James Gandolfini, the darling of the intelligentsia
for his role as hit man Tony Soprano,
blatantly represents what Italian-Americans are up against in Hollywood.
It is no less than "Jim Crow" in the arts.
Joe Truth
In 1996 Gandolfini plays a racist Italian cop ("Night Falls in Manhattan").
In 1999, Gandolfini plays an evil Italian husband and father ("The Sopranos").
And in the 2003 film, "The Mexican,"
Gandolfini plays -- who guessed it? -- a hit man.
Question: why are negative roles the only ones offered to Italian actors?
(Note: Italian-American women get the bimbo/slut roles.)
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