Grid Effect

Today is April fool’s day, so I’m sad to announce that these next two news items are not a joke, but rather deftly serious. It appears Kevin Spacey believes BBC reality series set in the theater are undermining the valuable contribution actors have on society with their simplemindedness. Or something. We can’t really make rhyme or reason over what he’s taking issue with. Additionally, the coalition of Italian Americans Associations is outraged that Steve Buscemi, an upstanding model citizen with a successful acting and directing career after a ten year stint in the NYFD was invited to speak.

So here’s the issue, we have two prominent factions of two different societies upset over something most of us would consider trivial at worst and unnoticeable at best. So we’ll match up the two “oppressed” groups to determine once and for all, which action is more detrimental to their cause.

In corner one we have actors. Now, the mainstream consensus about actors seems to be their priorities are out of whack, their pretentious, spoiled, and lacking perception. But that is only prevalent in Hollywood. The truth is most actors work for peanuts because they are either extremely passionate about the art form or they have a deep desire to be famous. When Kevin Spacey started out, I think it’s safe to say that he fell into the former category. Someone who defends the integrity of theater work so vigorously certainly isn’t in it for the fast cars and even faster women.

But despite all the rigors your average actor might go through, all the aforementioned stereotypes apply. Some might say it is justified still, as the typical actor usually can afford such a lifestyle by way of his/her privileged upbringing. It’s easy to stay living in a $4,000 a month New York loft in Soho while being paid in coupons when your dad owns half the real estate in North Jersey. This again, is one of many assumptions most have for the acting community. We suppose Spacey is arguing when you cheapen the profession, it does a disservice to all working and aspiring actors everywhere. He’s like the David Simon of the acting community.

Your typical actor doesn’t get much respect outside of New York and LA, and even then they are resigned to close knit, though occasionally affluent communities. Thing is, being an actor isn’t something you’re born into, it’s a chosen career path. Italian Americans cannot say the same thing.

Season five tops our list of Sopranos in terms of artistry, Buscemi contributed significantly to that.

Italian Americans, the last refuge of European descendants who still refer to their ancestral land when describing their heritage. We believe this is indicative of their heightened sensitivity. The core issue with groups that take offense to every Italian stereotype is that they feel their culture isn’t recognized for their considerable contributions to the development of this country, but rather for Hollywood imagery that is all too quick to paint all Italian Americans with one broad brush of overweight, bigoted, murderous thugs. We believe this has some validity, and a groundswell of positive Italian/American characters is long overdue.

Never the less, The Sopranos seems to draw their ire more so than any other mafia related portrayal. And the thing is, even the murderous characters on The Sopranos are fleshed out beyond the point of caricatures. Sans Paulie and Silvio, none of the main characters really embodied any of those cliche mafioso tendencies.

Thing is, by all accounts Buscemi is a pillar of excellence with the arthouse crowd. He has always been more about his art than his wallet size, and tends to go for anything but the cheap, exploitive dollar. We do not know why this is lost on this particular Italian American group, but it appears it has.

Was The Sopranos a brutal series about brutal, narcissistic men? Yes, but I think if you took a poll of most Americans, they would quickly tell you that they are well aware of Italian Americans who are an asset to this country rather than a liability or threat. Point being, I don’t think the influence of a series like The Sopranos is nearly as significant on the national perception of Italian Americans as the influence that comes from complaining about the lauded television series. Instead of taking issue with the sub-story of the series (the overlying theme was family, not organized crime), revel in the fact that what is widely considered the greatest television series of all time was created by David Chase, himself, an Italian American.

Obviously, if forced to choose the more persecuted group would be Italian Americans. They do have a history in this country of being exploited for a myriad of reasons, none of them justified, but wallowing about a speech from someone as harmless and talented as Steve Buscemi or the aim of reality series’ both seem misguided.