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Coalition of Italian Americans Brand Mafia II Launch Party A 'Dismal Failure'
by Simon Parkin [PC, Console/PC]
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August 31, 2010
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After protesting a launch party, UNICO National is claiming victory in their campaign against the portrayal of Italian Americans in 2K Games’ Mafia II. "I have no doubt our efforts resulted in the Mafia II Launch Party, at the 92nd Street Y's Tribeca Center, being a dismal failure," said Andre' DiMino, chief media executive for UNICO and spokesman for the group that represents Italian Americans.
DiMino had originally demanded that parent company Take-Two "halt release of the game and cleanse it of all references to Italians and Italian-Americans”, claiming that the game “directly, blatantly and unfairly discriminates and demeans one group to the exclusion of all others."
However, last week DiMino set his sights on the New York launch party event, pressuring the event’s host, the 92nd Street Y, to cancel the event as inappropriate for a well-known not-for-profit institution.
"When we first heard about this marketing event only recently, we went into action, using our resolve to challenge an event whose purpose was to mock the Italian American community by promoting the new video game Mafia II," said DiMino.
DiMino claims both Take-Two and the 92nd Street Y "became very hesitant to heavily promote ethnic bashing in this very public way", citing a lack of media coverage as proof that both parties "pulled back" on promoting the launch event. He called this "only one small, satisfying victory" in what he described as a long campaign on behalf of Italian Americans opposed to Mafia II.
"I believe," he continued, "the combined result of our activities was that, without acknowledging our efforts, both Take-Two and the 92nd Street Y became very hesitant to heavily promote ethnic bashing in this very public way. The lack of media coverage for the launch party is another indicator that they pulled back on promoting this event."
Mr. DiMino concluded, "For us, this is one small, satisfying victory in a much longer, more sophisticated campaign within the Italian American community opposed to Mafia II specifically, and the continued misrepresentation of the Italian American community, generally. Take-Two and its major investors, and the entertainment industry in general, will be hearing further and forcefully from us."
Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick, responded publicly to UNICO’s previous claims: "We balance our right to free expression with what we believe is a thoughtful and responsible approach to creating and marketing our products… We aim to distinguish creative and compelling story telling that advances artistic expression from subject matter that gratuitously exploits or glorifies violence or stereotypes."
Mafia II thus far has not seen an especially strong launch, a development due more likely to its critical reception than to the actions of a group. The title received a "mixed or average" Metacritic score of 74, and Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter recently pointed out that "consumer interest appears to be waning, as the game’s position has dropped in many best-seller lists in its first week." The analyst and several of his colleagues have suggested the game is unlikely to turn a profit for its publisher.
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Mafias > Oompa Loompa Guidos
The Jersey Shore rules...I'd hang out with the Situation and Sami. GTL all the way.
I also agree with Tomiko and others, UNICO if your really worried about how Italian American's are viewed by the public perhaps focus your attention on the real people "Jersey Shore" rather than fictional characters.
But I guess games are an easier target.
http://boldstate.com/2010/08/20/italian-american-group-wants-stereotypes-cut-fro
m-mafia-ii/
UNICO doesn't deny Italians took part in the mafia but points out that a relatively small percentage of the ethnic group participated in organized crime compared to other groups and that the stereotype is perpetuated throughout all media.
You ask where were they for The Sopranos or Jersey Shore, but if you bothered looking you'd find that they campaigned against both.
All I'm asking is that members of the video game community do a little research before posting ignorant or offensive comments because anyone from outside the industry who actually read through the comments in most news articles on game blogs would have good reason to assume we're all racist morons.
I think this is what the problem is...they recognize that only a small percentage actually participated---and most other people believe this as well. And these games are focused only on the small percentage. The game is called Mafia for god sake. Its not called Italian Americans.....and if there was a game called italian american I most likely wouldn't play it because it would be the Sims...with Italians. UNICO needs to understand that this game isnt targeting Italian Americans as a whole...it is a game strictly and solely targeting the MAFIA------2/again.
