COMMENT
In Moonstruck the least favorite character is Cosmo (as per previous polls.)
Are there specific TRAITS or FLAWS that you find objectionable in the other characters. major or minor.
Are these flaws small tiles of the mosaic representation of Italian Americans? In other words, are they typical (or stereotypical) of Italian Americans?
REPLY to a point of view that was particularly illuminating or infuriating (or both).
First an interesting fact is that, they all are headstrong and impulsive. Rose didn’t mind at all to tell her husband, in front of everyone, that he needs to stop seeing his girlfriend! Loretta, even though she wants to end the engagement also, she feels angry at Johnny when he says so first. Then, Ronny doesn’t even wait a minute to propose to her either.
ReplyDeleteAgain, the women go to church. We have seen the church as a symbol of the Italians at “The Italian”. Here we see Rose and Loretta praying, confessing, cross chains in their necks. Furthermore, the superstition off Loretta is also familiar from previous readings.
The coworker of Ronnie, who also baked bread was much like the ape like depiction in the cartoon that we have seen in the beginning.
What struck me most was that besides the cheating of Cosmo, we have also two other cheats in the movie, Loretta with Ronnie and the story of the old lady at the airport. The fact that we have three cases in one movie tells us how exaggerated this image is! I believe that, Ronnie didn’t just fall in love with Loretta. I think, there was a dose of revenge in it also. He blamed his brother about his accident, which left him without a hand and without a fiance. Now he is taking the love back no matter what the price is!
All these details that repeat in all the cartoons, readings and movies, prove that they are in fact, little pieces of the same puzzle. They all lead to that image in the end, the Italian American.
I personally loved every single one of the characters in Moonstruck. Everyone was funny in their own way. The entire movie was filled with Italian stereotypes. First of everyone was shown to be a hopeless romantic. For example, they all made a big deal about the moon. It made everyone feel extremely romantic.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, they were all extremely impulsive and headstrong. Loretta is a good example of that. She impulsively slept with Ronnie.
And lastly, the men were portrayed to be slightly dumb. Johnny was a great example of this. He kept forgetting his luggage everywhere and was also really dramatic.
And of course there were minor things, like the families were all in each others business, they were always drinking wine, eating pasta, and the men were portrayed as cheaters.
In a way, many of the characters in this movie have the same traits and flaws. First we have Cosmo cheating on his wife, and then Loretta practically does the same. Even Rose has what can be thought of as an affair of her own with the professor that she invited to dinner, as he walked her home afterwards arm in arm and kissed her on the cheek before he left. This idea of cheaters is so prevalent in this movie that even background characters seem to mention it, such as the couple at the liquor store and the lady that Loretta converses with at the airport. Of course, since all of these characters are Italian, it can be seen as a negative and stereotypical portrayal of Italians Americans.
ReplyDeleteOne scene that particularly stuck with me was when Loretta speaks to the Old woman dressed in all black at the airport. She tells Loretta that she lays a curse on the plane, to which Loretta replies she does not believe in curses. The old woman's own reply of "neither do I" made me laugh but also intrigued me. Here we have the stereotype of the "Strega Nona"; it is similar to D'angelo's portrayal of the witch in "The Italian", however here it can be interpreted as a larger metaphor for the movie. All of the characters have rather pessimistic outlooks on the meanings of love and the pursuit of happiness, however they all continue to strive to find love once again either through an affair (Cosmo), sleeping with your fiance's brother (Loretta) or simply going out on a plutonic date (Rose and the younger man from the resturaunt). the same way the Strega Nona does not believe in curses, the Castorini family seems disenchanted with love yet still chase it.
ReplyDeleteIn Moonstruck, there were several representations of Italian Americans such family dinners, wine, pasta, and the church.
ReplyDeleteThe character Johnny tends to care about his family a lot, which is one of the stereotypes of an Italian American. Because Johnny’s mother was sick, he had to fly back to his country to take care of her and leaving Loretta behind. Towards the end, Johnny cancels the engagement with Loretta because his mother was feeling better.
This shows that he was only using Loretta to make his mother happy before she dies and then dumps her away when she is no longer needed. This demonstrates the idea that men has no respect for woman and only yearns for them when they really need them. At that point, i didn’t like Johnny because he was using Loretta for his own selfish reasons and at the same time i pity him because he didn’t know about Loretta’s affair with his brother due to being in Italy taking care of his sick mother.