Ethnicity, class and humor : stereotypical representations of Italian Americans in film /

Abstract

The paper explores the intersections between representations of ethnicity and class, focusing on the role humor plays in constructing ethnic and class identity on the big screen. The aim of the study is to show that humor can be used to subvert mainstream negative stereotypes, while still signaling acknowledgment and appreciation for past ingroup stereotypical representations. Object of the study are mafia films and, specifically for the analysis of the humor, mafia comedies featuring Italian Americans. Sociological and semantic studies of humor have been brought together and the overlapping between semantic scripts, ethnic stereotypes and sociological findings on ethnic jokes has been shown. This provided a theoretical framework to analyze humor as a manifestation of both class and ethnic stereotypes. The analysis of the two mafia comedies, The Freshman (1990) and Analyze This (1999), has confirmed the hypothesis that humor functions as a commentary on ethnic and class identity. Moreover, recent mafia comedies have been read as parodies of past mafia movies directed by Italian Americans. The analysis has emphasized how parodies exploit humor to signal continuation and change simultaneously. Like class and ethnic humor, parodies reiterate the previous discourse, signaling critical distance through humor. In conclusion, the paper has found explanations for the pervasive use of humor by ethnic and class minorities, by interpreting it as a tool to critically comment on the historical, sociological, political reasons behind mainstream stereotypes about the group. It is a means to appropriate and invert the discourse, thus turning it into the face of the initiator.