ABSTRACT

As one attempts to unfurl a history of Italians and/or Italian Americans in any of the major mediatic forms, what becomes apparent is that, by no means are they a paltry presence in cinema, music, or television; nor have they ever been, be it from the perspective of their actual presence or simply their mere representation in all media as portrayed by others. I make this distinction if only because it is difficult to find Italian actors on a large scale within U.S. cinema until the 1940s. Before then, except for someone like Rudolph Valentino or Eduardo Migliaccio, for the most part non-Italians portrayed Italians (read, also Italian Americans). “A problem?” one might ask. Although this is not the venue for such a discussion, let me simply suggest at this juncture that the lack of Italians in such roles, as well as in positions behind or beyond the camera, can surely create a vacuum when it comes to some sort of sensitivity vis-à-vis not just Italians in our case, but with regard to any group in question. 1