http://www.niaf.org/image_identity/ppSpring2004.asp
http://www.niaf.org/news/index.asp?id=302
http://www.nyscsj-osia.org/events.htm
Well, that’s all I got.
And what is it, specifically, that makes the mafia cute and cuddly, or makes this kind of depiction acceptable?
Picture the same commercial described above, only the man in the foreground is an African-American fellow with corn rows, an oversized throwback basketball jersey, and a Tec-9 stuffed down the front of his waistband. Switch “gansgster” for “gangsta,” and the ad campaign would last about 15 seconds before making some attorneys very rich.
I’ve never understood that mafia attraction, either. All I need is a hint of mafia stuff to turn the channel, pass up the book, etc.
I’m generally agreeable with people portraying anything they like in fictional terms. But I also hate the way the Mafia is romanticized. These are people who rob and kill for money. I wouldn’t CENSOR the films of Scorsese – the idiot who made Goodfellas and Casino and so forth, but if I met him face to face, I’d have no problem calling him an asshole and giving him an earful of my opinion of him and his movies.
Uh…romanticized? Presumbly ending up in the witness protection program with a cocaine addiction(Goodfellas) or facedown in a ditch(Casino) is romantic.
You might have that arguement with The Godfather, but Scorsese’s mob films don’t particularly go out of their way to highlight the benefits of organized crime.
yep, the attorneys that make the contract for the actors and the pr company that made the commercial. the only thing that would actually keep this commercial from being made (no pun intended, but certainly accepted) is that nobody in their right mind would show a gun on a tv commercial.
hh
Perhaps it’s that it’s something that in many of our minds happens elsewhere and to other people (“Tragedy is I stub my toe. Comedy is you fall in a manhole and die.”). Many people people have fears (rational or irrational) about their kids being molested; I would guess that a very much smaller group of people have fears about ending up on the wrong side of organized crime.
So while technically they know that the people in these situations are in danger - they’re not really identifying with the victims and putting themselves in that place. They would really identify with some of the other scenarios.
And he’d laugh, because obviously the opinion you’d give him an earful of would be uninformed if you think either of those movies romanticize the mafia.
You think? I would think the NAACP or some similar organization would be up in arms immediately about some supposed depiction of all blacks as violent thugs.
Nope. The commercial as described (minus the gun) could be an add for Boost mobile, or any five minutes of MTV. The only problem is “body in carpet” doesn’t match as cleanly to “gangsta” as it does to “mafioso”. They’d have to find some other act of implied but non-graphic violence.
No, the shit is offensive to you. I always found that purple dinosaur offensive, but that didn’t get it off the networks any sooner. Fortunately, I’m not forced to watch. It’s pretty simple really. Don’t buy the product that the commercial is selling.
As far as movies and shows romanticizing the mafia, as mentioned earlier, the examples given were pretty poor. Still, even if they do romanticize the mafia, what of it? Should they be pulled from the theaters and store shelves? Look at a lot of war movies. How about Westerns? Do you think they don’t romanticize? If you want to start yelling at writers and directors, eat a big breakfast that day because it’s a long list.
I find most romantic comedies offensive. A lot of sitcoms are the spawn of Satan. Although there are times that I could spend hours railing against an unfair universe that allows them to exist, instead I just don’t watch them.
You thought Dino was offensive? 
I like mob movies, and The Sopranos. Not because they idealize and romanticize the Italian mob, but because they illustrate human virtues (familial and fraternal love, loyalty, honor) that are twisted to human vice (greed, lust, betrayal).
Anyone who sees movies like The Godfather, Goodfellas, and Casino, as well as a show like The Sopranos as “romantic” or “idealized” are only getting about half the message.
As to when it became okay to use mob/OC intimated violence in commercials… well, blame The Sopranos. The elements of dark humor were added to the mafia image with that show.
And rather I like that cell commercial (inasmuch as I like any commercials) where the bad guys are thrilled to get cell coverage out in the middle of nowhere; but I saw it more as a spoof of cheesy crime movies rather than a mafia send-up. I guess the gist is the same, though.
But they do. Granted, they show the mafiosa as unrepentant killers. Joe Pesci in Casino being a great example. But the Robert DeNiro character was pretty much a hero type, although he had minor flaws. Like being willing to torture and mutilate people who tried to beat the system in his Casino. Or the Ray Liotta character in Goodfellas is really glamorized … he’s got a loving wife AND a hot, loving mistress (played by Debi Mazar, mmmmmm), he’s got a ton of money, dresses sharp, most of the time he isn’t committing crimes he’s hanging out with his buddies at a club, and the crimes he commits are really easy (“two ni**rs stole my truck!”)
Sure he comes to a bad end, living a quiet life in suburbia after ratting out DeNiro and Sorvino’s characters, but I think it’s really funny that you guys don’t think that’s a GLAMORIZATION of people who are cruel scum who have no problem with killing, robbing and beating up other people.