattan. Gothamist took a look at his list of movies, and he certainly does do quite a bit of films where he is "playing gangsters of Italian descent."
What do you think? Is this really an issue that the OSIA should take up?
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
that italian looks gamey... wouldn't it be more like "stai parlando con me?" or "stai comuncando con me?"
err, "stai comunicando con me?" that is
yeah, well, i don't speak italian. my knowledge was only as good as bablefish could give me. so pardon my attempts.
didn't mean to sound critical- more attempts encouraged!
Yeah, Jen - I'm sure the OSIA is neglecting other issues critical to its membership while opposing De Niro's citizenship.
sterling, i may be chinese, i may have long hair, but i'm no jen.
and mike, i didn't take it as too critical. i make no claims to any italian knowledge or english for that matter.
He's to Italians the same way Bruce Lee/Jackie Chan are to Asians, Every Asian isn't a kung Fu, ass kicking machine, every asian isn't a math wiz. De Niro plays a role he's best suited to play, n if ppl think o/w, call them ignorant, my 2 cents.
While they're at it, I think the Italians should give Chef Boyardee Italian citizenship, too. He has done a lot bridge our two countries and cultures.
As for DeNiro, what was the last good movie he made? Like his fellow Italian-American actor, Al Pacino, he has become a caricature of himself when it comes to acting.
Listen, you fuckers, you screwheads. Here is a man who would not take it anymore. A man who stood up against the scum, the cunts, the dogs, the filth, the shit. Here is a man who stood up.
And he made Italians look retarded in Awakenings. No citizenship for De Niro!
mike d, I think you're right, although "parlando" is right, no? "Will you speak with me?" Is that where we were going there?
And I say, eh, let De Niro do what he wants.
Wow, I'm stupid. "Parli à me?" "Are you talkin' to me?"
according to this: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000134/bio, he is more Irish than Italian
Isn't DeNiro majority Irish?
Whoah, Travis makes it sound like DeNiro is some kind of labor leader or something... Face it, his glory days as an actor are over. He's coasting on fumes now, he has one schtick these days. As for his non-acting accomplishments, he has done a lot fo downtown Manhattan, I'll give him that.
Italian itizenship for DeNiro and Boyardee!
Hector Boiardi was a native of Italy who immigrated to the U.S., eventually making his way to Cleveland, where he opened his own restaurant. He changed the spelling of his name to Boyardi. When the sales of his spaghetti sauce took off he named the product Chef Boyardee.
i think the correct would be "stai parlando con me?" roughly: you talkin' to me?
I reckon it's more like 'dici con me', sounds better too.
I don't have a problem with DeNiro, but let me just say that I have a HUUUUGGGGGGEEEEE problem with Victoria Gotti. The very idea of her makes my blood boil.
DeNiro can easily counter OSIA's claim of perpetuating negative stereotypes by touting the positivity of what seems to be his life's work: Populating the Earth with interracial children!
That's gotta count for something.
I don't like any of the comments so far.
The Sons of Italy has its head in the sand about the mafia, claiming it doesn't exist and that any statements to the contrary are outrageous. The Italians have no illusions. The citizens of Palermo shout from the rooftops and march in the streets against the mafia. Some government officials have sacrificed their lives in the fight against the mafia, and many others endanger themselves to continue the battle.
>>sterling, i may be chinese, i may have long hair, but i'm no jen.
There is no reason Robert De Niro should not be granted honorary Italian citizenship. I write this as a member of an Italian-American family that includes family members who have also been honored with such citizenship bestowed by the Italian government (we are in the wine business in Northern California).
I do not believe that any Irish ancestry, or indeed Eastern European Jewish ancestry, that De Niro has according to my little bit of research should be any reason to rule it out. As a sovereign nation, Italy makes citizens out of all manner of people who arrive there as immigrants. Indeed, there are full-blooded Irish and Jews who have become Italian citizens, not to mention Chinese, Arabs, Africans and all manner of other people who wouldn't even be cast to portray an Italian in a film. The Republic of Italy is not an Italian-American cultural organization after all.
The Order Sons of Italy is doing what it is supposed to do, lest it have no purpose at all, in terms of community advocacy. They would be remiss not to object to stereotypes of Italians and Italian-Americans in film. And De Niro has indeed fueled stereotypes.
Stereotyping notwithstanding, De Niro has also been a positive force among Italian-Americans, among Americans in general and in the world community as a whole. Philanthropic work and advocacy, as well as positive messages and imagery that frequently are contributed to his roles, has made him rise above other actors who have portrayed similar characters. He is certainly deserving of honorary citizenship if he chooses to accept it.