As for Stereotypes in the media....they can try to change that all they want...but that is a losing battle...Sterotypes were around before the media and they have flourished with the media--but they will never die. Goonies[Stereotypes] Never Say Die!!!
I understand your point about not researching groups before bashing them. I completely agree.
I'm sure Take-Two played up to this stereotype because a mafia game about Irish gangsters wouldn't sell as well, but more money is never a good reason to perpetuate an ignorant stereotype.
But lets hazard a guess that no one from UNICO has actually played this game?
In any case, I'm Italian, I'm not a "mafioso" and I still look forward to playing and enjoying this game which doesn't offend me at all (and I'd have had no problem whatsoever in joining the launch party too :P)
Point 1: With the exception of work labeled non-fiction, the characters featured in the stories are completely fictional. Any resemblance to any person living or dead is purely coincidental. No similarity to any person either living or dead is intended or should be inferred.
It's not fair to criticize a work of fiction for being partially based on real people. It's very hard to relate to characters unlike the people we've met.
Point 2: All generalizations are wrong.
It's not fair to focus purely on one ethnic group in a negative way. It's probably a bad idea to do the same thing in an overly positive way either. The goal is a balanced, unbiased view.
Take the two together and you get a good guideline for what UNICO cares about. They're not blaming the game for being about violent Mafiosos. They're upset that it's not put in a realistic context, where other crime groups were very, very significant. They're upset that this is a Hollywood stereotype and not a somewhat-accurate portrayal of organized crime in the 40s.
Art make us reflex, and Mafia as a game art is doing it. I am not saying that Mafia is a Master Piece of art, but sure is a piece.
There are a few games in the last 10 years that make us debate about something beyond the UI, Main Char, etc.
It's time to talk more about the content of games and critic them and demand them and less about technical aspects.
I mean, games must have something to say apart from alien invasions?
If we don't encourage the developers to continuing exploring the Game Language, nobody will do.
Mafia II IS a representation of Italians during a certain time period, but you have to ask yourself, why Italians, why the mafia, and why that time period.
It's because the media has been portraying Italians as gangsters an unfair amount in comparison to other ethnic groups for decades. Before I looked into the situation, I was unaware of just how exaggerated the role Italians played in organized crime was and it's shows like The Sopranos and games like Mafia II that perpetuate this ignorance.
You can say Take Two was just telling the story of an Italian character who gets into organized crime but they didn't have to do that. It's the same as saying there's nothing wrong with a white protagonist killing black zombies in Resident Evil 5. The game took place in Africa which is predominantly black but it didn't have to take place there. It's irresponsible on both parts to just ignorantly display images that carry negative weight like that.
As for the Resident Evil thing, I still don't get what eveyone was POed about. Chris is a repeat character and just happened to land himself in another country where the population was majority black. Resident Evil 4--Zombies were majority Spanish...If Resident evil 6 happens in Asia--dammit I expect to see asian Zombies...Its a choice of location---not race--And I believe it is a responsible decision because if you saw a bunch of white zombies in africa..just wouldnt fit..unless of course we were in south africa..then it would be mixed.
I am certain you must not have played the game or you would under stand the sense of authenticity they were trying to maintain within the time period. there is no need to be offended, it's a game merely meant to entertain . the fact that ito ( the main character) and the majority of the cast is italian isn't an attack on italians it is just a representation of the itialian mafia.
It should be common sense, but our defense mechanism gets triggered so quickly when it comes to someone speaking out against video games that we forget common sense and fail to see how people actually perceive our medium and make ignorant claims and stupid jokes like the ones above (ie, make him a deal he couldn't refuse).
For every "defense mechanism that gets triggered quickly", there is an equal number of individuals who overreact and claim profiling.
How about we play the fictional game in the fictional setting as the developer imagined it be?
Also, Capcom being a Japanese company doesn't make the company any less irresponsible for creating imagery that would obviously create controversy, especially considering the US is where most of the game's customers are. If you plan on selling a product in a market not part of your own culture, you should do research before you end up releasing something culturally insensitive.