George De Stefano

Portrayals of the Mafia and Italian American gangsters have been staples of American film and television for most of the twentieth century. George De Stefano, a widely published Italian American writer, notes ironically that although in recent years organized crime members have been imprisoned and their business interests largely dismantled, popular culture depictions of the Mafia remain on the increase. De Stefano argues that these depictions, although they may seem harmless, are in fact influential negative stereotypes that obscure the social and cultural contributions of Italian Americans.

THE LAST DECADE OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY was not a happy one for the Mafia. During the nineties both the United States and Italy made remarkable strides in curbing organized crime, imprisoning gangsters and dismantling their business interests. Though it would be premature to declare either the Italian or the American...