Title: Fragmente of memory : mainstream representation and Italian Canadian film and video
Source document: The Central European journal of Canadian studies. 2003, vol. 3, iss. [1], pp. [43]-55
Extent
[43]-55
-
ISSN1213-7715 (print)2336-4556 (online)
Stable URL (handle): https://hdl.handle.net/11222.digilib/116053
Type: Article
Language
License: Not specified license
Notice: These citations are automatically created and might not follow citation rules properly.
Abstract(s)
While the mass media continues to disseminate one-dimensional stereotypical renditions of Italian culture, the actual "work of the imagination" (Appadurai 4) is taking place in the margins of these sites. Here action and agency, framed against the mass media, develops ethnic minority representation as a rich complexity of images and stories. Because Canadian film and video makers who use their immigrant and "ethnic" experience in their work, will often find it being judged as culturally "poor" and of "no value", it is important that the label of "ethnic" be deconstructed. Meanings are never fixed or immutable (Tator 8). William Boelhower's investigation of ethnic semiosis that he applied to American ethnic literatuře and Italian Canadian poetry can therefore also be applied to the works ofsome Italian Canadian filmmakers. For this paper I transpose Boelhower's theories on the Italian Canadian poetry in Pier Giorgio Di Cicco's Roman Candles (Di Cicco 1978; Boelhower 1992: 229-244) to the two Italian Canadian films being discussed here: Sara Angelucci's video America il Paradiso (1997) and Patricia Fogliato and David Mortin's film The Good Life (1991).
Pendant que les médias continuent à disséminer des interprétations stéréotypées un-à dimensions de culture Italienne, le véritable "le travail de l'imagination" (Appadurai 4) a lieu dans les marges de ces sites. Ici l'action et l'agence, encadrées contre les médias, développent la représentation de minorité ethnique comme une complexité riche d'images et d'histoires. Parce que le film Canadien et fabricants video qui utilisent leur immigrant et leur expérience "ethnique" dans leur travail, souvent trouvera il étant jugé comme culturellement "pauvre" et de "aucune valeur," c 'est important que l'étiquette de "ethnique" ait détruit. Les moyens ne sont jamais réparés ou immuable. (Tator 8). L'investigation de William Boelhower de semiosis ethnique qu'il est appliqué à la littérature ethnique Américaine et la poésie Canadienne Italienne et, aussi peut être appliquée par conséquent aux travaux de quelques cinéastes Canadiens Italiens. Pour ce papier que je transpose les théories de Boelhower sur la poesie Canadienne Italienne dans les Bougies Romaines de Pier Giorgio Di Cicco (Di Cicco 1978; Boelhower 1992: 229-244), aux deux films Canadiens Italiens étant ici diseuté: le vidéo de Sara Angelucci Amérique il Paradiso (1997) et le film de Patricia Fogliato et David Mortin La Bonne Vie (1991).
References
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[2] Anderson, Benedict. Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. New York: Verso, 1998 edition.
[3] Angelucci, Sara. "Of Cultural Hyphenation". MFA Thesis. Nova Scotia College of Art & Design, 1997.
[4] Appadurai, Arjun. Modernity at Large: Cultural Dimensions of Globalization. Minneapolis: Univ. of Minnesota Press, 1996.
[5] Bagnell, Kenneth. Canadese: A Portrait of the Italian Canadians. Toronto: Macmillan Canada, 1989.
[6] Baldassarre, Angela. "Hunks and Hoodlums: The Italian Male in Cinema", in Eyetalian Magazine, Winter 1994, Vol. 1#2, 16.
[7] Bannerji, Himani. The Dark Side of the Nation: Essays on Multiculturalism, Nationalism and Gender. Toronto: Canadian Scholars' Press, 2000.
[8] Bhabha, Homi K.(ed). "DissemiNation: time, narrative, and the margins of the modern nation", in Nation and Narration. New York: Routledge, 1990, 291-322.
[9] Boelhower, William. "Italo-Canadian Poetry and Ethnic Semiosis in the Postmodern Context", in Arrangiarsi: The Italian Immigrant Experience in Canada. Perin, Roberto and Franc Sturino (eds). Montreal: Guemica, 1992, 229-244.
[10] Boelhower, William. Through a glass darkly: Ethnic Semiosis in American Literature. Venice: Edizioni Helvetia. 1984.
[11] Bonanno, Richard. "From Corleone to Cinisi: Righting Mafia Fictions Through Documentary Film". Voices in Italian Americana. USA: Bordighera Inc. Vol. 12, No.2, 2001, 139-149.
