Is Tony Soprano Quintessentially American?
Christopher Columbus Is No Longer the Iconic Italian-American. And That Might Be a Good Thing.
It used to be that Christopher Columbus was the major iconic representative of the Italian-American community in popular culture, but he has since given way to the likes of Tony Soprano and all the Hollywood-inspired gangsters that came before him. This may seem a serious devaluation, but in fact—in one respect at least—the Columbus-to-Soprano relay reflects one auspicious development of the last century: the general acceptance of the very identity of “Italian-American.”
Because, say what you will about Tony Soprano: There was no questioning his quintessential Americanness.
A century ago, when …
