The Summary of "Luigi, Tony, and the Family"

The Summary of Luigi, Tony, and the Family

“Luigi, Toni, and the Family” discusses about the evolutionary stereotypes of Italian-American people represented in American media. The author described those by dividing Italian’s views into four different stages, “The Invisible Man”, “The Grateful Immigrant”, “The Mafia Gangster”, and “The Jivy Proletarian”. “The Invisible Man” is the earlier stage that Italian did not present in any media. When the second stage, “The Grateful Immigrant” had begun, Italian became a featured personality in radio and television. The author demonstrated “Life with Luigi” as an example. It was about Italian immigrant who was joyful and appreciative in the United States. In “The Mafia Gangster” stage, Italian was represented in the archetypal gangster. The author considered this stereotype as the most enduring in media. Finally, the last stage “The Jivy Proletarian”, media display more commercial success in streetwise working-class Italian. Furthermore, the author also stated that the media’s tactic was to move with the stereotypical notions about one group or another, rather than against them. The media merchandisers promoted the crudest impression of ethnics held by the public, encouraging each group to accept the prefabricated images of other groups.