Take-Two accused of racial stereotyping in Mafia II
Italian-American pressure group UNICO calls it: "Pile of racist nonsense"
Publisher Take-Two Interactive has come under fire from Italian-American service organisation UNICO over its depiction of Italians in the forthcoming Mafia sequel.
The UNICO group's president, Andre' DiMino, has written to Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick – demanding that the publisher delay the game from its August 24 release, until it is able to expunge any and all references to Italians and Italian Americans.
"Why would [Take-Two] foist a game on their targeted audience of young people wherein they will indoctrinate a new generation into directly associating Italians and Italian-Americans with violent, murderous organised crime, to the exclusion of all of the other 'mafias' run by other ethnic and racial groups," wrote DiMino.
"Take-Two is directly, blatantly and unfairly discriminating and demeaning one group to the exclusion of all others. We are demanding they halt release of the game and cleanse it of all references to Italians and Italian-Americans".
But Zelnick rejected DiMino's claims, defending the game and its portrayal of Italians and the Mafia. "Mafia II tells a compelling story about organised crime in America - a subject that for decades has been featured in movies, television shows and novels," he said. "Neither UNICO nor any other organisation purporting to represent Italian-Americans has seen or played Mafia II.
"At Take-Two, we balance our right to free expression with what we believe is a thoughtful and responsible approach to creating and marketing our products. Mafia II is M-rated in accordance with our industry's strict standards. It is specifically not targeted toward young people.
"We will only release a title that meets our standards: as art, as entertainment and as a socially responsible product. We aim to distinguish creative and compelling story telling that advances artistic expression from subject matter that gratuitously exploits or glorifies violence or stereotypes.
"I fully and completely stand behind our creative teams and products, including Mafia II," he added.
Groups representing other racial backgrounds have previously complained about Take-Two's representation and handling of ethnicity, one of which resulted in an intervention from New York mayor Michael Bloomberg on behalf of the city's Haitian community.