Immigrants coming into America had to fit in by “trying to be white.”  Italian immigrants were considered “black” because of their darker features and skin tones.

In the 1920’s Italians were stereotyped as the handsome man in the movies that everyone wanted to be with, and all the girls swooned over.  They considered this the “Latin lover.”  A famous example of this was the actor, Rudolph Valentino.

Going into the ’30’s the Italian mafia and gangsters came into play in American film.  Italians were looked at as the violent ones who were a part of organized crime.  The image of the “mobster” was shown in many films starting in the 1970’s.  Some examples are Scarface, The Godfather, and Goodfellas.  Another trait of Italians that was depicted in these films were big families and food.

Later on, starting in the late 1900’s, Italians started to be depicted as the working class, trying to live the “American Dream.”  Rocky is an example of this.  Finally, Italians could celebrate their culture, and show their real heritage later on in film.

One stereotype that started dying out in the late 1990’s was that of the mafia and gangster in film.  It is still a popular topic for Italian-American films though.  An example of a current “mobster” film is The Family.  It is about a family who is a part of the mafia, and cannot get rid of their old habits of solving things “the family way.”

A stereotype seen a lot today is shown frequently in TV shows.  It is the depiction of the guido.  Examples of this are shows like Jersey Shore and Mob Wives.  Stereotypes of Italian-Americans in film and television has changed so much since he 1900’s.  Mostly for the better.