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[21] Harney, Robert F. "'So Great a Heritage as Ours,' Immigration and the Survival of the Canadian Polity". Daedalus, Fall (1988), Volume 117, Number 4 ,51-97.
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[25] Hutcheon, Linda. "Italian Canadian Writings and the Canon: Integration or Ghettoization?" Italian Canadiana, No. 1 (Spring 1986), 31-37.
[26] Hutcheon, Linda and Marion Richmond (eds). Other Solitudes: Canadian Multicultural Fictions. Toronto: Oxford University Press. 1990.
[27] Italic Studies Institute of New York online. "Image Research Project: Italian Culture on Film" (1928-2000). Conducted from 1994-1999, updated January 2000. http://www.italic.org MediaWatch. 2000.
[28] LaGumina, Salvatore J. WOP! A Documentary History of Anti-Italian Discrimination. Toronto: Guernica, 1999.
[29] Lawton, Ben. "The Mafia and the Movies: Why is Italian American Synonymous with Organized Crime?" Screening Ethnicity: Cinematographic Representations of Italian Americans in the United States, Anna Camaiti Hostert and Anthony Julian Tamburri (eds). Boca Raton: Bordighera Press, 2002.
[30] L'Orfano, Francesca. "Let's Kiss The Godfather Goodbye and Bury the Boors, Buffoons, Bigots and Bimbos: The Italian Canadian Experience in Film and Video", in The Dynamics of Cultural Exchange: Creative and Critical Works, Licia Canton (ed). Montreal: Cusmano Communications, 2002.
[31] L'Orfano, Francesca. Challenging Exclusion: Film, Video, Memory, Identity and the Italian Canadian Immigrant Experience. York University: Master’s Thesis. 2002.
[32] Montesano, John. "Is there Room for our Stories?" Toronto Star, March 30, 1999.
[33] Montesano, John. "In Godfather we Trust". The Globe and Mail, March 21, 1997.
[34] Pivato, Joseph. "Sopranos anti-Italian, racist television". The Edmonton Journal, March 27, 2001: Website. http://www.edmontonjoumal.com/ opinionl/stories/010327/5076678.html
[35] Pivato, Joseph (ed). The Anthology of Italian-Canadian Writing. Toronto: Guernica, 1998.
[36] Pivato, Joseph (ed). Echo: Essays on Other Literatures. Toronto: Guernica, 1994.
[37] Richards, David A. J. Italian Americans: The Racializing of an Ethnic Identity. New York: New York University Press, 1999.
[38] Sturino, Franc. "Italians" in Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples, Paul Robert Magocsi (ed). Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1999, 787-832.
[39] Tator, Carol. Frances Henry and Winston Mattis. Challenging Racism in the Arts: Case Studies of Controversy and Conflict. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1998.
[40] Verdicchio, Pasquale. "Reconsidering the Southern Question", in The Anthology of Italian-Canadian Writing, Joseph Pivato (ed). Toronto: Guernica, 1998, 205-214.
[2] Anderson, Benedict. Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. New York: Verso, 1998 edition.
[3] Angelucci, Sara. "Of Cultural Hyphenation". MFA Thesis. Nova Scotia College of Art & Design, 1997.
[4] Appadurai, Arjun. Modernity at Large: Cultural Dimensions of Globalization. Minneapolis: Univ. of Minnesota Press, 1996.
[5] Bagnell, Kenneth. Canadese: A Portrait of the Italian Canadians. Toronto: Macmillan Canada, 1989.
[6] Baldassarre, Angela. "Hunks and Hoodlums: The Italian Male in Cinema", in Eyetalian Magazine, Winter 1994, Vol. 1#2, 16.
[7] Bannerji, Himani. The Dark Side of the Nation: Essays on Multiculturalism, Nationalism and Gender. Toronto: Canadian Scholars' Press, 2000.
[8] Bhabha, Homi K.(ed). "DissemiNation: time, narrative, and the margins of the modern nation", in Nation and Narration. New York: Routledge, 1990, 291-322.
[9] Boelhower, William. "Italo-Canadian Poetry and Ethnic Semiosis in the Postmodern Context", in Arrangiarsi: The Italian Immigrant Experience in Canada. Perin, Roberto and Franc Sturino (eds). Montreal: Guemica, 1992, 229-244.
[10] Boelhower, William. Through a glass darkly: Ethnic Semiosis in American Literature. Venice: Edizioni Helvetia. 1984.
[11] Bonanno, Richard. "From Corleone to Cinisi: Righting Mafia Fictions Through Documentary Film". Voices in Italian Americana. USA: Bordighera Inc. Vol. 12, No.2, 2001, 139-149.
