Decker, Jeffrey Louis. “Beyond White Ethnicity.” American Quarterly 58.4 (2006): 1239-1247.
A discussion of American immigrant ethnic roles and considerations as an imperative element in gangster stereotypes in filmic and literary depictions of ethnicity.
English, T. J.
Paddy-whacked: The Untold Story of the Irish-American Gangster
. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2005.
The ethnic variety of Irish-Americans who conspired with other ethnicities to operate beyond the scope of established society, demonstrating a real cooperation between Irish-Americans and others in codes of criminal conduct.
Ferraro, Thomas J. “Blood in the Marketplace: The Business of Family in the
Godfather Narratives.”
The Invention of Ethnicity
. Ed. Werner Sollars. Oxford UP,
1989, 176-207.
An analysis of the crossover between actual family and criminal enterprise in the Godfather narratives, arguing that a conflation between family and criminality causes a false dichotomy to exist between the two.
Ferraro, Thomas J.
Feeling Italian: The Art of Ethnicity in America
. New York:
New York University Press, 2005.
A treatment of the “invention” of ethnicity as depicted in film, literature, and art, which supposes and reinforces stereotypes and degrees of ethnic identity for Italian-Americans.
Ferraro, Thomas J. “On Our Knees to Don Corleone.” VLA In Progress.
Duke University Press (2009)
An examination of the role of women in the Godfather narratives and the Sopranos texts, arguing for the subversive power of women who emasculate men and cause dire, life-threatening gossip for the organized criminals in their sphere of influence.
Gardaphe, Fred L.
From Wiseguys to Wise Men: The Gangster and Italian-American Masculinities
. New York: Routledge, 2006.
An investigation into the notion of masculinity as redefined by the Italian-American cultural norms, including language, dress, and relationships with other men and women.
Giannini-Quinn, Roseanne. “Mothers, Molls, and Mysoginists: Resisting
Italian- American Womanhood in the Sopranos.”
The Journal of American Culture
27.2 (2004): 166-174.
A treatment of female characters on the hit HBO series, with special attention given to maternal figures, wives, girlfriends, and the ethnic attitudes which preclude women from leadership positions in mob life, based upon perceived weakness or invented presupposition.
Grieveson, Lee et. al.
Mob Culture: Hidden histories of the American Gangster Film
. New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 2003.
An examination of the countercultural, hidden stories of the underworld as depicted in American cinema.
Home Box Office.
The Sopranos: The Book: The Complete Collector’s Edition
. New York: Time Inc. Home Entertainment, 2007.
A summative compendium of the popular HBO series, featuring exclusive character analysis and backstory and an interview with creator/director David Chase, pertaining to the last episode of the series.
Kitwana, Bakari.
Hip-hop Generation: Young Blacks and the Crisis of African-
American Culture. New York: Basic Civitas Books, 2002.
A discussion of the quest for African-American identity within the context of rap music and film.
Lavery, David.
Reading the Sopranos: Hit TV from HBO
. London: I. B. Tauris, 2006.
An investigation of the ironies, dramatic tensions, characterizations and motifs presented in the popular cable television series.
Lavery, David.
This Thing of Ours: Investigating the Sopranos
. New York: Columbia University Press, 2002.
A further discussion of the conflicts and complexities of character inter-relations, loyalties, and disloyalties as presented in the HBO television series.
Mason, Fran.
American Gangster Cinema: From Little Caesar to Pulp Fiction
. New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2002.
The iconic gangster as depicted generationally in each decade’s reinvention of criminality.
