The text/film that I think didn't really fit well with the overall thrust of this course was probably "True Love." While one could see the struggles of the Italian American couple, I don't think that what was depicted was so much unique to Italian Americans or any other minority group for that matter. Throughout the readings and the films that we watched I was able to get a depiction of what many Italian Americans went through, their struggles, possible joys, what certain experience may or may not be like (The Godfather). In my opinion all of these things are unique experiences to either Italian Americans themselves or to what other people who came to America might have experienced. I just don't think that "True Love" fit very well within those contexts.
I think that true love had a more modern day look of what Italian american's are like compared to with how they used to be in the past. So, I do believe that the story True Love has some relevance to the course. The course is not really about their past, or struggles, or joy. It's about Italian american's overall.
Hi Annie, No it isn't about that alone but the course as you said does touch on Italian Americans as well as their experiences. The joys that they have, the sadness, the struggles are all apart of that experience. One cannot rule that out.
I also agree that True Love didn't fill well with the rest of the class. This film focused more on the 'American' aspect of the Italian-Americans, leaving little to know room about the 'Italian' part. When it comes to Italian-Americans, the combination of the two aspects of cultures should be viewed as a unity and not as separate entities. This film did not combine the two aspects but simply favored one over the other.
The story about Ethan Couch, I don't believe this text had much to do with the overall course due to the fact that his story doesn't really have anything to do with Italian American literature. Although it did create an interesting topic it was not "on topic" for the course in my opinion.
Hi Annie, I disagree with your comment that the story of Ethan Couch had nothing to do with the course. I believe the purpose of that text was to analyze what happened in that case compared to the other cases that we touched on in that topic and to realize the injustices that they experienced when compared to him because of their lack of wealth as well as their race. This also touches on the discrimination and unfairness of the justice system in America. The Ethan Couch story had alot to do with this course because a large part of this course had to do with Italian Americans and the discrimination and the injustice that they faced when they first came to America and over the years.I think that, that particular article as well as the others really helped to tie in the outside world to the texts we were reading about Italian Americans throughout this course and helped to develop a broader understanding.
The case of Ethan Couch he was an American not an Italian American that injured 9 and killed 4 because of drunk driving. He was not sent to life sentence; his sentence was indeed unfair because it was too lenient he should have been sent for life sentence. For other cases like Kalief Browder I feel like he had the injustice case because he did not even have a trial and he was sent to jail.
That is what I am referring to in my comment, the injustice of Kalief Browder as well as those in the other cases and the leniency of his sentence. Also, no he was not Italian American but that doesn't mean that the case cannot tie into what we learned throughout the course about injustice both from those who experience injustice as well as those who benefit from the system because the system favors them either due to wealth or race.
I feel that the book Feast of the Seven Fishes did not fit well with the rest of the texts that we have encountered over the semester. I feel that this book did not contribute to the overall thrust of the course. Yes the book had to do with Italian customs, but I feel that it did not grasp the full persona of the Italian Americans. It primarily tried to incorporate the beliefs and customs of one culture and combine them with another culture. Compared to the other texts that we have encountered, this book did not depict the characters to fall under the ‘Italian American stereotype’. The only aspect I could find from it that resembled the thrust of the course and Italian Americans was that they family was Italian; it was hard for me to understand how these customs connected to their daily lifestyle in America. This book also did not have a certain person or few people that were considered as main characters of the text, but rather everyone had a significant role in the book. The rest of the texts that we came across in this class had the story revolve around certain people and not have each character a priority.
I think this did fit well in the course. This course wasn't only meant to show us the life style of Italian Americans but also the way they were portrayed by the media and the way the represented themselves, through books, comics, cartoons, movies or news. This comic was about Italian Americans, therefore it was a representation of theirs. We were shown in this course many different representations of Italian Americans and this was one of them, even if it was, in your opinion not stereotypical. In that case it could show that people are starting to let go of the old stereotypes. I, however found it stereotypical in many ways, not all bad reasons but still stereotypical. The uncle Frankie seemed like the Mafia linked Italian, Old Johnny was obsessed with food, the Grandma was very religious and didn't like Beth because she thought she wasn't Catholic.
