The following was recently sent to us from the Tri State Italian-American Congress, a non-profit organization formed in 1988 to provide educational opportunities for Italian-American children and support for charities benefiting Italian-Americans.The Tri-State Italian-American Congress is calling on HBO to donate part of the proceeds from sales of its upcoming Sopranos video release to charities or scholarships that promote the interests of Italian-Americans who have been unfairly portrayed in HBO’s hit series, The Sopranos. HBO recently announced plans to release the entire first season of the Mafia drama on video cassette and DVD beginning in December, just in time for Christmas.
“The Sopranos has exploited Italian-Americans by capitalizing on a vicious stereotype of a people whose contribution to world history, culture and society has been over shadowed and marginalized by the media,” said Judge Louis J. Fusco, president of the Tri-State Italian-American Congress. The Sopranos has come under fire recently from a number of organizations, including the Tri-State Italian-American Congress, for its stereotypical and decidedly negative depiction of Italians living in America and for perpetuating the notion that Italian-Americans are invariably connected to organized crime.
“This situation presents HBO with an excellent opportunity to make amends for some of the damage done to the popular perception of Italo-Americans,” Fusco added. “HBO would enjoy a tremendous boost in its reputation and Italians would benefit from a show that we feel has tarnished our public image.”
Strange News is gleaned from the press releases that cross our desks, bulge out of our mailboxes, and now, thanks to the wonders of technology, crash our computers through e-mail!