If you're in the camp that believes that Tony was whacked by the Members-Only jacketed man in the final blackout of The Sopranos, then you'll probably be pleased to know that Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito Jr. has taken a shot at the HBO drama, too.During a recent speech at New Jersey's Rutgers University, Justice Alito opined that the Emmy-winning series besmirched not only Italians, but citizens of the Garden State, too. "You have a trifecta - gangsters, Italian-Americans, New Jersey - wedded in the popular American imagination," he said to a crowd of about 100. He was speaking about the stereotypes Italian-Americans have had to live with in the United States. Clearly, The Sopranos would be just the kind of depiction to draw his ire. After all, Uncle Junior and Paulie Walnuts are not characters to be emulated and admired, and creator David Chase never said they were.
Alito lived in West Caldwell, New Jersey -- Tony's fictional hometown on the show -- for almost 20 years, so he was probably oversensitive about the Soprano connection. Speaking at an event sponsored by the Italian studies program at the state university of New Jersey, rapping The Sopranos was like preaching to the choir.
The justice, who's been a member of the Supreme Court for two years, mentioned how offended he was when a friend once sent him a map of Sopranos-related locations in Jersey. "He wanted me to put down where my house was on the map," Alito said, getting laughs from the crowd. Alito hoped that the real story of Italian Americans is one that celebrates the United States' "true nature as a nation of immigrants."
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-18-2008 @ 6:30PM
SJ said...
This is stupid. This is a show written by Italian Americans. What is he going to do? Deny the fact that the mafia is not mainly made up of Italians? The mafia isn't some kind of fictional entity made up by TV writers.
Also, the show only portrayed a certain segment of the Italian-American population as gangsters. It also regularly featured Italian-Americans as FBI agents, normal mothers, people with normal jobs, etc. etc. This idiot has probably never even watched the show.
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