The Mafia and Its Italian Identity

¶ … Mafia and Their Relation to the Italian Identity

The primary popular culture expression of the Italian-American identity is The Mafia whose fame is much to the dismay of many Italian-Americans. The Mafia is the basic popular culture expression of the Italian-American identity largely because of the influence of Francis Ford Coppola's hit film, "The Godfather" that won an Oscar award in 1972 ("The Mafia in Popular Culture," n.d.). This popular expression of the Italian-American identity is also attributable to the reinvention of the gangster movie genre by Coppola's hit film in 1972. The popularity of the Mafia as an expression of the Italian-American identity has been fueled by the group's extortion, establishment as a deeply rooted criminal organization, and political corruption and murder. The Mafia is essentially characterized by popular American derivations and strong relations to the Italian identity.

Historical Context of the Mafia

Sicily is a region in Italy that has historically been renowned for holding a distinct position from the rest of the country. Some of the major ways through which this region has differentiated itself from the rest of Italy include immediate physical evidence of being an island as well as numerous social and cultural differences. Moreover, Sicily has its own government, dialect, and mentality that contributed to the emergence of the Mafia. In essence, the emergence and growth of the Mafia is attributed to the fact that Sicily has usually been a place to be increasingly exploited instead of being governed (Lindo, 2008). Nonetheless, the origin of the Sicilian mafia is increasingly complex as several scholars have given several factors and different contributing elements.

Generally, the mafia was brought by the consideration of Sicily as different from the rest of Italy as evidence in its distinctive government, dialect, and mentality. This region became characterized by organized crime, which was considered as a sign of poverty and backwardness which would be eliminated through unification of the country in 1860. Contrary to the hopes of many Italians, the state legalized numerous corrupt local leaders who seemingly kept Sicily under control but resulted in the growth of local illegitimate power. These corrupt local leaders who were mostly born of the richest aristocratic families provided the earliest foundations for the mafia. The contributed to the emergence of several mafia networks in the 19th Century who gradually assumed the functions of the state like providing leadership, collecting taxes, and enforcement of its laws. As these networks grew, political and economic lives were significantly adjusted to embrace these mafia networks as reality. Legitimate governments experienced monumental tasks and difficulties in asserting their authority since they needed to redefine these widely embraced and accepted networks as criminal.

Popular American Derivations

American culture also played a crucial role in the history and development of the mafia as reflected in the emergence of the Italian-American identity. The American derivations of the mafia were the influence of the gangster life and culture. Gangster life and culture significantly influenced the mafia to an extent that it became the primarily popular culture expression of the Italian-American identity albeit to the disappointment of many Italian-Americans ("The Mafia in Popular Culture," n.d.). Gangster life and culture in America provided the basis for the Mafia to develop itself as a network and group of organized crime that was based in Italy and America.

In the initial years of its emergence, the mafia had no criminal connotations as was a commonly used term to refer to people who were suspicious of central authority or the government. However, the group embraced a shift and became criminal following the emergence of the American Mafia in 1920s. The Sicilian Mafia started extorting protection fees from landowners and subsequently became a violent criminal organization in the 19th Century following the rise of the American Mafia to power in the 1920s. While these two groups were separate entities, they shared a code of conduct and loyalty as well as traditions like omerta ("Origins of The Mafia," n.d.). The code of omerta of the Sicilian and American mafias enabled them to maintain secrecy and success and contributed to their ability to influence political, judicial and business leaders, which made it difficult for law-enforcement agencies to stop them.

Relation to the Italian Identity