Day 232

Day 232 of the #365drawingchallenge is Robert De Niro from Goodfellas. That is my favorite movie, and Robert De Niro is my favorite actor. It’s a movie I’ve watched a billion times, but somehow every time I watch it I find something new. There is just so much going on at any moment. I love everything about it. I hadn’t watched it in quite awhile but I decided to put it on yesterday for my birthday and even though it had been awhile I still remembered every line and music cue. It’s just so good.

As an Italian American it is kind of a strange relationship with the media and mafia portrayal. Italians in the media are almost always exaggerated stereotypes, and very often gangsters. And it can be easy to actually embrace those stereotypes and try to incorporate them into your persona. I know this is something that has been more heavily discussed with black people being portrayed poorly in the media, but I’d say it is very similar with the Italian portrayal. I’ve been guilty of it at points in my life, latching onto the stereotypes and portraying myself that way. Or just going with it when other people assumed the stereotypes of me. It’s like it comes with Italian pride or something. And movies like this can definitely further those stereotypes. So maybe I shouldn’t love it. But I do. And if you watch it closely you can see it goes a lot deeper than those surface levels and examines things beyond the superficial. You just have to pay attention to see it.