Rep. Roukema Sees Ethnic Insult, Looks to Whack ‘The Sopranos’

“The Sopranos” may be the most popular show on cable television, but try telling that to Rep. Marge Roukema (R-N.J.), who plans to introduce a resolution this month officially condemning the HBO series as an affront to Italian Americans.

In the latest congressional blast at Hollywood, Roukema’s motion calls upon the entertainment industry to “immediately stop the negative and unfair stereotyping of Italian Americans.” It points specifically to the acclaimed series about a Mafia kingpin from New Jersey who hangs out in a strip bar called Bada Bing and suffers from suburban angst.

“This program is highly discriminatory. . . . It’s Mafia, homicide, cheating, corruption, denigrating women and families, all of it,” said Roukema, an Italian American and 10-term moderate who has never watched the show but was spurred to action by constituent complaints she heard at shopping malls and the supermarket.

While several lawmakers have climbed aboard as resolution co-sponsors, at least one rose to the show’s defense--Sen. Robert Torricelli (D-N.J.), an Italian American who is such a devoted fan that he asks his staff to avoid scheduling appointments during its Sunday night time slot.

“It would be hypocritical of the senator to criticize a program that he regularly watches,” said Torricelli spokeswoman Debra DeShong.

The resolution, if passed, merely expresses the sentiment of the Congress and would have no power of law.

Hailed by critics as both “troublingly seductive” and “irresistible,” the show centers on Mafia boss Tony Soprano, a paunchy, wildly violent yet at times sympathetic character whose life is filled with aggravation. His mother was a vicious shrew who once contemplated having him knocked off, his wife is increasingly disenchanted with their marriage, his sister drives him crazy and his daughter is involved with a thug he knows is no good for her. He and his underlings commit a vast array of crimes while living by a code of honor; anybody who breaks the code gets it.

Fans laud the depth of the characters and the compelling plot line, particularly the relationship between Tony and his therapist, Dr. Melfi, who helps him come to grips with anxiety so severe he gets dizzy and passes out.

“I can only reiterate that we are not alone in our assessment that the show is an extraordinary artistic achievement,” said HBO spokesman Jeff Cusson. He noted that several of the characters are positive Italian American role models, including FBI agents and Dr. Melfi, the show’s moral conscience.

Now in its third season, the Emmy-winning series is the most-watched program on cable television. But it is no stranger to controversy. The American Italian Defense Assn., a legal group, has sued the producers, claiming the show suggests that “criminality is in the blood or in the genes of Italian Americans.”

Last month, NBC President Robert Wright wrote to select members of Hollywood’s production community soliciting views about the show’s influence on popular entertainment--at the same time stressing that the series is “a show which we could not and would not air on NBC because of the violence, language and nudity.”

While singling out “The Sopranos,” Roukema’s resolution asks the entertainment industry to heed in general the way it depicts ethnic groups, said spokesman Steve Wilson. He cited a review of films made between 1928 and last year that found nearly three-quarters of them portrayed Italian Americans in a negative manner.

Roukema’s resolution has been endorsed by the Order Sons of Italy in America and the National Italian American Foundation.

While she has received several e-mails supporting her effort, some “Sopranos” fans have accused her of pandering for Italian American votes. Others have questioned her ethnic credentials.

Her staff responded that, although Roukema is a Dutch name, her maiden name is Scafati.