Your Favorite Italian-American Film

PRLog (Press Release) - Jul. 18, 2012 - I have three quick questions for you.

What is one of your favorite films of all time?

What are three of your favorite sitcoms ever?

What is your favorite Italian-American film?

Now, let's go through your answers--or even better, your thoughts behind your answers.

Naming a favorite film brings to mind everything from Academy-award winning dramas like The Godfather to quirky independent films, but the process was quick and painless, right?

Naming your top three sitcoms may have required a little more thought to decide the order or think up a third one.  But, most of us can remember the comedy and even some of its classic episodes.  My guess is that Seinfeld and The Cosby Show probably made a few lists.

But what about the third question?  The question itself probably seemed a bit odd.  An Italian-American film...hmm.  Is The Godfather one?  Goodfellas?  Raging Bull?  Have you ever wondered why these are regarded as good films and not good "Italian-American" films?  In a word: story.

For these films, the story is king and everything else is the canvas.  The themes of betrayal, revenge, self-destruction, overcoming, and ambition are universal themes that can be told in various settings and worlds. The screenwriters, directors, and orignal authors just happened to have chosen Italian-American settings--likely because of their own Italian-American heritage.

As I constructed the story of Righting Fate, I knew it was told against the backdrop of an African-American man and included his family and friends, most of whom were also African-American, but I still considered the themes universal.

Wouldn't it be interesting to explore a troubled character who could have a stadium full of people cheering his name and yet be the loneliest person there?  Wouldn't it be fascinating to see how he finds love but becomes overly dependent on that love to make him whole?  Especially if he lost that love again?  Raise the stakes by making him a public figure in his world with his failings and successes lived out in press headlines, and we just might have something irresistibly watchable.

Is Righting Fate groundbreaking?  Absolutely.  Currently, there are no mainstream dramas told with African-Americans as the canvas.  Comedy and reality formats abound.

Will it be regarded as that "African-American" show?  Perhaps, originally.  But, if The Cosby Show can be remembered for great comedy even though its setting was groundbreaking,  Righting Fate has a shot at becoming known for its drama told within a groundbreaking setting.

So, I would urge you to not give too much more thought to naming your favorite Italian-American film.  Just enjoy the story.

Photo:
http://www.prlog.org/11928085/1