"The Sopranos" use graphic violence to perpetrate the stereotype of Italian-Americans as being involved in organized crime, said Maltese, who has already cancelled his subscription to HBO. "A recent episode depicted an Italian-American viciously beating and murdering a pregnant young women. We are offended by the way this program romanticizes brutal violence and sexual content and we are urging everyone, particularly Italian-Americans, to protest by cancelling their subscriptions to HBO."
The Senator said he, and the Italian-American community organizations are beginning a united petition to drive the program off the air, or tone down the graphic nature of violence and sex depicted. At the very least, Maltese said he wants the program to run a disclaimer before and after the program that makes it clear that "The Sopranos" is a fictional program which is not representative of Italian-Americans.
Maltese has a strong supporter for his cause in Dr. Joseph Scelsa, vice president of institutional development at Queens College. He lashed out at "The Sopranos" in an interview with The Queens Courier.
"Its a tasteless show that is well acted, well produced and a terrible tragedy because it depicts a laudable group of Americans in despicable fashion to all Americans."
He said that a Chicago-based group, AIDA, an Italian-American defense association, has filed suit against the HBO television series.
Scelsa is a leader in a number of Italian-American Groups including the Coalition of Italo-Americans, Order of the Sons of Italy UNICO National and the National Italo-American Foundation.
"Week after week millions of Americans are watching this offensive program that is compromised of nothing more than anti-Italian slurs," said Peter Cardella, chairman of the Board of Italian-American Federation of Brooklyn and Queens. "Something must be done to take it down or strike a balance with more pro-Italian-American programming."
Maltese is not the only Queens politician rallying against "The Sopranos." Last week City Councilman Al Stabile said he wished the shows writers would clean-up their act and portray Italians more accurately. Stabiles announcement comes on the heels of gubernatorial candidate Andrew Cuomos public denouncement of the shows content.
Ann Jawin, founder of the Queens Womens Center, and an Italian-American herself agrees with the pols. "It is disgraceful, harmful and caters to the lowest element of Italian Americans," she said. "People from areas not heavily populated with Italian Americans get the idea that all Italian Americans are crude and coarse. The show displays a bad and unfair images of us."
Reacting to the brewing controversy, HBO has issued a statement stating, "We are very proud of The Sopranos and we are hardly alone on our assessment. The show is an extraordinary artistic achievement."
Since its debut nearly three years, "The Sopranos," which airs Sunday nights at 9 p.m., has consistently been at the top of the cable ratings. Its star, James Gandolfini, who plays New Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano, won an Emmy for best actor.
However, despite the ratings and high critical reviews, Maltese insists the show "insults the dignity of Italian-Americans by portraying them as mobsters.
