ANTI-ITALIAN AMERICAN CARTOONS
Your COMMENTS in two separate paragraphs:
1) COURSE HOMEPAGE, LECTURE 1
If you followed the assignment's directions for video n. 1, you should have recorded your immediate emotional reactions to the first 3 cartoons. Without getting into the details, how would you define -- broadly speaking - your reactions in few simple words?
If you followed the assignment's directions for video n. 1, you should have recorded your immediate emotional reactions to the first 3 cartoons. Without getting into the details, how would you define -- broadly speaking - your reactions in few simple words?
2) From emotional reaction to RATIONAL self-reflection: thinking back about the cartoons, are you surprised at the way ITAMs were represented? Would you ever expect this kind of treatment? Or, come to think of it, you really are not all that surprised...
REPLY: read your classmates comments carefully and REPLY to one comment that made an impression, either because it was well written, or because it touched upon something that opened up a new line of thoughts and ideas in you.
My initial emotional reaction to the anti-Italian cartoons was, without meaning to sound harsh, nothing, but with a sense of familiarity. Over the course of my many years of schooling, this kind of degrading and racist propaganda is nothing I haven't already seen.
ReplyDeleteFrom anti-Chinese propaganda to anti-African American, these kinds of images are something that I have become numb to seeing over the many years of schooling that I have under my belt. Something that I think is important to note in regard to this is the privilege that I have. I am a caucasian male. Those two aspects alone give me more privilege than most others combined. Being a white male is a privilege and by not acknowledging its existence, I would be a contributing factor. More into the scope of this assignment, I'm not surprised that Italians were treated in such a way. Powerful white men have always used their privilege to further their own agendas. Italians were obviously considered to be "other" so they were mistreated by those who had the power to do so. This all too closely resembles our current political climate. A powerful white man is using bigotry to push his own racist beliefs onto the masses, which was exactly what was happening in the anti-Italian propaganda.
I found this post interesting because I didn't think of these cartoons relating to propaganda bashing other cultures.
DeleteI agree with you, through out my whole school life these cartoons were very popular
DeleteHanna Kryvonos
ReplyDeleteMy first feeling according to these anti-Italian cartoons is negative attitude and discrimination toward Italian immigrants because on the cartoons they depicted as rats or as hired workers (shoeshine) which were considered as slaves or as hired assassins.From this cartoons I can see that the Italians immigrants which came to America for a better life become the victims of prejudice, economic exploitation, and victims of violence. I noticed the elements of negative stereotypes such as Italian mafia or Italian gangsters. The cartoon with a “Black Hand’ where the sicario kills respectable man reminded to me the famous case of Italian immigrants Sacco and Vanzetti which in 1921 were convicted of robbery and murder.
wow, you’re use of outside information is really interestingly connected to the elaborate lies constructed to keep italian americans down. i also agree that it’s extremely unfortunate that these good people came to make a better life, to escape their old deteriorated lives just to endure more torture.
DeleteThe use of artwork to perpetuate racist stereotypes about Italians is something that I was aware of, but had not personally investigated. It very intriguing to see how white people viewed Italians before they became assimilated into white American culture. The images were a disturbing, yet amusing piece of history. People of color will certainly find themselves relating to the images, though the solidatary is not likely to go much further based on the divergence in American experiences in later years.
ReplyDeleteI am surprised that white Americans chose to degrade and attack Italian immigrants, as many (if not most) Italians shared similar skin tones. It is interesting that Italian immigrants are often depicted as darker skinned people in cartoons. Clearly, white Americans wanted very much to imagine differences from themselves all the way down to skin color, but it seems like such a stretch to imagine them as a mostly tan or dark skinned people. It is unsurprising that they later gave up on that narrative.
I second Nicholas' thought regarding the use of "bigotry to push... racist beliefs onto the masses." History always repeats itself.
You mentioned something that I did not connect when watching the videos. As you stated some of the Italian-Americans were depicted with darker skin tones which does highlight a juxtaposition between the White Americans and Italian-Americans. This just goes to show you how they really wanted to distance themselves from them. By using a darker skin tone to represent them it showed that they looked down upon them almost similar to how they looked down upon African-Americans. Additionally, when I first learned about the bigotry towards Italian-Americans in history class — I was also surprised. I could not understand why Americans wanted to discriminate against people that looked like them. However, now I can understand that this stems from nationalism and that they really wanted to perpetuate this "us" and not "them" narrative. Italians were definitely "them" because they had their own customs, traditions, and beliefs that differed greatly from Americans. In the conquest to establish and maintain America, Americans were unable to recognize other groups including but not limited to — Italian-Americans, African-Americans, Irish-Americans, Native American, Chinese-American, and Jewish people.
