The American Dream

by Nicole Tadros

The struggle immigrants have experienced has created one of the strongest threads
flowing all throughout the history of Americas culture. Specifically Italian Americans, who are
one of the nation’s largest and oldest immigrant groups play a crucial role in building that
narrative. Movies like Ask the Dust (Robert Towne, 2006) and Vendetta (Nicholas Meyer, 1999)
depict the harsh realities that Italian immigrants faced in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
They were able to provide insight into the prejudices, financial struggles, and cultural
negotiations that shaped their early American lives. In addition to this, portraying the historical
hardships faced by Italian immigrants. These movies also shed light on more general issues
pertaining to identity, community, adapting, and belonging issues, ideas that are still very
important to present immigrant groups.
It is evident from comparing the cultural themes depicted in these movies, and with real
life experiences of my parents, Middle Eastern immigrants who came to the US in search of
opportunity and education. That despite differences in time periods and cultural backgrounds,
many of the fundamental emotional and social issues are still present. Their answers show how
immigrant lives are still shaped by the struggle to adapt, maintain tradition, and negotiate
identity. This paper discusses Italian American culture through the perspective of these two films
and uses my parents’ narrative to show the universal and culturally unique aspects of the journey
of an immigrant.
In 1891 the hanging of eleven Italian immigrants in New Orleans, considered one of the
biggest mass executions in American history, is depicted in Nicholas Meyer’s film Vendetta. The
movie shows a time when Italians were seen as racial outsiders connected to poverty, criminality,
and cultural inferiority rather than as potential citizens of “white America.” Anglo American
elites saw their social unity, accents, and rituals as indicators of danger rather than belonging.
The struggle between the recently arrived Sicilian immigrants and the New Orleans local power
structures is the center of the movie. Italians are portrayed as workers looking for stable
employment, but encountering discrimination everywhere they go. The movie shows how racism
and corruption stoked violence, leading to the false accusations and killings of Italian men
following the passing of police head David Hennessy. The hanging comes to represent how
prejudice and cultural dread, rather than proof, led to the collective punishment of Italians.
Vendetta’s emphasis on community both as an expression of strength for Italians and as a
target of suspicion from Americans is among its most remarkable features. In order to survive in
a hostile society, Italians utilized kinship networks. A common language used to support one
another. However, outsiders have perceived some Italians as clandestine or subversive. This is
due to some of the ways they interact that has led to a stereotype that eventually developed into
assumptions about the Mafia. This concept is made even more apparent by my parents’
observations on Middle Eastern culture. When asked if there was anything in American culture
that brought them back to their native country, they said: “No, it’s different. The way of being
raised back home had a different level of what a community means”.
This realization is very consistent within the reality that Vendetta depicts. Additionally,
Italian immigrants came from societies where the community sometimes represented an
extended family, sharing heritage, loyalty, and protection. These communities served as the base
of everyday existence. These skewered, individualistic ideals are more common in the United
States. This directly conflicts with the cultural cohesiveness in the movie. The ensuing cultural
collision contributes to the aggression and mistrust that Italians experienced. Therefore, the
film’s depiction of discrimination involves more than just records of past tragedy. It goes to show
how cultural differences, focused on regard to community structure have become sources of
conflict revolving around interactions with immigrants.
Robert Towne’s Ask the Dust, based on John Fante’s novel, presents a new angle around
the Italian American experience. Not only focused on communal persecution, but independent
struggle with identity, ambition, love, and belonging. The main character, Arturo Bandini, is a
young Italian American writer in Los Angeles in the 1930s who struggles to achieve success in a
country that continues to marginalize him due to his heritage. Arturo is continually reminded that
he is not “fully American” by both society and himself. Both aspiration and self loathing are
symptoms of his insecurities. He imagines that success will obliterate his Italian identity, and he
longs to overcome the constraints of his ethnic origin. His internal conflict mirrors a greater
historical reality. Second generation Italian Americans often experienced psychological pressure
to assimilate amongst each other, downplay cultural identifiers, and adhere to American values in
order to be accepted. This inner fight is strongly represented in Arturo’s relationships with
Camilla, a Mexican American waitress who experiences her own racial marginalization. As both
characters project internalized prejudice onto one another, their relationship turns into a mirror of
shared immigrant insecurities. According to Towne’s film, immigrant groups frequently
internalized social hierarchies. Which has resulted in complex dynamics of belonging and self
identity.
The experience of my parents offers a parallel once more. They responded accordingly
when asked about the difficulties they encountered when they first arrived in America, “To fit in
and be more involved, learn the way of living”. The experience of my parents offers another
parallel once more. Arturo’s battle nearly a century ago is echoed in this. One issue seen a lot
among immigrants is the idea about “fitting in,” to dive deeper into American culture while
balancing cultural differences. To what extent is one’s identity negotiable? How much needs to
be safeguarded? Arturo’s story is a reminder of the emotional cost of assimilation. This is due to
the fact that he could lose connections with his cultural heritage while attempting to be accepted.
