Intersection of Gender and Italian/Americaness
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THE INTERSECTION OF GENDER AND ITALIAN/AMERICANESS: HEGEMONY IN THE SOPRANOS by Niki Caputo Wilson A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of The Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, FL December 2010 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I could not have completed this dissertation without the guidance of my committee members, the help from my friends and colleagues, and the support of my family. I extend my deepest gratitude to my committee chair Dr. Jane Caputi for her patience, guidance, and encouragement. You are truly an inspiration. I would like to thank my committee members as well. Dr. Christine Scodari has been tireless in her willingness to read and comment on my writing, each time providing me with insightful recommendations. I am indebted to Dr Art Evans, whose vast knowledge of both The Sopranos and ethnicity provided an invaluable resource. Friends, family members, and UCEW staff have provided much needed motivation, as well as critiques of my work; in particular, I thank Marc Fedderman, Rebecca Kuhn, my Aunt Nancy Mitchell, and my mom, Janie Caputo. I want to thank my dad, Randy Caputo, and brother, Sean Caputo, who are always there to offer their help and support. My tennis friends Kathy Fernandes, Lise Orr, Rachel Kuncman, and Nicola Snoep were instrumental in giving me an escape from my writing. Mike Orr of Minuteman Press and Stefanie Gapinski of WriteRight helped me immensely—thank you! Above all, I thank my husband, Mike Wilson, and my children, Madi and Cole Wilson, who have provided me with unconditional love and support throughout this process. I am fortunate to have such an amazing husband, without whom the completion of this Ph.D program would not have been possible. iii ABSTRACT Author: Niki Caputo Wilson Title: The Intersection of Gender and Italian/Americaness: Hegemony in The Sopranos Institution: Florida Atlantic University Dissertation Advisor: Jane E. Caputi, Ph.D. Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Year: 2010 This dissertation uses a multiperspectival approach that analyzes production, text, and audience consumption to explore representations of gender and ethnicity in The Home Box Office, Inc. (HBO) original program The Sopranos. I first present the social, political, and economic factors that contributed to the continued critical and commercial success of the show. The hybrid genre of the show—an intermingling of the gangster and soap opera genres—proves particularly significant in its representation of gender and ethnicity. Both textual and audience analyses allow me to respond to the question central to this dissertation: Does The Sopranos reinforce or challenge hegemonic notions of masculinity, femininity, and ethnicity? My textual and paratextual analysis identifies the embodiment of hegemonic masculinity in the male characters, including the ways in which that hegemonic behavior leads to male violence, as depicted in the narrative, and reveals the performances of emphasized femininity and pariah femininities, class, and Italian/Americaness at play amongst the female characters in iv The Sopranos. Audience analysis reveals that The Sopranos broadly appeals to many Italian/Americans and self-proclaimed feminists, yet the vast majority of fans, particularly those who create fan fiction and frequent chat rooms, are drawn to the show for its violence, sexist imagery, and macho male characters. Thus, the multiperspectival approach of this dissertation proved particularly useful in determining that The Sopranos, in its entirety, ultimately repackages, but yet still reinforces hegemonic notions of gender and Italian/Americaness. v THE INTERSECTION OF GENDER, CLASS, AND ETHNICITY: HEGEMONY IN THE SOPRANOS List of Figures.......................................................................................................... ix Chapter One: Introduction........................................................................................ 1 Background and Justification............................................................................... 1 Review of Literature............................................................................................ 4 Cultural Studies and Television ..................................................................... 4 Home Box Office, Inc. (HBO) and The Sopranos ........................................ 18 The Sopranos’ Texts and Characterizations ................................................. 21 All Things The Sopranos ....................................................................... 22 The Men of The Sopranos...................................................................... 27 The Women of The Sopranos................................................................. 28 The Sopranos: Italian/Americans and the Gangster Genre..................... 31 Studies on Gender and Violence .................................................................. 35 Genre Theory .............................................................................................. 43 The Gangster Genre............................................................................... 46 The Rise and Fall of the Gangster .................................................... 46 The Marked Ethnicity of the Gangster.............................................. 48 The Misogynistic Nature of the Gangster ......................................... 51 The Gangster’s Mother, Wife, and Moll........................................... 52 vi The Genre’s Ubiquitous Iconography............................................... 52 The Soap Opera Genre........................................................................... 53 Genre Analysis of The Sopranos............................................................ 55 Intertextuality, The Gangster Genre, and The Sopranos.................... 55 Seriality, The Soap Opera Genre, and The Sopranos ........................ 56 Research Procedures and Methodology ............................................................. 57 Methodological Approach ........................................................................... 57 Data Sources................................................................................................ 63 Audience Data Selection.............................................................................. 65 Audience Data Analysis............................................................................... 65 Chapter Preview .......................................................................................... 66 Chapter Two: Producing a Prime Time Gangster Soap Opera................................. 68 The Beginning: HBO and The Sopranos............................................................ 69 The Gangster Genre and The Sopranos.............................................................. 75 The Importance of Loyalty .......................................................................... 77 The Abundance of Food .............................................................................. 82 The Devotion to Catholicism ....................................................................... 86 The Soap Opera Genre and The Sopranos.......................................................... 95 Marketing The Sopranos ..................................................................................100 Audience Analysis: Genre ...............................................................................111 Chapter Three: The Intersection of Hegemonic Masculinity & Violence ...............123 The Violent Italian/American Men of The Sopranos.........................................124 Tough Guys................................................................................................126 vii Made Men ..................................................................................................129 The Family Patriarch ..................................................................................130 The Italian/American Cowboy....................................................................136 The ‘Normal’ Heterosexual .......................................................................139 Maintaining Hegemonic Masculinity ..........................................................142 “The Death of the Self”: A Pattern of Shame and Violence.........................146 Audience Analysis: Hegemonic Masculinity & Violence.................................152 Chapter Four: The Women of The Sopranos: An Ethnic and Gender Performance...........................................................................................................160 Feminine Performance: Emphasized Femininity and Pariah Femininities .........161 Audience Analysis: Feminine Performance in The Sopranos ...........................174 Ethnic Performance: Stereotypical Italian/Americaness ...................................180 Audience Analysis: Ethnic and Class Performance ..........................................189 Chapter Five: Conclusion......................................................................................200 Introduction......................................................................................................200 Summary..........................................................................................................200 Limitations.......................................................................................................209 Recommendations for Future Research.............................................................210