DeleteWhen viewing the cartoons, I was speechless and shocked. I had these reactions because seeing these horrendous actions depicted was not pleasant. The moment felt surreal because I actually saw how Americans back then perceived Italian-Americans. I’ve learned about this in history class but it was not emphasized, therefore, I did not recall that they were treated so severely degraded and maltreated. Thus, seeing it emphasized on screen invoked those reactions in me.
ReplyDeleteI was not surprised at how they were treated. My shock just came from seeing it up close, not just hearing it in a casual sense. I was not surprised because prior to this America did not have a good track record of treating immigrants and non-White people well. If they could inflict violence and mistreatment upon the original inhabitants of this land, what could and would they do to immigrants? I was however surprised at the third cartoon which was about propaganda to essentially kill them. I remember learning about how they were discriminated against but I did not know that this propaganda reached such harsh bounds.
My initial reaction to the cartoons is bad and negative. Being Italian american seeing people who I closely associate myself with being depicted in such a bad way upsets me. I feel that there was a lot of misunderstanding of who Italians were when they first came to america. I feel that they were mis-treated just like a lot of other immigrants who came to america in search of a new and better life. For my emotional reaction, I was not really surprised at all if anything this is what I expected to see. I knew that a majority of immigrants were depicted in this way to the public. I do feel that it is very unfair and I do not like to see Italian American's depicted in this way but like I said it did not surprise me.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching the anti-italian cartoons, my reactions were mostly negative because of how they portrayed Italian immigrants. They showed them as rats or hired workers. They were misunderstood as they only came to America for a better life. On the other hand, I wasn't too surprised to the discrimination of the Italian immigrants as America was and still is known to be racist and have stereotypes to those who are non-white. Finally, I was surprised with the propaganda which was to eliminate them which I didn't think it would get to that point.
ReplyDelete1. My initial reaction is that it is very hateful to portray ITAMs as rats, dehumanizing them. It is interesting how Uncle Sam is sort of looking the other way, maybe the artist is saying that the U.S. out to not turn a blind eye to immigrants coming into our country so easily.
ReplyDelete2. I am not surprised that ITAMs were portrayed that way. I feel as if there is this stigma/primitive way of thinking that native people of a country are superior to immigrants. People seem to think of immigrates in a negative way, bringing things like crime, drugs and different political opinions into another country. Even today, President Trump's building of the wall is trying to stop immigrants from Mexico from coming into our country. Illegal activities will continue regardless of immigrants coming in and out of our country and I think there needs to be more acceptance of the positives that come from immigration like influence of language, food, architecture, and all aspects of culture.
I agree with what you said on question 2 and the attitude of people who aren't natives are sort of invaders and don't belong. It's a terrible way of thinking of it but it does exist and is evident in our history.
DeleteI don't know if I can call what I had a reaction. As I watched the Italian Americans in Cartoons video's I honestly didn't have a strong reaction, I sat there and thought "Oh. well that's messed up",and that's it. But when I think about it I have seen so many wrongful propaganda images throughout my schooling that it no longer affects me or shocks me. By now I already know that those who thought of themselves as higher than others(Americans) created these types of things to force their own opinions on anyone who would be gullible enough to believe it (other Americans who felt threatened).
ReplyDeleteI am not surprised at all to see how ITAMs were represented in cartoons because they did it to so many other races as well. That was the Norm back then, it's not right for them to do this but they did anyways... someone new comes along and they see it as a chance to make fun and diminish their culture to make them seem like animals. It was definitely a horrible thing Italians and others had to endure.
I strongly agree with the statement about seeing so much stereotypical, wrongful propaganda all my life due to being in school for majority of my life, especially coming straight out of High school to go straight into college. I felt bad either way, and since they are part of oppressors, I am not as sad, and does not hurt as much because they became their worst enemy.