Interesting comments. I said the same thing and was wondering why we had to read this book. I do see your counter argument and I think you make a very valid point that we still learn about the Italian culture through this comic.
I think the text that did not fit well with the overall course was the "Book of Job". It fit well with the book "Christ in Concrete", but not with the course altogether. It was a spiritual lesson and not about Italian Americans like all the other texts. I found "Christ in Concrete" more spiritual than informative about Italian Americans too, but it still taught us a lot about the Italian American life style and struggles at that time. It was more like the same topic (Italian Americans) being viewed by a religious eye, therefore focusing a lot on that aspect. The "Book of Job" however, was solely related to God and religion and thus, unlike anything else in this course about Italian Americans. So, since it did not have to do with what this course is about (Italian Americans), I'd have to say it was the only text that was out of place. That being said, I enjoyed it a lot and liked the deep touch it gave to this course.
The book Feast of the Seven Fishes did not fit well with the rest of the texts. Although this book highlights Italian customs, I feel like this book did not flow with the overall theme of the Italian -American journey.I do think the text did represent the Italians in a way that is important to understand, but I did not feel a sense of learning about stereo types and so forth. I know this class does not just target stereotypes, but rather targets the bigger picture about Italians. I just did not get that interpretation from this read. In addition, all the other texts highlight one character with a story, whereas this one seemed to focus on more than one character. I enjoyed the book, but I would have to say this one was the least fitting.
I feel that Moonstruck did not fit well with the other texts in the course, with True Love being a close second. While Moonstruck did give a bit more understanding to how a stereotypical Italian household may appear, the plot made little sense to me. This made the assignment for it more difficult to complete, and I feel like I got very little out of it besides poor acting from Cher and Nicholas Cage, when I expected much better from the latter.
The text/film that I think didn't really fit well with the overall thrust of this course was probably "True Love." While one could see the struggles of the Italian American couple, I don't think that what was depicted was so much unique to Italian Americans or any other minority group for that matter. Throughout the readings and the films that we watched I was able to get a depiction of what many Italian Americans went through, their struggles, possible joys, what certain experience may or may not be like (The Godfather). In my opinion all of these things are unique experiences to either Italian Americans themselves or to what other people who came to America might have experienced. I just don't think that "True Love" fit very well within those contexts.
ReplyDeleteHi Amanda,
DeleteI think that true love had a more modern day look of what Italian american's are like compared to with how they used to be in the past. So, I do believe that the story True Love has some relevance to the course. The course is not really about their past, or struggles, or joy. It's about Italian american's overall.
Hi Annie,
DeleteNo it isn't about that alone but the course as you said does touch on Italian Americans as well as their experiences. The joys that they have, the sadness, the struggles are all apart of that experience. One cannot rule that out.
I also agree that True Love didn't fill well with the rest of the class. This film focused more on the 'American' aspect of the Italian-Americans, leaving little to know room about the 'Italian' part. When it comes to Italian-Americans, the combination of the two aspects of cultures should be viewed as a unity and not as separate entities. This film did not combine the two aspects but simply favored one over the other.
DeleteI also feel that it did not fit as well. While it wasn't my first choice, it was a close second, because none of the stereotypes were very explicit.
DeleteThe story about Ethan Couch, I don't believe this text had much to do with the overall course due to the fact that his story doesn't really have anything to do with Italian American literature. Although it did create an interesting topic it was not "on topic" for the course in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteHi Annie,
DeleteI disagree with your comment that the story of Ethan Couch had nothing to do with the course. I believe the purpose of that text was to analyze what happened in that case compared to the other cases that we touched on in that topic and to realize the injustices that they experienced when compared to him because of their lack of wealth as well as their race. This also touches on the discrimination and unfairness of the justice system in America. The Ethan Couch story had alot to do with this course because a large part of this course had to do with Italian Americans and the discrimination and the injustice that they faced when they first came to America and over the years.I think that, that particular article as well as the others really helped to tie in the outside world to the texts we were reading about Italian Americans throughout this course and helped to develop a broader understanding.
