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Published
October 2000
The Day the Protests Died
The Media Missed It
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Published October 2000 |
Some people just don't get it. And we know who they are. They're the proud card-carrying members of an audacious bunch; one that decides how valid a complaint is. They have a way at making the disgruntled look like a class of whiners.
We remember the ugly situation that sprung to life when American Native Indians protested against the Atlanta Braves and Cleveland Indians. There wasn't much doubt that the teams' use of Indian mascots and sacred ceremonies was a blatant disregard of Native Indian culture. So in 1995, as the Atlanta Braves and the Cleveland Indians prepared for their historic first game of the World Series, there was Michael Haney, decked out in a Klu Klux Klan outfit, yelling at baseball fans and waving placards in front of the media. Forget that Haney was a spokesperson for the American Indian Movement. And disregard that he wanted a boycott of the tomahawk chop which the Atlanta Braves boldly appropriated. The fact that he set out to demonstrate against the money-raking, much-loved American past-time made too many people either roll over in laughter or roll their eyes in disgust. Come on. It was the World Series.
Fast forward to the year 2000. African-Americans are keeping a keen watch on the American networks after making a stink last year. There was enough squeaking from Black lobbyists to implement a half-hearted reshuffling of casting for a few shows on NBC, ABC, and CBS. The new objective was to have more representation of Blacks and Latinos. Determining the sincerity of the efforts is another story altogether.
So is it a surprise that not everyone was singing praises for The Sopranos when it made its debut on the Canadian scene last month? Apparently, it was.
More than 2.1 million Canadians flocked in front of their televisions to catch the HBO series about a fictional New Jersey mob head, Tony Soprano and his family. Leading up to the debut, there was heavy promotion of the series, making a born-again television junky of anyone who got off on prime-time violence and coarse language. Lost amidst all the adulation for the American drama was the lonely lamentation of a few unimpressed people. In cities such as Montreal and Winnipeg, some Italians felt fit to air their concerns about the portrayal of their community in the comedy-drama. Vincent De Luca, president of the Italian Canadian League of Manitoba said he didn't buy claims that the humour of the series was something viewers should take lightly. Poor De Luca lost much credibility for his arguments when he admitted he had never seen the show. Still, he wasn't the only one who breathed the air of discontent. Earlier this year, the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations in the U.S. threatened a boycott of sponsors, claiming The Sopranos is a distorted view of the typical Italian-American family.
If there were more thoughts about the issue, they got muted. The media were too busy helping to whip up a frenzy for the coolest thing to hit the air since the V-chip's arrival from stage left.
Let's face it. The generation of kick-ass demonstrators dwindled into obscurity over two decades ago. Today, no one really cares for what might have been valid points regarding the tired one-dimensional Mafia theme revolving around Italians. Even many Italians can't see what's the big deal. It's a lesson every so-called minority group in Canada should mark in their notebooks. Whether it be as Ninja fighters, ghetto gangsters, or turban-wearing taxi drivers, once the portrayal is either funny or profit generating, then people would be hard-pressed to actually hear the minority dissent. That's where the media can do its job; unless it misses the story altogether, as with the case around The Sopranos. It's too bad, because the Italians, the Native Indians, the African-Americans and other groups don't really want sympathy. They just want a voice and some time to raise it. Unfortunately there will always be those who get it and those who happily don't.
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