An Offer We Can't Refuse: The Mafia in the Mind of America
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.27 (750 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0865479623 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 448 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2013-12-18 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
All rights reserved. De Stefano meticulously documents books, TV and films, especially the Godfather series, the work of Martin Scorsese and The Sopranos. in unprecedented waves, were seen as "unassimilable irreducibly foreign" (according to an 1883 New York Times editorial), and De Stefano presents their history and the history of the Mafia, debunking some commonly held ideas, especially the myth that the Mafia is rooted in a centuries-old Sicilian tradition. (Jan.)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. And despite his conclusion that the Mafia "is now the paradigmatic pop culture expression of Italian-American ethnicity," De Stefano allows that Italians have succeeded in mainstream America. The book lacks a narrative arc, but the
Whether De Stefano is summarizing causes of 19th-century Italian immigration, sketching the Mafia's origin in Sicily, or dissecting the appeal of Hollywood mobster characters, he catches links to evolving capitalism, discomfort with modern society, psychological urges for strong father figures, and other complex topics not usually addressed by opponents of Mafia pop culture. "Invites Italian-Americans of all backgrounds to the family table to discuss how mob-related movies and television shows have affected the very notion of what their heritage still means in the 21st century." Allen Barra, The New York Sun"A detailed, textured meditation. Sweeney, The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)"Not a history of organized crime but a study of how we think about organized crime, more precisely about Italians and crimeValuable and interesting." Elliott J. Go
George De Stefano is a journalist and critic who has written extensively on culture for numerous publications, including The Nation, Film Comment, and Newsday.
"Vito! Vito!" according to Annie Lanzillotto author of L is for Lion. I enjoyed this book immensely for the questions De Stefano asks, the research he does, and how he wove his thoughts cultural temperature taking of the American obsession with Italian mafiosa characters in film and tv. De Stefano's inquiry includes interviews with Italian American academics, actors, and writers. He has wonderful assessments on the portrayal of gay characters in these movies. His questions are societal, and have to do with the conundrum of stereotypes. "Both highly entertaining and Informative- A Must For Film Buffs & Italian Americans" according to LittleBearNYC. The previous review is bizzarre and has nothing to do with what the book is actually about -- the Italian American experience and the myths that have been generated about them. The book operates on both an intellectual and pop culture level and is immensly readable- either from front to back or by chapter. You may never see such pop culture icons as 'The Sopranos' and 'The Godfather' the same again!. The wife loved it NickHale She's into the mob so she got the book. If you like the mafia and that stuff you will love this book.