On the other hand, by “being proud of it, talking about it, and adding to the culture here,” my
parents were able to preserve their Middle Eastern identity. Their approach contrasts with
Arturo’s nervousness, highlighting the value of pride and openness in cultural preservation.
The importance of gatherings, home cooked meals, and celebration is one of the most
everlasting ideals of Italian American culture, shown throughout history. One of the most potent
indicators of identity in immigrant communities is food. Sharing meals can be a symbol of
community in Vendetta. In Ask the Dust, references to food elicit nostalgia for lost history and
the pleasures of home.This cultural characteristic is very similar to life as an immigrant from the
Middle East. In response to a question about the customs they maintained from their native
country, my parents said, “The food, the music, keeping ties with friends from back home.” The
patterns of cultural preservation observed among early Italian immigrants are almost exactly the
same. Italian American foodways, pasta, bread making, regional dishes became a strategy to
reject assimilation, maintain family tradition, and keep linked to heritage. Food served as a sign
of kinship in addition to providing nourishment.
Cultural anchors or deeply embedded traditions are also seen during religious holidays. In
the past, Italian American communities have maintained celebrations such as the Feast of San
Gennaro, the “Seven Fishes” on Christmas Eve, and their processions on Saints’ Day. These are
just some examples that have been used to link between countries and their identity. Furthermore
related to my parents’ concern on maintaining religious festivals. These similarities are proof that
immigrant cultures, no matter the location, depend on various customs. This can include food,
celebration, faith, and community ties to maintain cultural identity. Similar to modern Middle
Eastern families, Italian Americans in both movies show how cultural customs support cultural
identity in many different cases.
A well known ideal behind Italian American culture is that it is focused around family.
Aside from stereotypes, traditional Italian societies held high value on continuity, strong family
bonds, loyalty, and respect for their elders. These ideals are shown in various ways throughout
the two movies. Community networks serve as an extended family in Vendetta. For example,
Arturo’s hardships in Ask the Dust are a reflection of the burden of immigrant ambition and
family expectations.When asked about the similarities between Italian American and Middle
Eastern beliefs, my parents pointed out right away that both cultures value large gatherings, have
close families, and rely heavily on intergenerational links. Italian American culture has stayed so
strong and identifiable in American society because of this common cultural basis. Comparing
Middle Easterners and Italians they both believe that family is essential to them. Along with
moral guidance, and emotional support. However, these ideals can be weakened, particularly
seen throughout second generation immigrants, as Arturo Bandini’s conflict illustrates. It is
possible to interpret his fear of success and acceptability as the psychological cost of juggling
American individuality and cultural standards.
My parents’ reactions demonstrate a different course: they have purposefully preserved
customs, eating habits, and cultural pride rather than allowing assimilation to weaken family
identity. Their habits are similar to those implemented by Italian American communities to
maintain their cultural identity through family ties, community involvement, and self expression.
As a result, this study highlights similarities among immigrant experiences, with a fundamental
reliance on family as a cultural anchor.
Together, the two movies provide similar depictions of the development of Italian
American culture: Ask the Dust’s individual battle and Vendetta’s collective struggle. A more
in-depth reality becomes clear when considering the experiences of migrants from the Middle
East. Immigrant identity is constantly under pressure throughout generations, rather than being
built up. Like my parents, immigrants may come in search of education, opportunity, and a
brighter future. Nevertheless, realizing those goals is a necessity to better cultural preservation,
adaptation, and resiliency. Italian Americans’ early experiences, as depicted in these movies,
reflect the sense of displacement that many immigrants still experience today. The approach
taken by my parents embracing their identity, sharing their culture, and adding to the richness of
their surroundings represents a contemporary development of the same challenges that Italians
encountered a century before. My parents show pride while Arturo Bandini struggles with
insecurity. Comparing Sicilian immigrants who were excluded in Vendetta to the modern
immigrants, immigrants today face more subtle cultural obstacles but maintain importance.
Italian American culture, said to be characterized by hardship, identity conflict, prejudice,
and resiliency, is shown in Vendetta and Ask the Dust. These movies show overwhelming
parallels in the social and emotional realities of immigrant life, compared to the experiences of
modern Middle Eastern immigrants, like those of my parents. The desire for opportunity, the
difficulty of “fitting in”, the need to uphold cultural tradition, and the silenced begs for belonging
are just some of the conflicts faced by immigrants across generations. Despite significant
contrasts in past moments and cultural backgrounds. Strong ties to the community, foodways,
religious customs, and family centered values helped Italian Americans manage these conflicts.
Similar tactics are used now by Middle Eastern immigrants to embrace new cultural
environments while conserving food, music, and holidays. In the end, these movies demonstrate
how the strength of identity and community, in addition to persecution and adversity, built Italian
American culture. My parents’ observations serve as a reminder that these same trends still exist
today: immigrants contribute their own customs, values, and histories to the changing fabric of
American life rather than giving up their past.