Peter Griffin (the fat one wearing a fake mustache) walks into an Italian store with his loyal white dog, Brian. As Brian begins to order some meat as the cashier appears, Peter butts in and insists in ordering because he can "speak" Italian. Peter tries to communicate with the cashier but results in nothing while tossing their arms around; portraying a stereotype against Italians:
If you hadn't noticed before, the stereotype found in the clip is how Italians communicate. Some people around the world and obviously the show Family Guy believe that Italians argue with a negative attitude and use drastic hand motions to speak with one another. There are two more stereotypes which are portrayed in the clip and in Marina's Bloggariffic; where she explains her Top 5 Italian stereotypes. One is the dark hair and "olive" skin that which the Italian store's cashier has. It's not mentioned in the clip, but is considered a #1 stereotype in Marina's blog. The second claimed stereotype is the mustache both of the human characters have in this clip; if people were asked to depict an Italian person, they would first come up with an image of a man with a thick mustache, or perhaps the video game character, Super Mario. Overall, this stereotype is demeaning and drastically over-exaggerated in this clip from Family Guy.
There are plenty of other stereotypes out there in the world which are against Italians that the world must be aware of so that they have a chance to stop themselves when interacting with them in the future. One is their so-called "obsession" with a plate of spaghetti and their love of meatballs. Even if the Italians introduced this type of food, why must there be such a stereotype where it is considered an obsession? It's like any other race with their cultural food; Chinese people made chow mein, do they love it? Why are there some racist people who believe black people like fried chicken? This just shows stereotypical people are ignorant and puts people on the spot from the food that they made or eat. Italians are just one of the few bunches of people that are stereotyped just because of their forms of communications, facial hair, and food.
I agree that it is stupid to stereotype people by things like facial hair or the foods they make. Why do you think people associate mustaches to be an Italian stereotype if people from every race can grow an mustache?
Everyone pretty much has facial hair right? So why make fun of it and portray a stereotype to an audience who watch this show? I don't quite understand why Italians are the source of this stereotype, but I have seen many Americans with thicker mustaches and full-grown beards! Also, it's ridiculous to think Italians are the only ones who obsess over spaghetti and meatballs. I love it! Perhaps Family Guy will make a skit where Asians love rice and noodles? Maybe they've already done it, who knows? That's where the point of our blogs come in; we just want to show you guys some ideas of how this show exaggerates certain stereotypes which discriminate people and the true side of the way those people really behave today. Also to demean their attempts at comedy; skits involving other cultures and ethnic backgrounds and exploiting them are inappropriate and should be handled in a more concise manner.
I agree that it is stupid to stereotype people by things like facial hair or the foods they make. Why do you think people associate mustaches to be an Italian stereotype if people from every race can grow an mustache?
ReplyDeleteEveryone pretty much has facial hair right? So why make fun of it and portray a stereotype to an audience who watch this show? I don't quite understand why Italians are the source of this stereotype, but I have seen many Americans with thicker mustaches and full-grown beards! Also, it's ridiculous to think Italians are the only ones who obsess over spaghetti and meatballs. I love it! Perhaps Family Guy will make a skit where Asians love rice and noodles? Maybe they've already done it, who knows? That's where the point of our blogs come in; we just want to show you guys some ideas of how this show exaggerates certain stereotypes which discriminate people and the true side of the way those people really behave today. Also to demean their attempts at comedy; skits involving other cultures and ethnic backgrounds and exploiting them are inappropriate and should be handled in a more concise manner.
ReplyDelete