[12] Caccia, Fulvio. Interviews with the Phoenix: Interviews with Fifteen Italian-Quebecois Artists. Daniel Sloate (trans.).Toronto: Guernica, 1998.
[13] D' Alfonso, Antonio and Pasquale Verdicchio. Duologue: On Culture and Identity. Toronto: Guernica,1998.
[14] D'Alfonso, Antonio. In Italics: In Defense of Ethnicity. Toronto: Guernica, 1996.
[15] DiCicco, Pier Giorgio (ed). Roman Candles. Toronto: Hounslow Press, 1978.
[16] Elliot, Stuart. "Marketing and the Mob: A Marriage of Convenience Now a Madison Avenue Favorite". The New York Times, May 26, 1999, late ed. C6.
[17] Gittings, Christopher E. Canadian National Cinema. New York: Routledge, 2002.
[18] The Good Life. Dir. Patricia Fogliato and David Mortin. Toronto: Enigmatico Productions, 1992.
[19] Gomez, Alberto. "Where the South and North Meet: Latino Identity and Cultural Heterogeneity". Fuse Vol. 22 (2000), Number 4, 26-32.
[20] Harney, Robert F. From the Shores of Hardship: Italians in Canada. Nicholas DeMaria Harney (ed). Toronto: Centro canadese scuola e cultura italiana. Soleil Inc., 1993.
[21] Harney, Robert F. "'So Great a Heritage as Ours,' Immigration and the Survival of the Canadian Polity". Daedalus, Fall (1988), Volume 117, Number 4 ,51-97.
[22] hooks, bell. Art on My Mind: Visual Politics. New York: New Press, 1995.
[23] Hutcheon, Linda. Irony's Edge: The Theory and Politics of Irony. New York: Routledge, 1994.
[24] Hutcheon, Linda. "The Multicultural Debates: Reception of Other Solitudes". Italian Canadiana, Vol. 8 (1992), 7-13.
[25] Hutcheon, Linda. "Italian Canadian Writings and the Canon: Integration or Ghettoization?" Italian Canadiana, No. 1 (Spring 1986), 31-37.
[26] Hutcheon, Linda and Marion Richmond (eds). Other Solitudes: Canadian Multicultural Fictions. Toronto: Oxford University Press. 1990.
[27] Italic Studies Institute of New York online. "Image Research Project: Italian Culture on Film" (1928-2000). Conducted from 1994-1999, updated January 2000. http://www.italic.org MediaWatch. 2000.
[28] LaGumina, Salvatore J. WOP! A Documentary History of Anti-Italian Discrimination. Toronto: Guernica, 1999.
[29] Lawton, Ben. "The Mafia and the Movies: Why is Italian American Synonymous with Organized Crime?" Screening Ethnicity: Cinematographic Representations of Italian Americans in the United States, Anna Camaiti Hostert and Anthony Julian Tamburri (eds). Boca Raton: Bordighera Press, 2002.
[30] L'Orfano, Francesca. "Let's Kiss The Godfather Goodbye and Bury the Boors, Buffoons, Bigots and Bimbos: The Italian Canadian Experience in Film and Video", in The Dynamics of Cultural Exchange: Creative and Critical Works, Licia Canton (ed). Montreal: Cusmano Communications, 2002.
[31] L'Orfano, Francesca. Challenging Exclusion: Film, Video, Memory, Identity and the Italian Canadian Immigrant Experience. York University: Master’s Thesis. 2002.
[32] Montesano, John. "Is there Room for our Stories?" Toronto Star, March 30, 1999.
[33] Montesano, John. "In Godfather we Trust". The Globe and Mail, March 21, 1997.
[34] Pivato, Joseph. "Sopranos anti-Italian, racist television". The Edmonton Journal, March 27, 2001: Website. http://www.edmontonjoumal.com/ opinionl/stories/010327/5076678.html
[35] Pivato, Joseph (ed). The Anthology of Italian-Canadian Writing. Toronto: Guernica, 1998.
[36] Pivato, Joseph (ed). Echo: Essays on Other Literatures. Toronto: Guernica, 1994.
[37] Richards, David A. J. Italian Americans: The Racializing of an Ethnic Identity. New York: New York University Press, 1999.
[38] Sturino, Franc. "Italians" in Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples, Paul Robert Magocsi (ed). Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1999, 787-832.
[39] Tator, Carol. Frances Henry and Winston Mattis. Challenging Racism in the Arts: Case Studies of Controversy and Conflict. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1998.
[40] Verdicchio, Pasquale. "Reconsidering the Southern Question", in The Anthology of Italian-Canadian Writing, Joseph Pivato (ed). Toronto: Guernica, 1998, 205-214.