L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 10 THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2015 L'Italo-Americano A u n i q u e d o c u m e n t a r y e x h i b i t i o n , " I t a l i a n American Cinema: From C a p r a t o t h e C o p p o l a s " , i s c u r r e n t l y o n d i s p l a y a t t h e Museo Italo-Americano, until March 6, 2016. The exhibition is surely an opportunity to better understand the contributions made by Italian-Americans to the national cinema and culture. Film scholar Joseph McBride, w h o i s t h e c u r a t o r o f t h e e x h i b i t i o n , f o c u s e d o n t h e positive effect some directors had on the old stereotypes about Italian Americans. As soon as Italian Americans have been portrayed more realistically and with more range and complexity, the growing license to deal with ethnic subject matter and the increasing violence of American movies have in some ways made g a n g s t e r s t e r e o t y p e s m o r e v i r u l e n t i n b o t h f i l m s a n d television. Another important a s p e c t r e l a t e s t o t h e t h e m e s u s u a l l y c o v e r e d b y I t a l i a n American filmmakers from the early 1900s until today: lot of space is usually given to the i m p o r t a n c e o f f a m i l y a n d community; to the problem of immigration and assimilation; to the celebratory use of comedy and music. H o w d i d t h e I t a l i a n h e r i t a g e i n f l u e n c e t h e s e directors? That's hard to generalize, as a r e m o s t q u e s t i o n s a b o u t e t h n i c i t y . P e o p l e a r e a l l different. Some embrace their ethnic backgrounds, and some r u n a w a y f r o m t h e m . I t a l i a n culture is very rich, of course, a n d i t s g r e a t t r a d i t i o n s o f painting, architecture, music, and literature, among others, can't h e l p b u t b e p a s s e d d o w n t o Italian American filmmakers of all kinds. Film is a blend of all other art forms. The filmmakers who started earliest had to deal with more discrimination and marginalization, so some, such a s F r a n k C a p r a , t r i e d t o assimilate more than people tend to do today. Capra identified with the WASP majority and c a s t W A S P l e a d i n g m e n a s surrogates. Later directors were able to embrace their ethnicity and deal with it more directly o n s c r e e n , a s a r e s u l t o f t h e growing assimilation of Italian Americans into the American mainstream over the years and the increasing pride felt by their group and other groups in their ethnicities. Frank Capra was one of the first directors who tried to not p u t h i s e t h n i c i t y i n t h e forefront. Do you consider it the key of his success? Capra was successful in the 1 9 3 0 s b e c a u s e o f h i s g r e a t comedic skills, his ability to tap into popular sentiment, and a c e r t a i n s y m p a t h y h e h a d f o r ordinary Americans, even if that sympathy was mixed with fear about the masses becoming a mob and joining forces against t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t . C a p r a personally was a Republican with conservative, establishment v a l u e s , b u t h e s e e m e d m o r e populist or more complex in his work. That is partly due to his writers, who tended to be more liberal than he was. He and his writers (notably Robert Riskin) c a p t u r e d t h e Z e i g e i s t o f t h e Depression era with a series of films that were inspiring while also expressing many of the anxieties of the time. How did these directors' w o r k h e l p e d o v e r c o m e t h e stereotype belonging to the firs t I talian immigran ts to America? Directors such as Capra and Vincente Minnelli made "all- American" films that seemed to transcend ethnic categorization during the Golden Age. They stayed away from most of the stereotypes that beset Italian A m e r i c a n s o n s c r e e n w h e n o t h e r s p o r t r a y e d t h a t g r o u p largely as criminals or buffoons. The Golden Age giants and later directors also made films in various genres that did not limit them to narrow categories. More recent directors such as Francis F o r d C o p p o l a a n d M a r t i n Scorsese have also made a wide variety of films; when they deal w i t h I t a l i a n a n d I t a l i a n American gangsters, sometimes controversially, they are able to probe deeply into the fabric of the immigrant experience and t h e n a t u r e o f f a m i l y l i f e i n changing times in America. What do you think current Italian filmmakers can learn from these Italian American directors? I am not sure what Italian filmmakers can learn from them unless they want to come and w o r k h e r e a n d f o l l o w t h e i r examples - other than in the way any good director can learn from h i s o r h e r p e e r i n a n o t h e r country. Cinema is international, a n d t h e r e i s m u c h c r o s s - fertilization. American cinema h a s h a d a p r o f o u n d i m p a c t around the world, and Italian American directors from Capra to the Coppolas are respected worldwide. Which kind of feelings and impressions this exhibit wants to generate to visitors? We want to celebrate the rich contributions Italian American filmmakers - directors, actors, writers, producers, and others - have long made and continue to make to our national culture. We also want to show how these many talented filmmakers have d e a l t w i t h e t h n i c i s s u e s a n d h e l p e d m a k e t h e i r e t h n i c i t y more mainstream while still respecting their cultural identity a n d i n t e r p r e t i n g i t f o r o t h e r Americans as well as their own p e o p l e . T h e i s s u e s t h e s e filmmakers and we are dealing with are complex, and we hope to stimulate further thought on t h e s u b j e c t a n d h e l p p e o p l e probe behind the sometimes shallow categorizations imposed by our culture and the media. These Italian American artists have brought many varied gifts t o o u r n a t i o n , a n d w e a r e expressing our gratitude. From Capra to the Coppolas, the special contribution of the Italian American directors in a docu-exhibit SERENA PERFETTO Francis and Sofia Coppola on set of New York Stories 1989_courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures SAN FRANCISCO ITALIAN COMMUNITY Frank Capra and Joseph McBride

• Cover