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[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 141 Introduced in House (IH)]

107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 141

 Expressing the sense of the Congress that the entertainment industry 
should stop the negative and unfair stereotyping of Italian-Americans, 
 and should undertake an initiative to present Italian-Americans in a 
                   more balanced and positive manner.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 23, 2001

 Mrs. Roukema (for herself, Mr. LaFalce, Mrs. Morella, Mr. Grucci, Mr. 
Duncan, Mr. Coyne, Mr. Lampson, Ms. DeLauro, Mr. Pascrell, Mr. Capuano, 
   Mr. Mascara, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Bonior, Mr. English, Mr. 
 DeFazio, Mr. Doyle, and Mr. Mica) submitted the following concurrent 
 resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

 
 Expressing the sense of the Congress that the entertainment industry 
should stop the negative and unfair stereotyping of Italian-Americans, 
 and should undertake an initiative to present Italian-Americans in a 
                   more balanced and positive manner.

Whereas the United States entertainment industry presents Italian-American 
        characters and plots in a manner that is unbalanced, unfair, and 
        damaging to the collective reputation of an estimated 20 million 
        Americans of Italian heritage, the Nation's fifth largest ethnic group;
Whereas the Italic Studies Institute reviewed all films made in Hollywood from 
        1928 to the beginning of the year 2000 that featured either Italian or 
        Italian-American characters, and found that an overwhelming 73 percent 
        portray Italians and Italian-Americans in a negative light;
Whereas approximately 40 percent of Italian-American characters portrayed in 
        film since 1928 were involved in organized crime, and since the film 
        ``The Godfather'' was released in 1972 there have been over 300 mob 
        movies released which portray Italians-Americans as involved in 
        organized crime;
Whereas television is equally unbalanced in its presentation of Italian-
        Americans, and every week at least one program about Italian-American 
        mobsters is presented on national television, and particularly the 
        television program ``The Sopranos'' characterizes Italian-Americans as 
        gangsters and profane and unlettered individuals;
Whereas, according to the Department of Justice, only about 5,000 people are 
        involved in organized crime, including people of all ethnic backgrounds, 
        and even if all 5,000 criminals in organized crime were Italian-
        American, that would constitute merely .0025 percent of the Nation's 
        estimated 20 million Americans of Italian descent;
Whereas the dearth of respectable Italian-American fictional characters on 
        television is matched by an equally puzzling exclusion of Italian-
        Americans from documentaries about this country's history and culture;
Whereas persons of Italian-American heritage have contributed greatly to the 
        history of the United States, with such notable accomplishments as 
        discovering the AIDS virus, founding the FBI, sculpting the Lincoln 
        Memorial, and establishing such major corporations as Barnes and Noble, 
        Planters Peanuts, Tropicana Orange Juice, and Bank of America;
Whereas Italian-Americans have a long tradition of public service as police 
        officers, fire-fighters, mayors, governors, and Members of Congress; and
Whereas despite such an admirable record of achievement, the media continue to 
        stereotype Italian-Americans as gangsters or underachievers: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That it is the sense of the Congress that the entertainment industry in 
the United States should immediately stop the negative and unfair 
stereotyping of Italian-Americans, particularly as profane criminals as 
portrayed in the television show ``The Sopranos'', and should 
immediately undertake a serious initiative to present Italian-Americans 
in a more balanced and positive manner.
                                 <all>
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