DeleteAs I watched the video of the cartoons I was horrified especially when they mention the ways Italians were portrayed in the video. Italians were suggested to be like vermin in the cartoons and were portrayed as such and i found myself baffled. As I was watching the cartoons unfold to become worse and worse I felt like these cartoons could have even targeted my tribe or the Asian Americans.
ReplyDeleteComic strips were often used to feature horrific subjects in a way that wouldn't seem as bad. I kept an open mind but these satirical drawings went way out of hand, especially when they started to move to ways of trying to "dispose" of Italians-like the dipping the people into the ocean. I was simply flabbergasted by how these comics simply depicted Italians simply as vermin meant to be killed.
I agree with your stance on how comic strips are used to feature horrific content in a way that doesn't seem too bad. Although it does do that, I believe thats what makes it really stick because it is able to grasp the viewers attention and provide many subliminal messages
DeleteMy initial reaction when watching the video of the cartoon, I was really surprised to see the way Italians were viewed back then. Especially since, in today's world, Italians are a big part of white culture.
ReplyDeleteThe horrible, even hurtful way Italians are depicted is rather shocking and I think about the hate and discrimination Italians had to endure, similar to other minorities. Even to go as far as depict Italians as rats or pests is something that is really just disturbing.
I agree with you. Before joining this class, my imaginations of Italians were wealthy and noble white people. I also have the thought that they are very unapproachable and they don't like any other country other than their country. So when I watched cartoons, I was surprised that Italian-Americans also experienced such brutal treatment and discrimination in the past.
DeleteWhile looking at the cartoons my immediate reaction was just shock. I was shocked because this is the first time looking at these cartoons and I have also never encountered discriminatory images of Italian-Americans like these until now.
ReplyDeleteThinking back to these cartoons the similarities between how Italian-Americans were portrayed are the same way many new immigrants are portrayed today. It really makes you think about the fear many Americans have about immigrants and the way the media recycles those same images over and over to instill that into our brains. Another surprising thing about these cartoons is the representation of race. Italian-Americans were drawn the same way African-Americans were depicted too. These cartoons are really racist and harmful.
My first emotional reaction to the cartoons showed in the video was shock. Although I was aware that Italians were discriminated against in the past, I was not aware to what extent. Although Italians are mostly seen as white today, I forget that historically they were not considered to be so and hence faced racial discrimination. Seeing the cartoons made me feel empathy for the new Italian immigrants in the late 19th century and early 20th century.
ReplyDeleteMy first rational reaction was also shock although it quickly wore off as I thought about it. The more I thought about it, the less I was surprised to see Italians compared to rats as well as apes due to the fact that these are both common negative depictions used to discriminate against a number of groups. It was interesting as well as sad to see the same depiction of Italians as rats, carriers of social disease holding weapons in their mouths, used in multiple cartoons.
my initial reaction to these cartoons was thinking how could people possibly be this despicable towards others they don’t even know. I also felt a bit of familiarity as we students have seen thousands of political and racial cartoons against other immigrant minorities. Of course i’m surprised at the length people went to discriminate towards people they thought wronged them in the past. Even if you were wronged by anyone of any back round, nothing gives you the right to bombard innocents in such a way. But honestly i’m not that surprised it exists because creating and finding scapegoats and excuses for your problems was and still is the norm. I fully expect this kind of treatment when the minority as of now becomes the majority, politically and socially.
ReplyDeleteI believe you bring up a great point. When you said "But honestly i’m not that surprised it exists because creating and finding scapegoats and excuses for your problems was and still is the norm.", I felt the same emotions. I was not surprised at how people were treated, I'm just surprised it still exists today!
DeleteI watched the video of the cartoons I was horrified and disgusted especially when they mention the ways Italians were portrayed in the video. Discrimination is a huge thing in our world. It is sad to see that Italians were compared to apes and rats. Disgusting the way people can think.
ReplyDeleteI was shocked to see Italian Americans depicted in such a light. It was surprising to me because I haven't ever seen discrimination towards Italians growing up. Italian americans are a big part of the brooklyn community and Its unreal to me to see the type of propaganda that went on back then.
ReplyDeleteIt is very surprising at the way Italian Americans were being represented in these cartoons. Its horrible to see such a big part of today's culture being portrayed as a parasite to society. Although discrimination through propaganda was common back then, I never thought It would be against Italians.
