Italian Stereotypes and VH1's My Big Friggin Wedding ( Part 1)

Have you ever played this game?

 

(Whac-a mole)

That's exactly what trying to take on Italian stereotypes in the media is like. Just as you have one under control and squashed, another 3 spring up immediately. 

My Big Friggin' Wedding on VH1 is now my big friggin' headache. Of course, it was made from the creators of Jersey Shore, who apparently think a cultured Italian is like a unicorn- pleasant to dream about, but ultimately non-existent.

On the show, 2 couples are full Italian, and 2 couples are half Italian. So, 4 out of 5 couples deal with the Italian community- and they do so in the most stereotypical ways imaginable.

Full Italian Couple #1 Johnny “Meatballs” DeCarlo and Megin:

 Johnny wants to be the “meatball king of New Jersey” ( I really hope that's the reason for his middle name.) Of course, he carried over centuries of old world refinement to the craft of creating a uniquely Italian dish, right?

 I don't know what's worse, the fact that he sang a "meatball song" in what is the most stereotypical Italian accent ever,  or that one of the lyrics is "I take a lot of pride in my balls." He responded to critics of My Big Friggin Wedding by saying he brings "more to the table" than 15 minutes of fame. Sure he does.

His blog on i-italy is just as bad. He defends the word "guido" and doesn't mind it if people call him one. He also says about Italian word pronunciation,  "To me, the “holier than thou” types out there should be protesting the Italians who pronounce manicotti as “man-uh-COT-ee” and ricotta as “ri-COT-uh,” not arguing over whether it’s supposed to be “ri-gawt-uh” or just plain “ri-gawt.”

Thank you VH1 for stereotyping Italians by finding the most stereotypical Italian to ever live.

Surely his fiancee isn't a stereotypically loud and buffoonish Italian right?  Megin's mom says, "Megin is marrying a douchebag and I'm paying for it, without any input."What is Megin's dignified response to her mother? "I fu**ing paid for most of the reception." God forbid your mother had any opinion on the meatball you were about to marry, Megin.

These stereotypes are on full display in every episode of the show. Italian American organizations were outraged, and yet nothing was done. How, after all of the backlash that Jersey Shore caused, can the same team get away with making the same stereotypical show?

The icing on the cake? SallyAnn Salsano is the executive producer of "My Big"... just another example of Italians selling out fellow Italians for a quick buck. 

Check out Part 2 of our write up on My Big Friggin Wedding