Mafia Movies: A Roundtable Discussion

Dana Renga, The Ohio State University

Portrayals of the Italian and Italian-American Mafias have differed markedly over time and across multiple cultures–from The Godfather Trilogy to Gomorrah. Mafia Movies: A Reader (University of Toronto Press, 2011), edited by Dana Renga, provides a comprehensive exploration of the mythification of gangsters onscreen, identifying key features and connections to styles such as film noir, thrillers, and even westerns. This presentation consists of two roundtable discussions with several of the book’s contributors. The “Gender and Violence” panel features Jane Schneider (Graduate Center, CUNY), Peter Schneider (Fordham University), Rebecca Bauman (Columbia University), George De Stefano (author), and Lara Santoro (Rutgers University). Giancarlo Lombardi (College of Staten Island, CUNY). Elizabeth Leake (Columbia University), and Nelson Moe (Barnard College) will discuss “Historicizing the Imagined Mafia.”