When I watched cartoons depicting Italian Americans being brutally tortured and murdered, I felt sympathy for them. These images remind me of the brutality of the Chinese Communist Party that wants to destroy all Vietnamese people. They do not exclude any evil quackeries or tortures to kill the Vietnamese people, and they want to make Vietnam a part of China.
ReplyDeleteThe image of ITAMS represented in these cartoons is not beyond my imagination. Because in the past, racial discrimination occurred everywhere in the world. I have known a lot of cruel tortures than that, so when I watched the video, I was not really surprised. But one of the images that I feel most inhumane is a picture of Americans who just considered Italian Americans as rats and force them into a cage and drop them into the ocean. I feel that humans are so scary and dangerous, We're all human, so why are we discriminating against each other, and trying to destroy each other?
Hanna Kryvonos
DeleteI agree with Thu that racial discrimination was everywhere in the world, but I want add to that this discrimination still happens today in our society and it may looks in the same way. According to the famous quote from the mass media "What has been done before will be done again.There is nothing new in the whole world". And I know this according my personal experience. in my native country Ukraine today my parents experienced discrimination because they form the town Donetsk where historically people used to speak both Russian and Ukrainian langues and it was OK, until according to the political reforms Russian language began to be oppressed and my native town turned into a war zone between Ukraine and Russia. And this situation make me really upset.
My immediate emotional reaction to the three political cartoons shown is very sick to stomach especially to the first political cartoon regarding how to treat Italian Americans because I personally can not understand how you can see someone as not "human". There could be no way you can see a human despite their flaws and mistake and strongly believe or even fathom the thought that they should be disposed, and more importantly drown to death in cage according to the first political cartoon.
ReplyDeleteI am not surprised that these political cartoons because when I was taking high school history class and they discussed briefly about the type of prejudice Italian Americans faced through various political cartoons and statements said about them when they first coming to America. Its just weird how this group of people were disrespected understands what it feels be mocked and insulted, to eventually to become a part of white-privilege, , oppressor.
I completely agree, it is wrong to associate humans being animal like. In high-school, we were shown so many different political cartoons that made fun of everyone so this definitely was no surprise to see.
DeleteMy immediate emotional reaction to the first 3 cartoons was, disappointment. I was disappointed because no one, despite their race/tribe/or culture, should ever feel like they’re being targeted by the media or anyone else, for that matter. It just completely baffles me, how people could be so heartless or judgmental.
ReplyDeleteI have to be honest and say, no I am not surprised at how Italian Americans were represented within the cartoons. Looking back in history, it is clear to see that there is always a certain race/tribe/culture being discriminated against, and often targeted. Unfortunately, the propaganda tactics remain the same, till this day, where groups of people are still being mistreated based on bias beliefs. When will the cycle end? When will people become more understanding and respect others for who they are as a person? Is it too much to ask for mutual respect?
Jessica Fracasse
ReplyDeleteMy initial feeling when seeing these cartoons was a mix of sadness and anger. However, I was not surprised by how ITAM were treated. Unfortunately we has humans use other people who are different than us scape goats. Yet, my reaction of not being surprised also made me angry that it’s so common that I am used to this.
Basically the gist of it. The cartoons aren't new news to some people so I definitely feel that same. I feel like i've been seeing these for a while just in different shapes and sizes on a more consistent basis.
DeleteAs far as my reactions towards the cartoons, I think it is extremely exaggerated in terms of representing the Italian-American culture. They are hardworking people to came to this country for better opportunities. They came here not knowing English and still managed to open businesses and communicate with others. It is so wrong to label a group of people from their looks and stereotypes and share it publicly because you will influence others to think that way and spread racism.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I am not surprised Italians were treated this way because every group that immigrated to America received all types of stereotypical treatment. I think during these times, it was hard for Americans to accept foreigners and not only that but journalism is a powerful tool to spread news all over the world whether it is good or bad news. They took advantage of this obviously to create what they thought was "comedy". People who don't understand someone's culture will be extremely quick to judge which is why I am not surprised as we live in a world of very judgmental people.
While watching the video of the cartoon, I wasn’t really surprised because since I was younger Ive been seeing people making such cartoons for minorities. Mostly all minorities went through hardships like this. Its hard to accept for one reason though, because Italians are so important today and they are so loved.
ReplyDeleteIt is so heartbroken to see the Italians or any minorities being treated this way. We are all humans and I wish everyone understood that regardless what race we are we all shed the same blood.