Hi Amanda,
DeleteThe case of Ethan Couch he was an American not an Italian American that injured 9 and killed 4 because of drunk driving. He was not sent to life sentence; his sentence was indeed unfair because it was too lenient he should have been sent for life sentence. For other cases like Kalief Browder I feel like he had the injustice case because he did not even have a trial and he was sent to jail.
This comment has been removed by the author.
Delete
DeleteHi Annie,
That is what I am referring to in my comment, the injustice of Kalief Browder as well as those in the other cases and the leniency of his sentence.
Also, no he was not Italian American but that doesn't mean that the case cannot tie into what we learned throughout the course about injustice both from those who experience injustice as well as those who benefit from the system because the system favors them either due to wealth or race.
I feel that the book Feast of the Seven Fishes did not fit well with the rest of the texts that we have encountered over the semester. I feel that this book did not contribute to the overall thrust of the course. Yes the book had to do with Italian customs, but I feel that it did not grasp the full persona of the Italian Americans. It primarily tried to incorporate the beliefs and customs of one culture and combine them with another culture. Compared to the other texts that we have encountered, this book did not depict the characters to fall under the ‘Italian American stereotype’. The only aspect I could find from it that resembled the thrust of the course and Italian Americans was that they family was Italian; it was hard for me to understand how these customs connected to their daily lifestyle in America. This book also did not have a certain person or few people that were considered as main characters of the text, but rather everyone had a significant role in the book. The rest of the texts that we came across in this class had the story revolve around certain people and not have each character a priority.
ReplyDeleteI think this did fit well in the course. This course wasn't only meant to show us the life style of Italian Americans but also the way they were portrayed by the media and the way the represented themselves, through books, comics, cartoons, movies or news. This comic was about Italian Americans, therefore it was a representation of theirs. We were shown in this course many different representations of Italian Americans and this was one of them, even if it was, in your opinion not stereotypical. In that case it could show that people are starting to let go of the old stereotypes. I, however found it stereotypical in many ways, not all bad reasons but still stereotypical. The uncle Frankie seemed like the Mafia linked Italian, Old Johnny was obsessed with food, the Grandma was very religious and didn't like Beth because she thought she wasn't Catholic.
DeleteInteresting comments. I said the same thing and was wondering why we had to read this book. I do see your counter argument and I think you make a very valid point that we still learn about the Italian culture through this comic.
DeleteI think the text that did not fit well with the overall course was the "Book of Job". It fit well with the book "Christ in Concrete", but not with the course altogether. It was a spiritual lesson and not about Italian Americans like all the other texts. I found "Christ in Concrete" more spiritual than informative about Italian Americans too, but it still taught us a lot about the Italian American life style and struggles at that time. It was more like the same topic (Italian Americans) being viewed by a religious eye, therefore focusing a lot on that aspect. The "Book of Job" however, was solely related to God and religion and thus, unlike anything else in this course about Italian Americans. So, since it did not have to do with what this course is about (Italian Americans), I'd have to say it was the only text that was out of place. That being said, I enjoyed it a lot and liked the deep touch it gave to this course.
ReplyDeleteThe book Feast of the Seven Fishes did not fit well with the rest of the texts. Although this book highlights Italian customs, I feel like this book did not flow with the overall theme of the Italian -American journey.I do think the text did represent the Italians in a way that is important to understand, but I did not feel a sense of learning about stereo types and so forth. I know this class does not just target stereotypes, but rather targets the bigger picture about Italians. I just did not get that interpretation from this read. In addition, all the other texts highlight one character with a story, whereas this one seemed to focus on more than one character. I enjoyed the book, but I would have to say this one was the least fitting.
ReplyDeleteI think that true love didn't really fit in. Everything was perfect about the couples. I don't think it really showed much about the Italian culture.
ReplyDeleteI feel that Moonstruck did not fit well with the other texts in the course, with True Love being a close second. While Moonstruck did give a bit more understanding to how a stereotypical Italian household may appear, the plot made little sense to me. This made the assignment for it more difficult to complete, and I feel like I got very little out of it besides poor acting from Cher and Nicholas Cage, when I expected much better from the latter.
ReplyDelete